The Izaak Walton League’s 2025 national convention in Green Bay, July 18-19, featured an urgent appeal for action in the face of mounting challenges to conservation in the United States.
Policy Resolution Recommends Federal Standards for Data Centers
The League approved a policy resolution that urges federal authorities to establish national standards for data centers and similar high-energy consuming and producing facilities. Among other requirements, the resolution aims to ensure that future facilities approvals require local and regional input and be built to state-of-the-art standards considering the environment and community as a whole.
The convention began with an address from outgoing president Jodi Labs who described the challenges for conservation and clean water, like the growing nitrate crisis. Summing up the theme of the 2025 convention, Defending America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations, Labs said, “Let’s not be the team who fumbles the future.”
Executive Director Scott Kovarovics spoke to the need for bold action to counter attacks on bedrock conservations laws and policies. He cited the Supreme Court Sackett decision that hollowed out Clean Water Act protections for wetlands, a halt to investments in clean energy and threats to develop cherished public lands among other challenges.
Measuring the Economic Benefits of Conservation
Keynote speaker Matthew Winden, Ph.D. provided an economic view of value of conservation and stewardship of the nation’s natural resources. Winden, an associate dean and economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, has spent his career examining and measuring the value of natural resources in the U.S.
Winden said commercial interests have a well-accepted vocabulary and metrics for discussing the value of developing land: for instance, tax dollars generated, jobs required and economic activity. He said there are also economically measurable benefits of conservation, which he spelled out: dollars spent on travel and visitation to parks and other places for outdoor recreation, the value of clean water, spending connected to hunting and fishing and the measurable tax revenue gleaned from higher real estate values near parks and healthy waterways.
An additional value he cited, “bequest value,” is the value that people assign to the importance of preserving healthy land and waters to future generations. Let’s institutionalize environmental valuations into debates about land use, Winden said. It should be embedded in planning policy, and we should equip decision-makers with robust data economists collect that demonstrate these values.
This data and analysis helps the conservation compete with development when land and water use decisions are debated. Every state has economists who can help provide this data and perspective, he said.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Winden told convention participants.
Mitigating Climate Change through Conservation at the Landscape Level
Mitigating the most damaging effects of climate changes requires a comprehensive approach, including scaling up conservation at the landscape level. At the national convention, participants heard from experts on the topic of harnessing natural resources to combat climate change.
Panelists discussed the importance of protecting wetlands, grasslands and other natural resources; climate change impacts on human health; opportunities for conservation practices on agricultural lands; and ways to get involved with advocacy to move the needle. Speakers included Jayne Black, Wisconsin Field Consultant for Moms Clean Air Force, and Jared Mott and Kate Hansen, the League’s Conservation Director and Agriculture Program Director, respectively.
National Officers Elected
Elections for National Officers were also held at the national convention. New officers are:
- President: Scott Meyer, Lakeville, Minnesota
- Vice President: Jim Storer, Willougby, Ohio
- Secretary: Anita Stonebraker, Montgomery Village, Maryland
- Treasurer: Craig Enneking, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Other topics at the national convention included a panel discussions on harnessing natural resources to combat climate change, how League scholarships foster careers in conservation, national awards and a well-attended Youth Convention.
Staff Report
The Izaak Walton League staff prepares a report to the Board of Directors every six months. The report for January through June 2025 can be downloaded here.
Your kit will include a bottle containing 25 nitrate test strips which you can use to test your water source(s) throughout the year. You’ll also receive postcards explaining how to use your nitrate test strips and how to share your Nitrate Watch results on the Clean Water Hub.
Your kit will include four test strips so you can test your waterway throughout the season. You’ll also receive a chart to help you interpret your results and a postcard with instructions for completing a Salt Watch test and reporting your findings.