The Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed are sponsoring a briefing in cooperation with Representative Carney (DE-At Large) and the House Delaware River Basin Task Force on the importance of coordinated restoration and conservation efforts in the Delaware River Basin. Representative Carney will personally announce the re-introduction of legislation to provide a coordinated conservation strategy: the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. The briefing will occur on Wednesday, February 13 from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. in the Cannon House Office Building (122 CHOB). Speakers will include representatives of the business and environmental communities. The briefing will be open to the public and press.  Light breakfast will be provided, thanks to the generosity of the National Wildlife Federation and DuPont. 

On Wednesday, February 6, 2013, NEMWI sponsored the annual Great Lakes Environmental Summit in Washington, DC. The annual summit provides an opportunity for Great Lakes leaders and stakeholders to hear from Congressional Members and Committee staff on what they see as legislative opportunities and priorities for the coming session. With over 50 stakeholders, leaders, and staff present, the Summit was well-attended. House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committee staff, as well as staff from the House Energy & Commerce and Transportation & Infrastructure Committees, shared insights with and fielded questions from Summit attendees. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear from Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator, on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, as well as Allegra Cangelosi, President of NEMWI, and Sabrina Dadrian of the Canadian Embassy, on current initiatives. A Summit roundtable discussion afforded attendees the opportunity to hear from each other on issues of common concern as well as emerging issues. The full summary report will be posted here once available.

For more information, contact Danielle Chesky, Director of the Great Lakes Washington Program at the Northeast-Midwest Institute.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released four Coastal Wetland Reviews containing the observations from meetings with stakeholders in coastal watersheds throughout the Mid-Atlantic (Delaware Estuary, York River), South Atlantic (Middle and Lower Neuse River, Indian River Lagoon), North Atlantic (Cape Cod), and Gulf of Mexico (Galveston Bay, Mississippi Coast) regions. EPA convened the meetings detailed in these reports to better understand regional stressors on wetlands in coastal watersheds, local protection strategies, and key information gaps that, if addressed, could help reverse the trend of wetland loss. EPA's Coastal Wetlands webpage contains information about coastal wetlands, a description of the Coastal Wetlands "Initiative," the Coastal Wetland Review reports, management strategies for coastal wetland stressors, and links to other tools and resources. The webpage can be found here and the reports here.