AFS Water Quality Section

04/21/2026

All,

Much is happening in the world of instream flow and water level conservation!

The web sites for the joint Instream Flow Council and American Fisheries Society's Instream Flow & Water Level Conservation (IFWLC) Project to establish a "National Center for Ecologically Sustainable Water Conservation & Management (Center)" were updated April 13, 2026.

Water 💧Training Project Center Home Page
https://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/training-center/

Water 💧Training Center RFIQ Processes Page
https://www.instreamflowcouncil.org/training-center-rfiq/

If unfamiliar with this project, the Center will be hosted by Oregon state University and supported by a consortium of partnering institutions in the United States and in Canada.

The Center will offer continuing education and related support services to all types of water stakeholders to ensure a combination of human and ecological uses of freshwater and estuarine water sources (surface and ground) will be managed on a sustainable integrated basis.

Specific to the AFS community, the Center will contribute to improved water quantity management allocation outcomes that will conserve (protect, restore, and enhance) adequate amounts of clean lotic and lentic sources of water required to sustain fish production and habitats.

Please reach out to Christopher Estes if you have any questions.

Establishing a New National Center for Ecologically Sustainable Water Conservation & Management (Center) Using a Request for Statements of Interest and Qualifications, RFIQ (multi-stage Process and Timeline) Latest Update: April 13, 2026 See Water Training Center home page for ALL other Center backg...

04/16/2026

THE SENATE IS VOTING ON THE BOUNDARY WATERS RIGHT NOW!
Tonight, while most people are watching TV or putting their kids to bed, the U.S. Senate is taking a vote that could permanently end protections for one of the most beloved wilderness areas in America.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota 1.1 million acres of pristine lakes, rivers, and forest. The most visited wilderness in the entire country. And tonight, the Senate is voting on whether to open it to copper mining.
The vote is happening as you read this. The resolution is H.J. Res. 140. It uses the Congressional Review Act to strip a 20-year mining ban protecting 225,000 acres of the Superior National Forest that feeds directly into the Boundary Waters watershed.
A few minutes ago, the Senate voted 51-48 just to proceed. That margin tells you everything about where this is headed.
Here’s what makes this especially infuriating: the mine would be operated by Twin Metals a subsidiary of a Chilean company with a deal to smelt the copper in China. Foreign company with foreign profits. American wilderness destroyed. China gets the copper. We get the pollution.
And if it passes? It’s not just a setback you can undo in four years. The Congressional Review Act has a poison pill once a protection is overturned this way, no future president can ever issue a similar one again without a brand new act of Congress.
The Boundary Waters wouldn’t just lose its protections tonight. It would lose them permanently.

04/13/2026

Innovative Technologies for Assessing Chemicals of Emerging Concern Impacts to Fisheries Resources ( # 47)

We invite you to submit an abstract for our Symposium, which will be held at the 2026 National meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Columbus, OH by April 22. The meeting runs from August 30-Sept 3. Our symposium will address potential impacts of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs), such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, PFAS/PFOS, plastic additives/microplastics, newer pesticides/herbicides, and engineered nanomaterials on aquatic food webs. In this symposium, the Water Quality Section (WQS) is seeking presenters who can help answer the following questions: (1) how do CECs directly or indirectly impact fisheries resources, (2) whether there are compounds with low detection limits (e.g.,pyrethroids) in storm water runoff that may contribute to downstream chronic health problems in fish and their food webs, and (3) what technological advances or methods are available to help fisheries and water quality agencies detect, remove, and/or monitor CECs to safeguard these resources and the consumers of contaminated fish. We invite members to contribute presentation abstracts. Following the symposium, plan to join us for a roundtable discussion. Submit your abstract here: https://afsannualmeeting.fisheries.org/call-for-abstracts/.

04/11/2026

Remember residents of Kingston, TN and others where large spills and worker deaths during cleanups occurred.

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed weakening rules for the disposal of ash produced by burning coal that can contain hazardous heavy metals and contaminate groundwater.

04/11/2026

The Alt National Park Service reports that The EPA is forcing 124 of its scientists and researchers to accept reassignments and 35 of them are being told to pack up and move to a new city if they want to keep their jobs.

This isn’t a reorganization it’s a shutdown. The Trump administration is dissolving the EPA’s entire Office of Research and Development the division responsible for the science behind clean air and water standards.

No ORD means no independent research. No chemical risk assessments. No scientific firewall between industry lobbyists and federal health policy. They’re not just cutting jobs. They’re cutting the part of the EPA that tells us the truth.

03/10/2026

The Water Quality Section will be hosting a symposium at the 2026 annual American Fisheries Society conference in Columbus, OH. It will happen some time between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3 (symposia are generrally on the first or second day of the conference. We are looking for contributions from you…the water quality professionals, especially from young and upcoming scientists and managers that are developing innovastive technologies and methods. In this symposium, we explore the following questions: (1) how do CECs directly or indirectly impact fisheries resources (fish/shellfish, habitats, and/or consumers), (2) are there compounds with low detection limits (e.g., pyrethroids) in storm water runoff that may contribute to downstream chronic health problems in fish and their food webs, and (3) what technological advances or methods are available to help fisheries and water quality agencies detect, remove, and/or monitor CECs to safeguard these resources and the consumers of contaminated fish. Abstract submission will open up soon at fisheries.org for the conference, so get yours ready!

08/12/2025

The Chinese billionaire and founder of Alibaba purchased 28,100 acres of wilderness in New York’s Adirondack Mountains in 2015 and turned it into a wildlife sanctuary. According to Good News Network, the property, known as Brandon Park, includes nine miles of the Saint Regis River, trout streams, forests, lakes, ponds, and even a maple syrup operation.

Ma paid $23 million for the land and plans to halt all logging and mining activity, preserving the area’s biodiversity and protecting its timber and water resources.

This is Ma’s first conservation investment outside China, and he’s reportedly forming a nonprofit entity to manage the land. He’s also a board member of The Nature Conservancy, reflecting his growing commitment to global environmental stewardship.

06/13/2025

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/abbott-signs-law-permitting-use-of-fracking-wastewater/287-89df9861-29c7-4faa-b658-d651f94013ae

Texas farmers and environmentalists worry that a new law allowing fracking wastewater reuse could threaten land and water safety.

05/20/2025

PFAS in fishmeal gets into eggs.

Humans are generally exposed to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through their diet. Whilst plenty of data are available on commercial food …

03/07/2025

https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-epa-water-ruling-amy-coney-barrett-2039691

Justice Amy Coney Barrett said the Supreme Court reached a "puzzling" conclusion in a case on water regulations issued by the EPA.