Great Lakes Compact Signed into Law On September 23, the House granted consent to the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact (better known as the Great Lakes Compact) by a vote of 390-25. The Senate unanimously approved it on August 1, and President Bush signed the measure into law on October 3. Fundamentally, the compact is designed to prevent large-scale diversion of Great Lakes waters and to improve water conservation. The League’s Great Lakes Committee and members throughout the Great Lakes states have led efforts at the state and national levels to approve the compact. Click here to read the compact in PDF format. Conservation Loses a Great Voice
Tony Dean, a member of the League's national Executive Board and past Honorary President, died on October 19 at his home in Pierre, S.D., following complications from surgery. Dean was well known in the Upper Midwest as the host of a popular television show, "Tony Dean Outdoors," and radio show, "Dakota Backroads." He had been a long-time member of the League's Sunshine Chapter and a passionate conservationist. Paul Lepisto, coordinator of the League's Missouri River Initiative and a long-time friend and colleague of Dean's, wrote in a tribute in the Argus Leader, "Hunters and anglers owe a debt of gratitude to Tony Dean. He was a powerful voice for natural resources, a voice silenced way too early." The full article is available online. The family is requesting memorials in lieu of flowers to be used to purchase a public recreation area for public hunting that will be named for Dean. Donations can be sent to: Tony Dean Memorial Fund; 1013 North Grand; Pierre, SD 57501. League Leads Efforts to Adopt Sodsaver Large and diverse coalitions of agricultural conservation interests have expressed their strong support for governors in the prairie pothole region of the U.S. to seize an opportunity to protect remaining parcels of native prairie. The organizations are producing letters to encourage governors to support the 2008 Farm Bill-authorized Sodsaver provision in their states. Coalition letters were sent to the governors of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa in October. Sodsaver specifies that grassland in the prairie pothole areas of North and South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, and Minnesota without a prior cropping history will be ineligible for taxpayer-provided payments for crop insurance if those grasslands are tilled for crops. Also ineligible are disaster payments made on the typically very marginal lands that have not yet been converted. In the final Farm Bill, Congress required that a governor must officially opt into the program for it to take effect in that state. The League and others emphasized that the Sodsaver provision in no way prevents landowners from tilling native prairie, but federal payments would no longer provide a guaranteed incentive to do so. To learn more about the Sodsaver provision and the need for governors to act, see the League's Web site at http://www.iwla.org/sodsaver. League Represented on Missouri River Committee The inaugural meeting of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) was held in St. Louis from September 29 to October 1. The MRRIC is made of states, tribes, and federal agencies as well as stakeholders from throughout the basin. Stakeholders were selected through an appointment process by the Corps of Engineers. We're pleased to report that the League's Missouri River Initiative coordinator, Paul Lepisto, has been named to the committee. The purpose of MRRIC is to offer guidance to the Corps on the recovery efforts of the threatened and endangered species in and along the nation’s longest river. The next MRRIC meeting will be held December 16th to the 18th in Omaha, Nebraska. To learn more, visit http://www.mrric.org/. White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy The White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy was held in Reno, Nevada, on October 2-3. League leaders and staff joined approximately 500 other participants from across the country to discuss the challenges facing wildlife, habitat, and public lands and to consider actions that government, citizens, and nonprofit groups can take to meet them over the next 10 years and beyond. Among the topics discussed were: funding for wildlife conservation; habitat management; maintaining access to public and private lands; hunter education, recruitment, and retention; the North American model of wildlife management; climate change; and energy development. Administration officials indicated that the input received at the conference and through other means will be used to develop a 10-year Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan. This plan is intended to outline specific steps and actions that federal, state, local, and tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and others can take to address the challenges ahead. The Administration’s goal is to complete the plan before its term ends in January 2009. To learn more about the conference, view background material, and read the complete text of speeches, visit http://wildlifeconservation.gov/. Educating Citizens about Sustainability Each year, the world’s population grows by nearly 80 million people. Unsustainable population growth is placing tremendous strain on the Earth’s natural resources, stressing wildlife habitat, and crowding the places where we love to enjoy the outdoors. The League’s Sustainability Education Program is once again offering workshops and skill-building sessions to educate citizens about the effects of population growth on resource conservation. The League, along with the National Audubon Society and the Sierra Club, is cosponsoring a series of fall workshops and trainings throughout the country. So far this fall, we have cosponsored workshops in New Jersey and Illinois that drew nearly 90 participants combined. An additional event is planned in Maryland on November 15. The events help conservationists learn how they can protect natural resources by supporting programs to slow population growth and promote sustainable development. Participants also learn how to educate decision-makers, contact the media, and build local grassroots networks. For more information about the Maryland workshop, e-mail us at sep@iwla.org. For more information about sustainability, visit http://www.iwla.org/sep.
New Guide to Hunting Opportunities on National Wildlife Refuges The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released the first comprehensive guide to hunting opportunities across the National Wildlife Refuge System. This guide includes information about more than 300 hunting programs. It is organized by state, highlights species that can be hunted, and provides directions to refuges. You can access the guide at http://www.fws.gov/refuges/hunting/. Boundary Waters Celebrates 30 Years of Wilderness The League celebrates the 30th anniversary of the 1978 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) Act this fall. The law, which the League actively supported, gave important new protections to the BWCAW, including ending logging, reducing the number of motorboat lakes, phasing out snowmobiling, tightly restricting mining, and adding some 68,000 acres to the now 1.1 million-acre wilderness. The late Dr. Miron L. "Bud" Heinselman, a long-time Ike, led the citizen effort to pass the law. The League's Wilderness and Public Lands director, Kevin Proescholdt, spent two days in the BWCAW in October with a TV news crew to film a story on the important anniversary. For more information about the BWCAW, visit http://www.iwla.org/index.php?id=404. |
Simplify the Holidays: Give the Gift of Conservation If you’re trying to find the right gift for someone, consider making a gift of the outdoors. Here are some ideas. Donations Make a donation in honor of a family member or friend. The League gratefully accepts donations. Don’t forget that gifts of stock can also be beneficial to your financial situation. Memberships Give a gift of membership, which includes four information-packed issues of the League’s national magazine, Outdoor America. IWLA Credit Card Each time you make a purchase with your IWLA credit card, the League receives a percentage of the purchase amount at no cost to you. Shop Online The League has partnered with Freelanthropy.com to provide a one-stop shopping experience. A percentage of each purchase you make through Freelanthropy.com goes to the League at no cost to you. Recycle Your Old Vehicle Donate an unused car, truck, motorcycle, RV, boat, personal watercraft, or snowmobile – running or not – to the League through DonationLine.com. It costs you nothing, you'll get a tax deduction, and the League gets a portion of the sale proceeds. Support the League in Your Workplace Workplace giving season is gearing up in public and private workplaces nationwide. If your office has a campaign, please consider donating to the League through payroll contributions. Your donation helps protect places where we can enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and other family activities. Look for the Izaak Walton League or Earth Share in your campaign materials. For federal employees, our campaign code is CFC# 10620. For more information or to learn how to start a workplace campaign, contact develop@iwla.org. League Resources Online Visit the chapter section of the League’s Web site to find news about our chapters around the country, locate a chapter near you, and find helpful reference materials. Go to www.iwla.org/chapters. Not a Member? To join the Izaak Walton League, click here.
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