Watershed group changes name, mission
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
The Hailey-based environmental group Idaho Watersheds
Project has changed its name.
Now called the Western Watersheds Project (WWP), the
organization believes its new name will better reflect a change in the
group’s geographic emphasis.
The group’s board made the decision to change the name
on Feb. 9. Also at that time, the board adopted a new mission statement:
"Working to protect and restore Western watersheds by educational
outreach, public policy initiatives, litigation and by ending incompatible
uses of public lands."
The first initiative under the new mission statement fits
right in with the group’s active work against ranching: "End public
lands ranching."
"This change is a reflection of the public lands work
WWP has taken on in states outside Idaho as well as a broader west-wide
focus on public policy related to the use of public lands," states a
WWP press release.
WWP is also entering into long-term partnerships with an
array of other environmental groups, including the Southern Utah
Wilderness Alliance and Willow Creek Ecology, both in Utah, and the
Gallatin Wildlife Association in Montana.
To check out WWP’s new Web site, go to (www.westernwatersheds.org).