Water Rangers

The Water Rangers team has continued to expand the program to more communities throughout the country. In July, the team hosted a virtual training for a community in New York and an in-person training in Ohio. The in-person training included 16 participants from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. The training included information on local industrial livestock facilities, possible sources of contamination, aerial images, and how to collect and analyze water samples. It was an important meeting for the community that catalyzed action. This year, the team has hosted 16 trainings for nearly 100 participants. 

The team has continued to implement the culturally appropriate outreach plan and conduct extensive outreach to Native Nations in Wisconsin and Michigan, with assistance from Indigenous consultant Bazile Panek of Good Sky Guidance. They have meetings scheduled with the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council, Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu, and the Lac Vieux Desert Tribe (Michigan). 

The team has continued collaborating with the Community Support program to connect impacted communities to resources or training opportunities and with the Food & Farm Network to engage Water Rangers volunteers in public comment periods and policy opportunities. Recently, Water Rangers collaborated with FFN to engage program participants and network contacts in a public comment period for the recently convened EPA Animal Agriculture and Water Quality Subcommittee.