Leading Conservation Voices Applaud White House’s FY 2017 Budget With Funding For Water-Saving Programs

Leading conservation organizations applaud the White House’s FY 2017 budget request, which provides critical funding for water saving programs, including WaterSMART, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, new water-treatment solutions, research to support efficient water agricultural uses and more effective drought forecasting. American Rivers, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited agree the new budget released this week helps us take innovative steps to continue to save our valuable water resources in the Colorado River basin and beyond.

Experts weigh in:

“President Obama’s proposed budget today cements this administration’s commitment to innovative and sustainable water programs in the West. Support for the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART allows western communities to keep using water in a smarter way that’s not only good for people but also the birds and wildlife that people care about. The White House gets it and now Congress must act.”
— Karyn Stockdale, Director of the National Audubon Society’s Western Water Program

“The President’s FY 2017 budget offers real steps toward helping our country conserve its water resources. The funding will help us monitor water use in real time, help farmers grow food with less water, and forecast floods and droughts with more precision.”
— Kevin Moran, Water Program Senior Director, Environmental Defense Fund

“The President’s budget would send vital funding toward on-farm water conservation, like USDA conservation programs, and off-farm water efficiency improvements, like the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Program. These investments would make our water systems more resilient to drought and serve as a boon to sportsmen who rely on healthy rivers and streams. The TRCP encourages the administration to work with sportsmen to coordinate these on-farm and off-farm investments, so we can stretch the federal dollar even further.”
— Jimmy Hague, Director of the Center for Water Resources, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

“The President’s budget offers a meaningful boost to water innovation programs. It covers new water efficient technologies for farmers and cities, and funding for the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program, which protects water through strong environmental and economic focused programs.”
— Matthew Niemerski, Director Western Water and Public Lands Policy, American Rivers

“The President’s FY17 budget would set aside critical funding for building drought resilient water systems in the Colorado River basin. Suggested funding levels for USDA conservation programs and Reclamation's WaterSMART program show that the Administration supports innovative water management that benefits all water users that depend upon the Colorado River, including irrigated agriculture, cities, and the environment.”
— Taylor Hawes, Colorado River Program Director, The Nature Conservancy

“The President’s budget includes critical investments to incentivize collaborative, locally based solutions of complex water challenges in the Colorado River basin and across the West. The significant increase in funding for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Cooperative Watershed Management Program is just one of many examples that exemplify the Administration’s leadership in this arena.”
— Kate Miller, Director of Government Affairs, Trout Unlimited

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