Senator
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: Support the Water Resources Development Act of 2006

Dear Senator ,

As a citizen and taxpayer deeply concerned about the health of our environment and the need to leave our children a living planet, I urge you to help restore America’s natural resources by cosponsoring and actively supporting S. 728, the Water Resources Development Act of 2006 (WRDA 2006). This important bill would authorize unprecedented spending for ecosystem restoration projects, including Everglades, Upper Mississippi River, Coastal Louisiana, and Great Lakes. The bill should also include Senator Nelson's Apalachicola dredging de-authorization amendment and Corps modernization provisions for independent review of costly or controversial Corps projects.

Two crucial Everglades restoration projects—Indian River Lagoon and Picayune Strand—would mitigate harmful federal drainage projects, restore more than 160,000 acres of wetlands and significant estuarine habitat, and help secure Florida’s tourism and outdoor recreation economy. The Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, in its first 15-year increment, would restore 105,000 acres of habitat, protect 35,000 acres of floodplain habitat in five states along the river, and will include a significant monitoring program. The Coastal Louisiana Restoration program would begin to reverse a devastating pattern of land loss, protecting important habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife, as well as the region’s economy and quality of life. The bill would also permanently authorize the Asian Carp Barrier, to protect the Great Lakes from the looming threat of habitat loss.

Ecosystem restoration projects for the Everglades, the Mississippi River, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, and the Great Lakes are urgently overdue. Please act to restore some of America’s greatest natural treasures by supporting S. 728.Ecosystem restoration projects for the Everglades, the Mississippi River, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, and the Great Lakes are urgently overdue. Please act to restore some of America’s greatest natural treasures by supporting S. 728.