Denver— Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet led a group of his colleagues in urging U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, to fully fund the United States Forest Service (USFS) Water Source Protection Program (WSPP) for fiscal year (FY) 2023. The WSPP seeks to prevent water pollution at its source to ensure clean water for rural residents who use surface and ground water as their primary source of drinking water.
“The health of our forests, our watersheds, and our economy are deeply connected. National Forest System lands are the single most important source of water in the country and supply drinking water for close to 20 percent of the entire US population,” wrote Bennet, and his colleagues. “As growing populations and climate change place additional stress on our forests and watersheds, it is critical that Congress invest in programs that support local, collaborative solutions to these challenges.”
Funding for the WSPP is critical for rural communities in Colorado and across the country who depend on surface and ground water as their primary source of drinking water. WSPP also encourages partnerships between agricultural producers, businesses, cities, and the United States Forest Service to improve forest health, benefit downstream communities, and bring in new investments from non-federal partners to improve degraded and impaired watersheds.
In addition to Bennet, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.).
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Chair Merkley and Ranking Member Murkowski:
As your committee develops its fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill, we write to request that you fully fund the United States Forest Service (USFS) Water Source Protection Program (WSPP).
The health of our forests, our watersheds, and our economy are deeply connected. National Forest System lands are the single most important source of water in the country and supply drinking water for close to 20 percent of the entire US population. However many of these watersheds are considered “degraded” and “impaired.”
Congress authorized the Water Source Protection Program in the 2018 Farm Bill to encourage partnerships between agricultural producers, businesses, cities, and the USFS. These partnerships would improve forest health and benefit downstream communities, often bringing in significant new investments from non-federal partners. Despite widespread interest in WSPP across the country, it has not received dedicated funding.
As growing populations and climate change place additional stress on our forests and watersheds, it is critical that Congress invest in programs that support local, collaborative solutions to these challenges. Therefore, we urge you to provide at least $10 million for WSPP in FY23.
We look forward to working with you on this program.
Sincerely,