Take Action to Protect Wetlands

Wetlands are a vital resource for all New Yorkers - they maintain clean water, prevent flooding, and provide habitat for ducks and other wildlife. Rollbacks in federal protection and a weak state law have left many New York's wetlands entirely un-protected. Take action today!

The Clean Water Protection/Flood Prevention Act, A.2048/S.2081, would reduce the size threshold for state jurisdiction from 12.4 acres to one acre and ensure that the protection of wetlands is determined by environmental criteria instead of their presence on state wetland maps. The State Assembly has passed this bill on February 2, 2005. Governor Pataki has included a proposal to strengthen New York's wetland protection law in his budget proposal. In 2004 a large majority of Senators came out in support of this bill, but Senator Bruno refused to allow it to come up for a vote in the Senate. Please call Senator Bruno, Majority Leader of the State Senate, at (518) 455-3191. Tell him you are disappointed that he blocked passage of this critical measure to protect clean water in 2004 and ask him to ensure speedy passage of this critical bill in 2005.

For more information call our legislative office at 518-426-9144 or see our Conservation Action Program (http://newyork.sierraclub.org/tracker).

The Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter wetlands subcommittee focuses on:

1) Protecting and preserving New York State's vanishing wetlands,
2) Alerting regulatory agencies at both the state and federal levels when enforcement compliance action may be required, and
3) Providing public comments concerning wetland-related issues.

We welcome and need more activists. If you are interested in this issue, please e-mail committee Chair Liz Kaszubski or call 716-695-3570.

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