'This Would Have Serious, Real-World Impacts.' Why the EPA's Rule Change on Water Protections Would Be a Disaster for Fish and WildlifeAmericans...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
Americans can still comment on the proposal, which would strip protections from thousands of miles of tributary streams and an estimated 80 percent of our inventoried wetlands
By Dac Collins
Published Dec 19, 2025 5:02 PM EST
A fisherman releases a small brook trout in a rocky stream.
An angler releaseas a small brook trout in a headwater stream. Photo by Joe Klementovich / Getty Images
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A proposed rule change announced by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers in November should alarm everyone who cares about fish and wildlife. That proposal seeks to redefine the kinds of waters that can be regulated under the Clean Water Act — referred to in federal parlance as “the Waters of the United States” or WOTUS. It would narrow the current definitions to “relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies” and “wetlands that are connected and indistinguishable from such waterbodies.”
Conservation groups and water experts warn that under this interpretation, thousands of miles of tributary streams would lose federal protections, along with much of our national wetlands inventory. According to a regulatory impact analysis conducted by the EPA, upwards of 80% of our mapped wetlands would lose protections.
“This just ignores the fundamentals of how our landscape functions,” says Adam Schellhammer, mid-Atlantic regional director for American Rivers. “Our understanding of what that natural landscape should look like is already skewed, which is part of that shifting baseline syndrome that we all have now. And to see the protections on our remaining wetlands [and other waterways] being threatened in such a way is extremely concerning on a number of different levels.”
The EPA’s proposal is not a sure thing yet. A public comment period will remain open until Jan. 5, so Americans still have a little over two weeks to voice their opposition to the rule change. You can take action by commenting directly through the federal register, or by calling your representatives in Congress.
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https://www.outdoorlife.com/opinion/epa-rule-change-disastrous-for-fish-wildlife/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/environmentTaxonomy
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