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  • stream monitoring

    How To Pick a Stream Monitoring Site

    05/02/2018
    At a recent water event, someone asked me an intriguing question: “How do I pick my stream monitoring site?” Protecting the environment should not mean we simply react to each crisis as it comes up. We need to be proactive in monitoring stream health. Full story
  • farm in PA_photo credit Scott Bauer USDA-ARS

    House Agriculture Committee Advances Farm Bill

    04/20/2018
    On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee voted to advance its version of a 2018 Farm Bill. The bill is a mixed bag when it comes to IWLA water and wildlife conservation priorities. Full story
  • Blue heron with fishing line around its neck and bill. Credit William James.

    Don’t Get Tangled Up in Fishing Line Litter

    04/19/2018
    Fishing line can cause major problems for wildlife if it is not disposed of correctly. (Monofilament fishing line in particular is made to last: it takes roughly 600 years to decompose!) Monofilament recycling stations are easy to build and provide a place for fisherman to throw away used fishing line. Full story
  • iStock_hands in water

    Restoring Our Rivers

    04/06/2018
    All across America, rivers, lakes, and wetlands suffer from the runoff of fertilizers, pesticides, and manure. And downstream communities have to deal with the pollution to provide safe, clean drinking water. Full story
  • mine drainage_iStock photo

    Baseline Data: Protect local streams by testing them regularly

    04/04/2018
    Baseline data on water quality helps us track changes in stream health over time. Essentially, you can’t know if water quality has changed – for better or worse – without a starting point. Full story
  • SoilWormSteveBergerByKrisMillgate

    Why Worms Matter

    03/29/2018
    American farms lose 6 pounds of soil for every pound of food produced. The health of our soil is critical to our future food supply and to the health of our rivers, lakes, and wetlands. The 2018 Farm Bill needs to ensure that farmers, ranchers, and communities have the tools they need to restore soil health and protect water quality. Full story
  • PheasantsPhotoByRogerHillNRCSCompressed

    A Place for Wildlife on America’s Farms and Ranches

    03/22/2018
    America’s fish and wildlife depend on America’s farms and ranches for critical habitat. The 2018 Farm Bill needs to ensure that farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to make a place for wildlife through wildlife-friendly practices and innovative farming and ranching systems. Full story
  • Common Netspinning Caddisfly 1_Bob Hendricks_sq

    Bugging Out on Stream Monitoring

    03/21/2018
    There are countless ways to assess the health of a stream. The Izaak Walton League finds sampling benthic aquatic macroinvertebrates to be an accurate indicator of stream health – one that any citizen scientist can tackle. Much as foresters judge a forest by its diversity of trees, we judge streams by the diversity of life within it. Full story
  • Rainwater Basin NWR_credit USFWS_sm

    Protecting America’s Dwindling Wetlands

    03/14/2018
    Right now is a critical time for America's wetlands, which provide irreplaceable values for wildlife habitat, recharge groundwater, and filter runoff before it hits our streams and rivers. Full story
  • Salt Watch 1

    Warming Weather Increases Chloride Threat

    02/28/2018
    The last thing on my mind during February's unseasonably warm days was road salt – that is, until the League launched our Winter Salt Watch. It turns out that the threat to water quality from excess road salt is highest after the weather warms up! Full story

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