Healthy Headwaters - Onward!

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Contact: Sarah Bates Email: batess@nwf.org Phone : 406-541-6730

National Wildlife Federation Partners with Healthy Headwaters Alliance to Expand Western Water Program

Strategic Partnership Launching Upper Rio Grande Riparian Corridors Initiative

Missoula, MT (May 18, 2020) —The National Wildlife Federation has forged a visionary new partnership and program with the Healthy Headwaters Alliance, fostering a strategic expansion in efforts to protect water in the West for people and wildlife. The Healthy Headwaters Alliance is a diverse and uniquely influential network of western water innovators, including water utility executives, federal land managers, scientists, community and water justice leaders, and conservation advocates who share a commitment to equitable, science-based actions to build resilience back into the critical headwaters of the West’s streams and rivers.

“Working together, we can we can accelerate our efforts toward healthy forests, healthy water, healthy people,” said Laura Briefer, Director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities and Healthy Headwaters leadership team member. “We’ll be moving immediately toward our next phase, which will take a broader collaborative approach with the larger National Wildlife Federation network to systematically incorporate wildlife habitat integrity, public health, and water equity into the goal of healthy headwaters protection.”

For the last 10 years, the Healthy Headwaters Alliance has been incubated by Carpe Diem West, a nonprofit focused on water and justice. By moving to the National Wildlife Federation, Healthy Headwaters gains the ability to scale up and expand support for innovative regional initiatives that address compelling issues affecting western forest and water health in order to achieve benefits for all: a healthier and more secure water supply; jobs for rural and urban communities; and mitigation of catastrophic wildfires resulting in less smoke, debris flows and fewer displaced communities.

As the Federation builds out our western waters work, we are also excited to announce taking the first steps in establishing the Healthy Headwaters-aligned Upper Rio Grande Riparian Corridors Initiative.

“This new regional project will engage leaders at Healthy Headwaters as well as diverse local partners to develop an action plan and build momentum for protecting and restoring high-priority riparian system to promote habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors,” said Sarah Bates, National Wildlife Federation’s Senior Director of Western Water. “By identifying key strongholds and pinch points in the region’s riparian network, the project will identify priorities for where conservation efforts could enhance the functionality of the network.”

The project is also designed to chart a course for targeted and strategic partnerships and actions that will address the question of how to most effectively enhance protection and restoration of that network.

The National Wildlife Federation team is growing and now includes Alex Puglisi, who will begin work in June as the Federation’s Western Water Project Manager. Alex comes to the National Wildlife Federation with

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extensive experience addressing water and wildlife habitat restoration in positions with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the Pueblo of Sandia, as well as the State of New Mexico and the City of Santa Fe. A graduate of the University of New Mexico (B.S. in Environmental Biology and Masters in Public Administration), Alex will work for the National Wildlife Federation from a home office in Santa Fe.

With this program expansion, the National Wildlife Federation is better able to achieve a major strategic objective of Water for Wildlife—connecting public land and water management, building climate resilience; improving stream flows, enhancing ecosystem restoration, and connecting vital riparian corridors. These initiatives will complement and bolster the Federation’s existing advocacy for beaver restoration in public lands headwaters and salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin, and supporting Colorado River Tribes to advance their vision for the river. Thanks to the Federation’s unique structure, ranging from grassroots advocates to national policy experts, this work includes local, regional, and national initiatives.

For more information about the National Wildlife Federation’s Western Water program work, contact Sarah Bates, Senior Director of Western Water: BatesS@nwf.org, 406-541-6730.

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