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At the Summit:
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Knee-deep Advocacy
Sierra Club Water Sentinels Director Scott Dye stands before dozens of news articles about Water Sentinal victories.
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by Tom Valtin
"Tremendous strides have been made in cleaning up U.S. waters since the passage of the Clean Water Act," said Robin Mann, a national Club leader on water-quality issues, in introducing this session. "But we’re in a very rough period now, playing non-stop defense just to protect regulations already on the books." Mann's remarks telegraphed the theme of the day: that citizen involvement is these days more vital than ever. Hiram Sarabia, director of the Bi-national Water Quality Monitoring Program of the San Diego Baykeeper, kicked off the session with a detailed how-to on the nuts and bolts of volunteer water-quality monitoring. Sarabia stressed that whole watersheds are the natural unit we should think about in addressing water-quality issues. "Familiarize yourself with your watershed and gain a good understanding of regional as well as local issues," he advised, pointing out that non-point sources of pollution like urban runoff and storm water frequently account for the lion’s share of pollution. Sierra Club Water Sentinels Director Scott Dye followed with a pep talk on what he calls Knee-deep Advocacy. "There’s no more powerful place to advocate for clean water than if you’re literally standing in it," he urged. Dye is positively evangelical about how much volunteer water-quality monitors can accomplish. He gave a rapid-fire snapshot of the Water Sentinels Program, which among other things has engaged some 300 allied groups and 4,500 volunteers nationwide. "And you can’t start ‘em out too young," he emphasized, adding that local volunteers are often the most effective spokespeople to the media: "Put the people who’ve been the most impacted front and center and let them do the talking." One unexpected focus on the Water Sentinels Program is cleaning up streets. "Where does all the runoff from this drain go," Dye asked, showing a slide of a garbage-clogged storm grate alongside a photo of a running stream. "Straight into the local waterway, that’s where. And it’s easier to get trash off the streets than out of streams." He closed by stressing the concept that Partnerships=Progress, saying the day of solo victory has long since passed Northern Kentucky Water Sentinel Tim Guilfoile wrapped up the session by focusing on several impressive victories the Water Sentinels have achieved in his home state. He reiterated the importance of local volunteer monitors by showing a slide that mapped all the waterways in just his small corner of Kentucky. A handful of streams that are currently being monitored by the state were demarcated in red; hundreds of unmonitored waterways filled the rest of the screen like branching capillaries. "Where action happens is in your backyard," he said. "Rules need to be enforced where you live, work, and play, and it depends on you." Guilfoile reinforced Dye’s exhortation to team up with non-traditional allies such as hunters and anglers. "Your typical sportsman cares deeply about the environment and conservation," he said. "Most of them are conservative Republicans, but they are powerful conservationists. The Northern Kentucky Flyfishers’ agenda is very similar to that of the Northern Kentucky Water Sentinels." Guilfoile, who sits on the board of that flyfisher’s group, is putting together a regional Clean Water Summit for Hunters and Anglers in Louisville next February, co-sponsored by the Sierra Club. For more on the Water Sentinels Program, check out www.sierraclub.org/watersentinels. -- 09/11/2005 Sun |
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