Salazar Highlights 10 Projects in Northeastern States under America’s Great Outdoors Rivers Initiati Ken Salazar highlighted projects in 10 northeastern states that serve as models of the America’s Great Outdoors River Initiative to conserve and restore key rivers across the nation,
PoliticalNews.me - May 26,2012 - Salazar Highlights 10 Projects in Northeastern States under America’s Great Outdoors Rivers Initiative
WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar highlighted projects in 10 northeastern states that serve as models of the America’s Great Outdoors River Initiative to conserve and restore key rivers across the nation, expand outdoor recreational opportunities and support jobs in local communities.
The 10 river projects are part of a list of 51 ongoing projects that the Secretary is highlighting nationwide, one in each state and the District of Columbia. Ranging from the establishment of the Connecticut River Blueway in Connecticut to a watershed restoration project on the Winooski River in Vermont, the projects were selected to provide examples on how communities across America can restore and reconnect with the rivers in their backyards.
“Across the country, we are working hand in hand with states, tribes, local communities and other partners to revitalize our nation’s rivers and expand the opportunities for people to fish, swim, boat, and otherwise connect with the great outdoors,” Salazar said. “These on-going projects demonstrate how the federal family can be an effective conservation partner for community-led efforts to improve our rivers, which are the lifeblood of our communities and our economies.”
A map and more detailed descriptions of the river initiatives highlighted by Salazar can be accessed here. Additional river projects across the nation will be announced in the coming days.
The America’s Great Outdoors Rivers identified today are:
Connecticut: Connecticut River – Connecticut River Watershed
Today in Hartford, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a Secretarial Order establishing the National Blueways System and announcing the 410-mile-long Connecticut River – spanning the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire – as the first National Blueway. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been working with many federal, state and local agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private landowners to support landscape level conservation, environmental education, and recreation opportunities that will protect important natural resources along the river and connect the public to a mosaic of conserved land.
Delaware: Nanticoke River – Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail
With the support of the governor, the Chesapeake Conservancy and other partners, on May 16 the Secretary designated the Nanticoke River as a historic connecting trail. The river is an integral part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, which traces the historic water routes of Captain John Smith’s voyages exploring the Chesapeake Bay and connects with public with scores of historic and natural areas.
Maine: Penobscot River – Penobscot River Restoration
The Penobscot River Restoration project is a well-established, multi-partner, landscape level conservation that includes returning endangered Atlantic salmon to their historic spawning grounds for the first time in 150 years, continuing hydropower production, restoring a Tribal Nation’s connection to their heritage, and reconnecting upriver habitats to the Gulf of Maine for the benefit of people and nature. The project can serve as a demonstration for other large landscape collaboration efforts that must address similarly varied resource demands.
