They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We think a map is too.

Last year, President Trump directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers to repeal the 2015 Clean Water Rule that clarified which waters are protected by the Clean Water Act - and which are exempt. The president also directed EPA and the Corps to replace the rule with a new one based on a minority opinion by late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that sought to dramatically limit the waters protected by the Clean Water Act.

Justice Scalia argued that the Clean Water Act should only protect streams that flow continuously all year. (Read more in our feature article.) How many streams would that really affect? We created visual tools to demonstrate the damage this approach could have on water quality.

This map shows a section of central Iowa around Des Moines. The blue lines are streams and rivers that flow year-round under just about any weather condition. The red lines are "intermittent" streams that may not always have water in them. These intermittent streams are tributaries of the Des Moines River, the Skunk River, and eventually the Mississippi River.

It's easy to see the multiplying effect of removing pollution protections for the streams in red. Yet these tributaries - and streams like them across the country - are exactly what the administration is targeting to lose Clean Water Act protections.

League staff developed maps like this for other areas across the country with dense populations of Ikes. We also created a two-page fact sheet that provides an overview of what's at stake if these streams lose Clean Water Act protections. Visit iwla.org/CWA to download these resources.

Clean water is essential to every hunter, angler, and outdoor enthusiast. It's also essential to everyone who drinks water (that's all of us!). We invite you to use these materials to educate others in your community about what's at stake and encourage them to take action when the new policy is released for public comment.