Izaak Walton League of America

When high school student Marialuna Schreiner Cintrón found out that road salt poisons creeks and waterways, she couldn’t stop thinking: “Who will do something?” Far from being mired in crisis, Marialuna set out to find solutions. The journey led to surprising discoveries about road salt, science, and the power of one person. Full story

Road salt is highly effective at helping humans travel more safely in the winter. But it can also cause animals to stop dead in their tracks – literally. We explain what you can do in your own driveway to prevent the harmful side effects of salt from cascading across entire ecosystems. Full story

The Izaak Walton League's Salt Watch program tackles ambitious goals by taking small steps. Our Abby Hileman breaks down effective strategies for creating change that lasts. Full story

Nitrate is a necessary nutrient for plants – but artificial fertilizers have put way too much of it into the environment. Now excess nitrate is contaminating our drinking water and threatening our health. The Izaak Walton League has solutions to this growing problem. Full story

"To be honest, I didn’t even think about road salt being a source of pollution in streams until I got involved with Salt Watch in 2019." Just a few years later, Amy Ulland is a superstar Salt Watcher leading a team of 40 volunteers. Full story

Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (for "per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances"), are considered dangerous because they have potentially harmful health effects – like thyroid disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, reduced immune response, and cancer. Now these substances are turning up in living animals, in food, and in human blood… and cities are not moving fast enough to address the problem. Full story

Social media is an incredibly powerful tool that every person, organization, and Izaak Walton League chapter can use for event promotion and community building. Any organization that doesn’t have a presence on social media is missing out on valuable (and free) visibility. Here are five tips for making the most of your social media. Full story

There are not enough scientists or hours in the day to complete all the conservation research that needs to be accomplished. Fortunately, volunteers are filling gaps in stream science. Full story

With modern technology, it's now possible for anyone to find out whether their local waterways are clean or dirty. The Izaak Walton League is at the forefront of making that data accessible. Full story

Jeff Witters and his environmental science students noticed that a lot of salt was being spread around their town in Kansas, so they set out to investigate what that salt was doing to local streams. The results of the project went far beyond adding data to a map. Full story