New clean water rule again safeguards habitats that are important to hunters and anglers
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a new rule that formally restores federal Clean Water Act protections for streams and wetlands that sustain fish and wildlife and hunting and fishing opportunities.
The new rule will replace the previous administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which significantly narrowed Clean Water Act protections for intermittent headwater streams and non-floodplain wetlands like prairie potholes. The new rule also largely restores Clean Water Act protections that had been in place since 1986, but with important changes to reflect recent federal court decisions, an extensive scientific record, and a robust public stakeholder engagement process.
This most recent clean water rule includes several provisions that reflect comments submitted by the TRCP and partners on behalf of hunters and anglers requesting stronger federal protections for headwater streams and wetlands. A 2018 national poll carried out by TRCP confirmed that a significant majority of sportsmen and sportswomen support both the Clean Water Act and strong protections for streams and wetlands.