Temperatures are rising, neotropical birds are returning to our rivers, and the Arizona Legislature has adjourned.  This can only mean one thing – spring is fading and summer is on its way!  This spring, the Network was more activated than ever with over 3,000 individual actions taken.  Your voice was heard, and we thank you for your efforts.  Read on to learn more about how your actions had a positive impact on Arizona’s rivers and the birds, other wildlife, habitats, communities, and economies that depend on them.

• Senate Bill 1309: A proposed strike-everything amendment to this legislation was another attack on Arizona’s Groundwater Management Act.  If passed, it would have limited the ability of the Arizona Department of Water Resources to manage groundwater in the Pinal Active Management Area (AMA) – adding uncertainty around water supplies, putting current business and property owners at risk, and discouraging future investment in the area. In addition, it could have opened the doors to future rule changes in other AMAs and put groundwater, rivers, habitat, birds, and other wildlife in jeopardy throughout the state.  Thanks in part to WRAN, this bill stalled out after passing out of the House Rules Committee.
   
• House Bill 2112:  This bill would have made a change to the election process for members of the Central Arizona Water Conservation District board of directors, requiring that candidates include their part affiliation on the ballot.  Thanks to the nearly 600 of you who told your legislators that water management and partisan politics don’t mix, this bill was amended in committee to remove this new requirement.
   
• Funding the Arizona Department of Water Resources: In his proposed budget, Governor Doug Ducey proposed an increase in funding for the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).  Over 400 of you spoke up to support this forward-thinking funding request and the Legislature responded by approving a $3.2 million increase for the agency.  This increase will allow the ADWR to continue its efforts to protect our water resources through statewide planning and innovation and will help the agency to conserve water in Lake Mead by executing the multi-state Drought Contingency Plan.  Take action one last time this season and thank your leaders for supporting this funding!
   

Your actions did more than inspire positive legislative change. They also showed our leaders that WRAN’s collaborative, non-partisan, and science-based approach to riparian conservation is a force to be reckoned with.  As our membership and reputation grow, we expect even greater victories for Arizona’s rivers.

Thank you for taking action!

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