River Network

RIVER VOICES 🗣️ The July issue of River Voices is out now! Here’s what’s inside this month: highlights from the River Rally 2024 panel, Navigating Federal Funding for Local Impact; our River Rally 2024 recap video; and our first ever live Meet Your Network video with Felice Green of Milwaukee Water Commons! Check out these videos and more: https://ow.ly/HcRX50SzV2o #WaterEquity #WaterStories #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalStorytelling ID: Graphic shows a letter popping out of an envelope that reads “River Voices.” In the center is an aerial photograph from River Rally, where attendees mingle on Grand Rapids’ iconic Blue Bridge. Overlaid in the top left, text reads July 2024. On the right, titles of features in this issue of River Voices, displayed in boxes, read: Federal Funding at River Rally, River Rally 2024 Recap, and Our first LIVE Meet Your Network: Felice Green. The boxes are framed above and below by text that reads, Including… and more!

⚠️ On June 28th, a majority of the US Supreme Court overturned another critical safeguard for people and our environment. In this outrageous ruling, the Supreme Court has given courts the power to override government agency decisions. Keep reading or swipe through this post for more background, details, and the major repercussions we are likely to face soon. → Background In 1984, the Supreme Court ruled in Chevron v. NRDC that if the language of a law is ambiguous, courts must defer to the agencies’ choice in how to carry out the law. Federal agencies’ scientific, policy, law, and technical expertise makes them uniquely qualified to implement protections passed by Congress. → What happened? In a new ruling, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the US Supreme Court has overturned Chevron v. NRDC, giving courts the power to override government agency decisions. This eliminates yet another critical safeguard for people and the environment. → Why does this matter? Now, judges, who lack agency-level scientific and technical expertise, have the power to decide what protections are warranted under federal law. The ruling will likely result in anti-regulatory interests, launching numerous challenges to agency policies. In short, the Supreme Court has ruled for polluters over people. → What can we do? We must call on Congress to enact legislation that makes it clear that agencies should be the ones developing policy to implement federal laws. Read more from EarthJustice: https://ow.ly/jcV150SxpsH #ChevronOverturned #EnvironmentalJustice ID: A series of five photos with text set against a photograph of a polluting factory. The first slide reads 6/28/24 - Chevron v. NRDC overturned. Supreme Court Majority Rules for Polluters Over People. The following four slides show the same text as the caption. Each heading in the caption marks a separate slide.

We were thrilled to spend two days in June with our inspiring and committed #EnvironmentalJustice Thriving Communities Eastern National Grantmaking Collaborative partners for priority-setting, planning, and team building. We’re honored and excited to embark on this journey with Institute for Sustainable Communities, Groundwork USA, Emerald Cities Collaborative, Trust for Public Land, and Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) to channel funding to the communities that need it most! #EJ #CommunitiesFirst ID: A photograph of a group of sixteen folks total, representing the six Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Eastern National Grantmaking Collaborative partner organizations: Institute for Sustainable Communities, GroundworkUSA, Emerald Cities Collaborative, Trust for Public Land, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and River Network. The group, which is primarily BIPOC, is indoors, standing in front of several large poster sheets covered in handwriting and taped to the wall.

RALLY RECAP 🌊 2024 Legacy Award Celebrating this year’s Legacy Award Recipient: John Echohawk! The Legacy Award recognizes and honors the significant contributions of one individual to the waters, rivers, and people they have served over the duration of their career. A member of the Pawnee Nation and the Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) since its inception in 1970, John Echohawk has been instrumental in securing water rights for Indigenous peoples. He has played a pivotal role in nearly a third of all Indian water rights cases that have resulted in settlements. Echohawk’s dedication extends beyond legal battles. He actively serves on numerous boards focused on water conservation and Indigenous rights, demonstrating a holistic approach to protecting both the environment and tribal sovereignty. The Legacy Award is a tribute to John Echohawk’s lifelong commitment to ensuring clean water for all. Congratulations! #RiverRally2024 #LegacyAward ID: A photo of John Echohawk speaking at a podium, during the Legacy of Justice plenary at River Rally 2024. Text reads 2024 Legacy Award, John Echohawk (he/him), Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund.

RALLY RECAP 🌊 2024 Emerging Leader Next, we’d like to celebrate this year’s Emerging Leader: Hira Ahmad! Hira is a Masters Candidate in Environmental Justice and Conservation Ecology at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. As a key member of a research team investigating equitable community engagement strategies across the Great Lakes Region, she has an unwavering dedication to diverse representation and co-ownership of data and information. Hira’s ability to foster connections, plus her interdisciplinary educational background, positions her perfectly to drive positive change and mutual learning within the environmental justice sphere. She envisions leveraging the Emerging Leader platform to amplify visibility for community organizations and foster greater inclusivity within the water justice movement on a national scale. Congratulations, Hira! #RiverRally2024 #EmergingLeader ID: A photo of Hira Ahmad smiling in front of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, MI. Text reads 2024 Emerging Leader, Hira Ahmad (she/her), Masters Candidate, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.

RALLY RECAP 🌊 2024 River Heroes Let’s show some love to this year’s award recipients, starting with our River Heroes! River Heroes are folks recognized for advancing the movement toward a future of healthy, resilient rivers; safe, affordable drinking water; and climate-resilient communities. Their work expands the network’s collective power and activates others to advance equitable policies and practices. This year, we celebrated five awardees at River Rally: four individuals and our very first organizational recipient! Awards went to individuals Sharee Harrison, Kirsten Shead, Justinn Overton, and Dennis Mabasa, plus Freshwater Future, a Michigan-based organization. Visit our website for more on these amazing folks and the work they do. And stay tuned this week as we celebrate more leaders: our 2024 Emerging Leader and Legacy Award recipients! #RiverRally2024 #RiverHeroes

MEET YOUR NETWORK 🗣 This month, meet Amy Campbell (she/her). Amy is a Project Director at The Nature Conservancy, California. In this conversation, Amy discusses California's water regulation landscape, environmental flows, and the importance of building local networks and partnerships to tackle challenges together. Read or listen to the full conversation: https://ow.ly/H67O50Sbf3k #WaterEquity #WaterStories #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalStorytelling ID: A photograph of Amy Campbell (she/her) accompanied by text that reads Meet Your Network. Project Director at The Nature Conservancy, California. Northern CA. A quote bubble from Amy reads: We know minimum flows are just scraping the bottom of the barrel. We need to get our rivers back into functionality.

JUNE FEATURE 📰 Letting Rivers Flow for People and Nature “Forty people disembark from a charter bus outside Reno, Nevada, and step out to a sunny, clear day and an expansive lake in the Great Basin desert that holds stories of trials and tribulations.” This month in River Voices, dive into a special narrative piece from River Network staff member Chelsea Silva. Chelsea reflects on a visit to Walker Lake in Nevada, where participants in River Network’s seventh Environmental Flows workshop heard from partners tackling environmental flows in the Walker River Basin. On the lakeshore, local leaders Andrea Martinez of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and Peter Stanton from Walker Basin Conservancy shared the history of Walker Lake and the Walker River Basin with participants. Check out this feature and other stories in June River Voices: https://ow.ly/FK1250SbeX0 #FederalFunding #CleanWater ID: A graphic with text that reads: JUNE FEATURE. Letting Rivers Flow for People and Nature Past. Reflections from a visit to Nevada’s Walker Lake. Chelsea Silva. June 4, 2024. In the lower left is a photograph of local leaders Andrea Martinez of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and Peter Stanton from Walker Basin Conservancy talking to workshop participants at the edge of Walker Lake. In the lower right is a photograph of the group of participants posing for a photo, with the lake and mountains in the background.

RIVER VOICES 🗣️ The June issue of River Voices is out now! Here’s what’s inside this month: a narrative reflection on a Nevada field trip from River Network’s 7th Environmental Flows Workshop; a conversation with Amy Campbell, Project Director at The Nature Conservancy in CA; photos from River Rally, and more! Check out these stories and more: https://ow.ly/kJ6I50Sa74X #WaterEquity #WaterStories #EnvironmentalJustice #EnvironmentalStorytelling ID: Graphic shows a letter popping out of an envelope that reads “River Voices.” In the center is a photograph from the 7th Environmental Flows Workshop, where several rows of attendees pose in front of Walker Lake in Nevada. Overlaid in the top left, text reads June 2024. On the right, titles of features in this issue of River Voices, displayed in boxes, read: Letting Rivers Flow for People and Nature, Meet Your Network: Amy Campbell, and Explore the River Rally Photo Gallery. The boxes are framed above and below by text that reads, Including… and more!

Check out these beautiful visuals and narrative from Water Hub's new #JustInfrastructure campaign video!