by Steve Woods, executive director
This is our first chance to relate what went on this past legislative session. As you can tell from the title above, the story (see page 2 for summary) is not particularly satisfying for anyone. Before we get to that, we have some news to share.
Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed we have quietly trotted out a new Freshwater logo over the past month. It was a birthday gift to ourselves. Now in our 50th year, we are stepping up our communications to provide deeper perspectives and find interesting ways to make a difference.
One thing unearthed during our work is that an extraordinary amount of our site’s web traffic is driven by people wanting specific actions they can take to protect water, as a homeowner, landowner, professional, or official. You’ll see more of that information from us in months to come.
Our attention is now on preparing for a Minnesota River boat cruise next week, organizing for the 2019 session, and designing the 2019 Weatherguide. It accounts for a fraction of our work, but it is my favorite part of the job. Reviewing hundreds of images that are better than I’ll ever take myself is a real treat! The Weatherguide has been a wonderful product for 42 years of our 50-year journey.
I make sure to take time on and in the water to recover and remind myself why we do what we do. There’s an awful lot going right in this state. There is also a lot of awful attempted each legislative session. You can shape the future by making time this summer to find out what candidates for office believe about valuing and protecting your water. Your influence is amplified by voting in the primary and taking a second bite of the apple in November.
As an organization dedicated to protecting and conserving freshwater, we’ve accomplished our original mission and several subsequent missions in our 50 years. You can count on us to inspire and empower people to value and protect freshwater in the decades to come. Thank you for your support!