2013 MOHAWK WATERSHED SYMPOSIUM
Keynote Speaker: REBECCA R. WODDER
Rebecca Wodder is currently the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior in Washington DC working primarily on conservation issues and the "America’s Great Outdoors" initiative. She served as president of American Rivers from 1995 to 2011, a national nonprofit conservation organization that is working to protect and restore the nation’s rivers and streams. While at American Rivers, she led efforts to help communities restore the health of their rivers through a variety of conservation measures including the creation of river trails, dam removal, and practices to safeguard clean water. In 2010, she was recognized as one of the Top 25 Outstanding Conservationists by Outdoor Life, and in 1998 she was named Woman of the Year by the American Sportfishing Association.
She is currently an advocate for the National Blueways System, which was established by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in May 2012 to recognize rivers conserved through stakeholder partnerships. This effort places an emphasis on a "headwaters to mouth" approach to river conservation, and thus the entire watershed is considered in conservation efforts. National Blueways are nationally recognized rivers and their watersheds that are highly-valued recreational, social, economic, cultural, and ecological assets for the communities that depend on them.
From 1981 to 1994, she served at The Wilderness Society in several capacities, including Vice President for Organizational Development, and Vice President for Membership, Marketing and Development. from 1978 to 1980 she was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson in Wisconsin on environmental and energy issues. She began her career as an Environmental Planner for the Leo A. Daly Company, Architects, Engineers and Planners, preparing environmental impact statements and developing environmental components of large-scale engineering projects. A native of Nebraska, she has a B.A. in Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Kansas, an M.S. in Landscape Architecture and an M.S. in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Modified from: DOI press release
Modified from: Fish passage Conference