WETLANDS RESTORATION AND THE 2012 FARM BILL Congressional Briefing
10 May 2012
Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS) and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI)
The Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies (CASS) and the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) co-sponsored a congressional briefing in Washington D.C. on May 10, 2012 entitled “WETLANDS RESTORATION AND THE 2012 FARM BILL”. The American Institute for Biological Sciences provided additional support for the briefing. More than 40 individuals attended the event. These individuals represented U.S. Senators Leahy (D-VT), Landrieu (D-LA), Lieberman (ID-CT), Feinstein (D-CA), and Boxer (D-CA), U.S. Congressmen Dingell (D-MI), Tonko (D-NY), and Boustany (R-LA), the Congressional Research Service, White House Office of Management and Budget, National Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Housing and Urban Development, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, multiple non-governmental organizations, lobbying firms, and the media (Greenwire and IUP/Inside EPA).
CASS is an entity comprised of members from the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS), Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), Coastal and Estuarine Research Foundation (CERF), and Society for Wetland Science (SWS). CASS was formed in 2010 as a means for professional scientific organizations to work together to promote international aquatic ecosystem scientific study, education, and outreach.
“One of the main reasons the Boards of our societies formed CASS was to hold successful events like this to promote global awareness of the important functions and values of aquatic ecosystems,” said John Downing, President-elect of the ASLO. SWS President Ben LePage noted, “Collaborative briefings with our CASS partners are important venues for communicating recent advances and the social and ecological value of wetlands to the public and our nation’s lawmakers.”
This event was planned around the 2012 National Wetland Award given by the ELI to Dr. Chris Craft, Janet Duey Professor in Rural Land Policy at Indiana University. Three presentations were given. Dr. Craft presented an overview of the benefits of restoring wetlands and riparian buffers in agricultural areas for water quality improvement and other ecosystem services. Dr. Robert Brooks, Director of Riparia at Penn State provided a crash course on wetland science and conservation. Scott Sutherland, Director of Governmental Affairs at Ducks Unlimited, discussed the 2012 Farm Bill and its implications for wetland conservation programs in a time of budget deficits.
Following the formal presentations, the speakers fielded questions from attendees of the briefing. After the seminar, attendees were invited to attend the 2012 National Wetlands Award ceremony, which took place at the U.S. Botanic Garden.
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