Membership Meetings

2019 Membership Meeting

Defending Our Waters - Water Protection Network 2019 Membership Meeting

The Water Protection Network’s 2019 Membership Meeting on October 29 and 30 in Washington, DC was a great success! We had nearly 60 people coming together from 17 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, DC, representing 36 organizations. Thank you to all those who made the meeting possible, including all of our WPN member attendees, the WPN Steering Committee, guest speakers, and our sponsors!

In the course of two days, our meeting included:

  • Meetings with senators, representatives, and staff in 58 Congressional offices to advocate for our bedrock environmental laws, for mainstreaming natural infrastructure use, and for better accounting of ecosystem services in the Corps’ benefit-cost analysis process.
  • Sessions with 16 speakers and moderators – including environmental scientists, natural infrastructure policy experts, former USGS and Corps of Engineers staff, and more – talking about river management and mismanagement impacts, natural infrastructure solutions, advancing equity and inclusion, strategies to stop or improve Corps projects, and legislative priorities for promoting natural infrastructure in water resources planning.
  • Keynote speech and discussion with the Honorable Jo-Ellen Darcy, Former Assistant Secretary to the Army-Civil Works.
  • Reception sponsored by the McKnight Foundation for network members and speakers to connect.

Click here for more information about the meeting sessions, speakers, and sponsors, and for links to presentations and handouts from the meeting.

If you are interested in joining the WPN Steering Committee or have suggestions for Steering Committee candidates, please email Melissa Samet at sametm@nwf.org.

Past Meetings

Water Protection Network 2017 Meeting

The Network held its 2017 membership meeting in Birmingham, AL. The meeting focused on achieving large-scale environmental victories in the current political environment in accordance with our new strategic plan. The meeting included a field trip to the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center and optional canoe trip where attendees had the option to canoe or enjoy other outdoor activities while networking with their peers.
View agenda.

Water Protection Network 2015 Membership Meeting

The Network held its 2015 membership meeting in Washington, D.C. More than 70 members, scientists, policy makers and natural resource managers came together to talk about opportunities and tools for modernizing water resources projects and policies to ensure a sustainable future.
View agenda, photos, and more.

Water Protection Network 2012 Membership Meeting

The Network held its 2012 membership meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. More than 100 members, scientists, policy makers and natural resource managers came together to learn lessons from the record-breaking Mississippi River floods of 2011 and identify ways to work with nature to protect communities.
View agenda.

Corps Reform Network 2010 Membership Meeting

The Corps Reform Network (now the Water Protection Network) held its 2010 Membership Meeting in Washington DC. Eighty Network members and partners joined with scientists, economists, and high-level Obama Administration officials to identify opportunities for improving floodplain management and meeting the challenges of climate change. The meeting featured one-on-one trainings, a cruise on the Potomac River, and member presentations to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works and top-ranking officials from the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
View agenda.

Corps Reform Network 2007 Membership Meeting
The Corps Reform Network held its 2007 Membership Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fifty Network members and local activists joined with community leaders, scientists, and Corps of Engineers staff to identify and advance opportunities for protecting communities by reforming the Corps of Engineers. The meeting included a press conference releasing a report on why the Corps of Engineers proposal to widen the Industrial Lock and Canal was a misplaced priority and a hazard to the residents of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward.
View agenda.

Corps Reform Network 2006 Membership Meeting

The Corps Reform Network held its 2006 Membership Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. Network members joined local activists, community leaders, and Corps of Engineers staff to talk about the Corps, Katrina, and Restoration. The meeting included tours of the Kissimmee River restoration project and Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge to learn about progress and challenges in large scale restoration efforts.
View agenda.