Our Clean Water Act (CWA50) blog series continues with a short overview of one of the Clean Water Act’s most powerful enforcement mechanisms: the citizen suit provision. Clean Water Act History Under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), the states, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), and citizens all have enforcement authority. This novel environmental enforcement framework… Read more
Wildlife crossing structures help to connect habitats, providing animals with safe passages they can use to avoid heavily trafficked roads and highways. On November 5th, 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains $350 million in federal funding for a “Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program” to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. The new legislation creates… Read more
Tune in to this podcast episode of Wild Virginia Virtual Coffee Talk, where conservation photographer Steven David Johnson talks about his work photographing vernal pools, salamanders, jumping spiders, and other fun projects he’s working on. He also reiterates the importance of ethical wildlife photography, an important initiative within the conservation community. Vernal pools are bodies… Read more
The Clean Water Act (CWA) marks its 50th anniversary next year, an important milestone for an ambitious statute. Wild Virginia invites its members, as well as members of the public, to celebrate this occasion by getting their feet wet in protecting Virginia’s water resources. From October 2021 to October 2022, Wild Virginia will undertake a… Read more
Every year, the Virginia Conservation Network (VCN) publishes a briefing called Our Common Agenda, and this publication takes the policy goals of over 100 organizations across Virginia and compiles them into a single agenda of conservation goals. VCN is a collaborative network of over 150 conservation partners across the Commonwealth. The VCN was created to… Read more
As the state of Virginia continues to develop with new roads and neighborhoods, animal habitats are becoming increasingly divided, cutting through wildlife crossings. Wildlife such as deer, foxes, raccoons, and even frogs and turtles, are constantly on the move. More often than not, these animals need to cross roads to find wider areas of suitable… Read more
Wild Virginia website guru, David Flatley, has been a longtime volunteer with the organization, turning his passion for the environment into activism. From designing and managing our website, making it more accessible to others, to helping with other technology issues, Flatley is a treasured volunteer and a valuable member of our Wild Virginia community. Even… Read more
The EPA recently released a letter with the recommendation to withhold a Clean Water Act permit for MVP. The current design of the pipeline threatens a variety of water bodies across Virginia and West Virginia, therefore the EPA does not recommend granting the permit. The Army Corps of Engineers has the power to decide the… Read more
Conservation photography is the intentional use of photography to advocate and promote conservation. This includes being mindful of the impact of photography on wildlife. A photographer must be careful not to disrupt the natural habits of animals or their habitats. Loud sounds or an unfortunate misstep could have negative impacts on species. Lori Cash is… Read more
Macfarlane wrestles with the narcissism of the ‘Anthropocene’, the era of human impact on climate and environment, and pulls the reader on a wild voyage underground, where time slows down and the past is not so easily disentangled from the present.