Number: 2017-08
WHEREAS, the Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume of water, of the Mississippi River; and
WHEREAS, the 981-mile river provides drinking water for more than 5 million people and flows through or along the borders of six states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois; and
WHEREAS, the Ohio River Basin supports more than 25 million people, encompassing portions of 15 states; and
WHEREAS, the Ohio River Basin supports a diversity of migratory birds as well as provides vital habitat for nearly half of the freshwater fishes and over one-third of the mussel species in the United States, including 46 mussel species that are classified as endangered or species of concern; and
WHEREAS, the Ohio River Basin drives 35% of the nation’s waterborne commerce, supports recreational opportunities, agriculture, an estimated $43 billion in commodities transport, and more; and
WHEREAS, as a result of industrial contaminants such as dioxins, PCBs, nitrate compounds, and mercury, the Ohio River is the most polluted river in the United States, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and
WHEREAS, the Ohio River also faces numerous impacts from urban runoff and agricultural activities, acid mine drainage, oil and gas extraction, emerging contaminants, climate change, and invasive species such as zebra mussels and Asian carp; and
WHEREAS, nutrient pollution in the River resulted in a 500-mile Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) in 2015 and contributes to the annual Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the suitability of the Ohio River and its tributaries to support society’s needs for water supplies and recreation is critical to sustaining the Ohio River Basin economy and the standard of living; and
WHEREAS, the success of such an effort will serve as a model to be applied to other rivers that now or in the future may be subjected to the same or similar problems.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled June 8-10, 2017 in Stevenson, Washington, hereby declares the protection and restoration of the Ohio River as well as the Ohio River Basin to be a matter of major and continuing concern to the National Wildlife Federation because of the River’s regional and national importance; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the U.S. Government, including the Congress of the United States, to support funding and provision of other resources necessary to assist in the protection and restoration of the Ohio River and the Ohio River Basin; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges that the legislatures and officials of the States of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as states in the Ohio River Basin, recognize that activities in those states affect the quality of the River, and that they establish policy, legislation, regulation, appropriation of funds, enforcement, and public education that will lead to improvements in water and air quality, living resources management and citizen understanding of the values of this vital national resource, to help assure its improvement and protection for the benefit of future generations.