CONCORD, N.H. - Plenty of Granite Staters make a living in the wildlife recreation industry, and some say a vote earlier this month on the Clean Water Act is worthy of Thanksgiving gratitude.

Ron Sowa, a licensed New Hampshire fishing guide, said his business depends on clean water. A 2011 study from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that outdoor recreation is a booming business, he said, generating more than $500 million in economic impact for New Hampshire, "including $209 million just on the fishing and freshwater fishing.

"It's very important to New Hampshire," Sowa said, "small businesses and large businesses, actually."

Opponents of the act say they are fighting to prevent regulations from applying to every stream and ditch. Sowa credited U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., for her vote to block Senate Bill 1140, which would have forced the Obama administration to withdraw new federal rules to protect smaller streams.

Eric Orff, a state wildlife scientist for the National Wildlife Federation, said the fight is far from over, since Republicans were just a few votes short of passing the measure and overcoming the Senate filibuster rule. He said this is an important time for those who care about clean water to stand up and be counted.

"This brings protection for the smaller streams, the ones that really are important for our native Eastern brook trout," Orff said. "So, coming up on Thanksgiving, it's certainly worth a thank you to our senator, Sen. Shaheen, for helping to restore the Clean Water Act."

Orff said you don't have to fish to be grateful, because 38 percent of people in the Granite State get their drinking water from sources that are fed by small rivers and streams.

Details of SB 1140 are online at congress.gov.


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Starting next year, North Dakota will have a new law in place that covers local zoning restrictions for animal feedlots. The bill's passage follows a spirited debate about the presence of industrial agriculture in small towns.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed a bill drafted in response to discussions led by a task force.

Among other things, the bill was intended to adjust the distance counties and townships are allowed to set between communities and proposed farms with animal herds, such as a dairy operation.

Brent Larson helps run a family farm near the Minnesota border. He had opposed the bill as it advanced. In the push to add bigger operations, he worries about his neighbors.

"[I would] kind of hate to be told that, 'Oh yeah, by the way, the next three or four days, you're gonna have to be inside 'cause the stink is gonna get too bad for you,'" Larson said.

The North Dakota Legislature largely held off on controversial changes concerning distance thresholds. Instead, the law allows for the use of an odor footprint tool, being developed to determine a setback perimeter.

Supporters say it gives local officials flexibility in deciding what's best for their town in terms of air quality. But skeptics fear it will be inadequate, leading to weaker restrictions.

One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Mike Beltz, R-Hillsboro, feels they are being responsive in aiding North Dakota's desire to boost livestock production and compete with neighboring states. For those worried about the environmental impacts, he feels there's too much misinformation out there, noting outfits with larger feedlots are making strides to reduce harmful impacts.

"In particular with the dairies, they do it right," Beltz contended. "I mean, I've toured their facilities and they are top notch."

But environmental groups say industrial agriculture is overstating those improvements. And during the bill's debate, residents from smaller communities had pushed for longer setback provisions.

Brent Larson and his wife Mary Jo Schmid play a hand in their agritourism arm. The pair owns Crooked Lane Farm Folk School. She said setting pathways for expansive feedlots conflicts with small businesses like hers.

"Part of our draw is the idea that you come out to the country and enjoy the peace, quiet, the open air, and that would be hindered," Schmid explained.


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The Federal Emergency Management Agency has abruptly ended a key disaster-preparedness program, sparking concerns as another active hurricane season looms for Florida.

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program (BRIC) had distributed $5 billion nationwide in the last five years for projects ranging from floodplain restoration to storm-resistant infrastructure.

Ryan Ray, Leon County Democratic Party chair, called the decision "reckless" in a state still recovering from recent hurricanes.

"Hurricanes Milton and Helene did billions of dollars of catastrophic damage to Florida," he said, "and the federal BRIC program, administered through FEMA, is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, infrastructural-oriented funding that we need to get communities back on track after storms."

In announcing its end, FEMA called the program "wasteful and politicized," although it was created during the first Trump administration. BRIC's cancellation comes as climate scientists predict increased storm activity this hurricane season.

The BRIC grants have been especially important to coastal states, funding nature-based solutions to flooding, such as wetland restoration and living shorelines.

Em Donahoe. policy specialist for resilient coasts and floodplains for the National Wildlife Federation, said she worries about the economic consequences of cutting such programs.

"We know that every dollar invested in natural-disaster resilience and preparedness saves approximately $13 in long-term economic savings and damages and costs avoided post-disaster," she said.

Donahoe stressed the importance of addressing disaster preparedness, an issue that should transcend politics. But FEMA has cancelled plans to distribute $750 million in BRIC grants this year, focused on region-specific threats including Florida hurricanes and California wildfires. Advocates for the program are now pressing Congress to reverse the decision.

Wildlife advocates are alarmed by a new report from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife showing the state's wolf population fell nearly 10% last year.

The vast majority of the wolves were illegally and legally killed by humans. The report also showed the number of successful breeding pairs, a key population indicator, dropped 25% last year.

Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said seven illegal killings are under investigation, though the true number is likely higher.

"For every animal you find that has been illegally killed, there are one to two additional animals that were also illegally killed, whose deaths will never be discovered," Weiss explained.

Since 2016, wolf deaths in the state have continued to rise. Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected a proposal to reduce protections for wolves from state endangered to state sensitive because of increased deaths.

Weiss argued many myths about wolves need debunking. She noted predator-related livestock deaths are rare, with most losses caused by issues like dehydration and birthing complications. In Washington, wolf-related losses made up less than a 10th of a percent of livestock deaths in 2024.

Weiss emphasized wolves are crucial for healthy ecosystems because they prevent overbrowsing by deer and elk.

"That allows vegetation to grow back and that provides building materials for beaver and nesting materials for migrating neotropical birds," Weiss outlined. "It provides all kinds of habitat for other species."

Weiss explained Washington's wolf plan splits the state into three recovery regions, aiming for breeding pairs in each. The third region, encompassing the southern Cascades and north coast, does not have any. As more wolves are killed in eastern Washington, Weiss added, fewer are left to move west, and they often fall victim to illegal killings.

Weiss stressed she wants the state to maintain protections for wolves: "And really do a lot more public education to help people understand we can live with them and that we need them," she urged.


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