This morning NWF CEO Larry Schweiger challenged conservationists from around the country to look beyond their ecosystem restoration projects and include all the troubled waters in America.
“Instead of focusing on our own individual problems, we should make our problems bigger. I really believe in my heart that we can solve these problems if we unite and work together,” Schweiger said at the Great Waters Restoration Summit in New Orleans.
The summit has drawn together conservation leaders from the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Louisiana, the Florida Everglades, the Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, Puget Sound, the Upper Mississippi River and the San Francisco Bay Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to create a national coalition.
“These are problems that need a collective responsibility. We need a new vision for addressing these great waters,” said Schweiger.
At a time when these ecosystems are on the verge of collapse the formation of a national coalition could capture Congress’ attention.
“I challenge us all to make our problem bigger and find a way to solve it. America is beginning to wake up and understand you can’t just throw these ecosystems away without feeling an impact on our food, our enjoyment…they are part of our heritage. By working together we can and we will do more than we ever could do separately,” said Schweiger.
Related posts:
- All for One and One for All
- The Third Wave of Conservationism Hits Washington
- Restoration is Zeitgeist
- It is Time for the Restoration of America’s Great Waters
- Great Lakes Are Great Waters