The America the Beautiful
Freshwater
Challenge

Today, during Earth Week, the White House is convening state, Tribal, and local leaders from across the country for a White House Water Summit where the Administration is announcing a new national goal and partnership to conserve and restore freshwater resources. The America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge: A Partnership to Conserve and Restore America’s Rivers, Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands sets a bold, new national goal to protect, restore, and reconnect 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of our nation’s river and streams.

To achieve the new national freshwater protection goal and to ensure that our freshwater resources are protected for current and future generations, the Biden-Harris Administration is also launching the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, a new initiative that calls on all states and other governments and entities, including Tribes, interstate organizations, cities, and local communities, to advance their own policies and strategies for conserving and restoring America’s freshwater systems. The over 100 inaugural members that have already signed on to support freshwater restoration in their communities include seven states, eight Tribes, and 24 local governments.

Inaugural members include:

• State of California
• State of Colorado
• State of Connecticut
• State of Illinois
• State of Maryland
• State of New Jersey
• State of New York
• State of North Carolina
• State of Oregon
• State of Washington
• The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
• The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon
• Gila River Indian Community
• Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
• Navajo Nation
• Nez Perce Tribe
• The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
• Yurok Tribe
• Benton Harbor, MI
• Bethlehem, NY
• Chapel Hill, NC
• Cleveland, OH
• Clinton, IA
• Detroit, MI
• Durham County, NC
• Durham, NC
• East Chicago, IN
• Erie, PA
• Gary, IN
• Green Bay, WI
• Gretna, LA
• La Crosse, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Mount Vernon, NY
• Muskegon, MI
• Racine, WI
• Raleigh, NC
• Rochester, NY
• Sheboygan, WI
• Tampa, FL
• Vicksburg, MS
• Waukegan, IL
• Alliance for Great Lakes
• American Canoe Association
• American Rivers
• American Whitewater
• Amigos Bravos
• Association of State Floodplain Managers
• Bayou City Waterkeeper
• Center for American Progress
• Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
• Columbia Riverkeeper
• Conservation Science Partners
• Ducks Unlimited
• Earthjustice
• Ecological Restoration Business Association
• Ecosystem Investment Partners
• Environmental Advocates NY
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Environmental Policy Innovation Center
• FLOW (For Love of Water)
• Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
• Hispanic Access Foundation
• Holdfast Collective
• Hudson Riverkeeper
• Hydropower Reform Coalition
• League of Conservation Voters
• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
• Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative
• National Audubon Society
• National Parks Conservation Association
• National Wildlife Federation
• Native American Rights Fund
• Native Americans in Philanthropy
• Natural Lands Trust
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• New York League of Conservation Voters
• Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
• Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project
• Ohio Environmental Council
• Outdoor Alliance
• Outdoor Industry Association
• Patagonia
• Pisces Foundation
• PolicyLink
• Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC
• Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group
• Rio Grande International Study Center
• River Network
• Southern Environmental Law Center
• Surfrider Foundation
• The Conservation Alliance
• The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
• The Laural Foundation
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Pew Charitable Trusts
• The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
• The Water Council
• Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
• Trout Unlimited
• Under Solen Media
• Unleaded Kids
• Upper Snake River Tribes
• Water Foundation
• WE ACT
• We the People of Detroit
• Westervelt Ecological Services
• World Wildlife Fund
• Young, Gifted & Green

Full text of the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge is available here.