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[Pages H7779-H7780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
OUR ESTUARIES: NATIONAL RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY TREASURES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Posey) for 5 minutes.
Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, today I join millions of my fellow Americans
in recognizing National Estuaries Week, which extends from September 14
to September 21.
We know that estuaries are those places where freshwaters or rivers
meet the seas. Estuaries are also places where biodiversity is often at
its zenith. They are the ecologies of our coastal communities. Wherever
a watershed empties into the sea, we find an estuary.
My home in Florida is part of an estuary called the Indian River
Lagoon, where the fresh and salt waters mix behind barrier islands to
form what experts recognize as the most biodiverse estuary in the
United States of America. My community and district depend on the
lagoon to support a broad array of activities to meet our economic,
environmental, and recreational needs.
My neighbors and I understand how much we depend on the lagoon. We
strive to protect the sea turtles and the habitat of the manatees. When
they are thriving, we know that fishermen, boaters, businesses, and,
most importantly, our families will thrive.
For years, I have worked for the health of the Indian River Lagoon
and tried to help other communities keep their estuaries healthy. The
challenges of the Indian River Lagoon are the same challenges faced by
all the other estuaries.
Last Congress, I joined with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to found
the Congressional Estuary Caucus to support the National Estuary
Program, foster research in estuary restoration and protection, and
bring other resources to bear on sustaining our estuaries.
National Estuaries Week is a special time for a national celebration
of our estuary efforts and for local estuary programs within the
national program to bring the importance of estuaries to their
communities and involve other citizens in their work.
An important part of these goals is to communicate the value and
importance of our estuaries and our coasts to key decisionmakers at the
local, State, and Federal levels. That is what we are doing right now.
Our friends at Restore America's Estuaries tell us that last year's
celebration was a tremendous success, as organizations and volunteers
from across the country gathered at their local bays or riverfronts and
classrooms to celebrate and learn about the importance of our estuaries
and how they benefit our daily lives. More than 30,000 volunteers
across 21 States, Canada, and Guam participated in over 105 different
estuary events.
Many of this year's events are posted online, and they give us a
stunning picture of how each estuary, while being a national asset, is
also a unique treasure to its communities. For example, in Palm Bay in
my district, the Marine Resources Council, the Indian River Lagoon
National Estuary Program, The Nature Conservancy of Florida, Act 2
Technologies, and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program held a rain barrel
workshop and auction, heard from a distinguished panel of water quality
experts, and dined on a fine barbecue meal. A speakers panel open forum
focused on audience participation, facilitating questions and concerns,
as well as the opportunity to present ideas and potential problems and
solutions for our waterways.
We also celebrate National Estuaries Week as a time to recommit our
effort in the caucus to achieve full funding for the National Estuary
Program and to bring those resources to the communities that live on
the estuaries' edge.
We can and we must work to assure that our estuaries and our
environment are sustained.
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