BWRiverkeeper
@BWRiverkeeper
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Our mission is to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries. Member of @Waterkeeper and @WaterkeepersA.
Alabama
Joined March 2009
100,000 Pounds of Litter Removed by Black Warrior Riverkeeper Cleanups! Huge THANK YOU to all our partners! Full story:
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Warm Warrior Welcome to the newest member of our Board of Directors, Harmony Mendoza:
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What a way to start 2018 in Alabama: the Black Warrior waterdog is now protected under the Endangered Species Act! Here is a statement by our staff attorney, Eva Dillard, followed by a press release by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
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Mac Hereford: Black Warrior Riverkeeper member, Dunk Tank Warrior, and 2019 Winner of Alabama Football’s Derrick Thomas Community Service Award.
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#DunkTank = #Diploma! Congratulations to #Riverkeeper member and @AlabamaFTBL #CommunityService Award winner @Mac_Hereford for graduating!
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Black Warrior Riverkeeper's 20th Anniversary started September 25, 2021! Please help propel us for the next 20 years by donating here:
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Many thanks to @jackjohnson and @allatonceorg for supporting us at @TuscaloosaAmp tonight and @TNRiverkeeper, our fellow Waterkeeper, in Nashville Wednesday. Excellent music and philanthropy:
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The voters have spoken: Alabamians support public lands for #hunting and #fishing. How many times do we have to tell our elected officials to keep Alabama Forever Wild? Save our #ForeverWild program! Tell your state legislators today to vote NO on HB 362:
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New friend at Smith Lake: a juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtle. The Black Warrior River basin is home to 127 freshwater species of fish, 36 species of mussels, 33 species of crayfish, 15 #turtle species, and numerous other aquatic animals.
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Merry Christmas from Swann Bluff! Photo by Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke.
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A fish kill is ongoing in Valley Creek in West Birmingham. If anyone has any information regarding dumping or discharges into the storm sewer system in Birmingham, please let us know. DCNR is currently counting dead fish.
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“Alabama ranks first in North America in number of turtle species. We just added another one to the list.” -@now_bham
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Seth Self, @UofAlabama student from #Cullman, wins Munson scholarship for Black Warrior Riverkeeper internship. For immediate release:
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Due to our input, ADEM will now require the world's largest chicken rendering plant, American Proteins, to enhance its plan to reduce solids in its effluent, and double its stormwater tests for E. coli and TSS. American Proteins caused a major 2016 fish kill on the Mulberry Fork.
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Our great nation’s symbol of #Freedom, the bald #eagle nearly vanished 40 years ago due to #pesticide #pollution. Thanks to #bipartisan #regulation, the #EndangeredSpeciesAct, and its enforcement by #environmental groups, #eagles now soar across #America. Happy Independence Day!
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Rest in Peace, #CecilHurt, a true legend in the realms of #Alabama #football and #journalism, a Black Warrior Riverkeeper member, and a relatively #unsung #hero in #conservation, as shown by the attached photo and this @now_bham article about #ForeverWild:
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Tyler Harris, a student at #UWA, has been doing several solo and small group #litter #cleanups around #Demopolis, #Livingston and #Tuscaloosa. Follow his great example:
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Grateful to #UAB Football players and coaches who joined us for an inspiring cleanup at #Birmingham's A.G. Gaston Park in the pouring rain yesterday! @UAB_FB removed 332.9 pounds of litter from this historic public park in the Black Warrior River basin, the #WatershedOfChampions!
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Although the legendary Bama Belle paddlewheel riverboat no longer hosts events, it is definitely not dormant. Our #Riverkeeper spotted it today while he was patrolling the Mulberry Fork!
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April 29 is #ArborDay, and there are so many reasons to love and plant #trees. Here are just a few. #HappyArborDay!
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“We are eager to promote the Fish Guide hotline because we do want Alabamians to be able to make informed decisions about eating certain fish they catch.” -@CharlesScribner to @buzz_bama on #FishGuide by @WaterkeepersA and @CoosaRiverkeepr .
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These @UofAlabama Environmental Health students collected 95 pounds of trash from #Tuscaloosa’s beautiful Hurricane Creek Park during one of our many recent #AmeriCorps #cleanups. Special thanks to @PARATuscaloosa for removing the #litter the volunteers gathered.
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“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.” The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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For Immediate Release: Black Warrior Riverkeeper Sues Warrior Met Coal
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Black Warrior Riverkeeper and countless allies mourn the death of Judy Butler, a longtime leader of Abahac, Inc., an outstanding force in the Alabama environmental movement. Rest in Peace, Judy.
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Black Warrior Riverkeeper's 20th Anniversary begins Saturday, September 25! Check out our new timeline of "Watershed Moments" since 2001:
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Black Warrior Riverkeeper Files Notice of Intent to Sue Drummond for Pumping Polluted Water. For Immediate Release:
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Got a great email today from Buddy Vines, owner of Buddy Vines Camp on the Black Warrior:. “After the rain we had this week, the river is up slightly, the water stained, and a fair current. But, as you can see, there is almost NO FLOATING TRASH! The Litter Gitters are working!”
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The Sipsey Fork, one of the Black Warrior’s three major tributaries, is federally designated as Alabama’s only Wild & Scenic River along its upper reaches, where its headwater originate within the 24,962-acre Sipsey Wilderness and Bankhead National Forest. Photo by Nelson Brooke.
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Good morning from the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River! Photo by Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke.
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Flattened musk turtle (sternotherus depressus), #Alabama’s only native #turtle! This special critter is #endemic to the Black Warrior River watershed. A #threatened species under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct, this turtle’s existence is imperiled by water pollution. #WorldTurtleDay
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The Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. Photo by Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke.
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Yet another reason to @VisitTuscaloosa: enjoying a Black Warrior River sunset from the Bama Belle Paddlewheel Riverboat. Photo by Craig Dodson.
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Happy World #WetlandsDay! This is a cypress and water tupelo #swamp in Hale County, where #Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke helped scientists discover a new #species: the Twisted Dwarf Crayfish. #Alabama leads the nation in #crayfish diversity, and #wetlands are vital #habitat for them.
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Happy Easter from the Black Warrior River!. Photo by Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke
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Stay out of Davis Creek in Tuscaloosa County! Warrior Met Coal’s underground Mine No. 7 is discharging coal wastewater into Texas Creek, which flows to Davis Creek, which is clear upstream. Click here for videos and more photos from our patrol yesterday:
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Found dark brown & turbid polluted water flowing from Bluestone Coke into Five Mile Creek. This toxic coke plant, which turns metallurgical coal into coke used by the steel industry, is owned by West VA Gov. Jim Justice. The facility and surrounding area are a #Superfund site.
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We patrolled the Mulberry Fork today with @CahabaRiverkeep, @CoosaRiverkeepr, and Hurricane Creekkeeper to check on impacts from @alabamapower’s Gorgas Steam Plant demolition. #Coal dust from the blast went sky high and covered the river in the vicinity of the plant.
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“Drummond Company has stopped pumping mine wastewater into a tributary that runs into the Warrior River…. That action comes after Black Warrior Riverkeeper last week threatened to file a lawsuit if the pumping didn’t stop.” -@BurkhalterEddie, @ALReporter .
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A father took his son boating on the Black Warrior this weekend and sent us these pictures and quotations about finding litter during their trip: . Father: “Let’s get this trash on the way back.”. Son: “No, let’s stop here now, I want to save the earth.”.
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Clean Water Act Victory at Drummond's Maxine Mine Site! For Immediate Release:
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“If @alabamapower was in there hauling off fish before the state could perform its investigation, then why were they doing that?” -Black Warrior #Riverkeeper to @brianpia3340, @abc3340
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Rest in Peace, John Foster of #Cordova. John spent over a decade, including a speech Monday night, opposing the Shepherd Bend and Reed mines proposed too close to the river and tap water intake. He is mourned by the #Riverkeeper and #Dovertown communities including his wife, Ann.
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Dr. Kenya Goodson, our Board’s vice president and the first Black woman to earn her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at @UofAlabama, is now @HometownAction’s new Climate and Sustainability Coordinator:
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HB 362 did not receive enough votes to pass! Many thanks to our thousands of supporters who asked their legislators to keep Alabama’s Forever Wild Program protected forever!
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We recently removed 1,463.6 lbs of #litter along the #LocustFork of the #BlackWarriorRiver in #Birmingport with help from #JeffersonCounty and #SierraClub, Alabama Chapter! Join our next #AmeriCorps #cleanups:
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Ford Imbornone is one of our hundreds of #volunteers who remove litter along the #Tuscaloosa #Riverwalk. He provides a good example of how to follow #WendellBerry’s wisdom, “Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you.”
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#Alabama has more #freshwater #mussel species than any other state. These #mussels are not #socialdistancing well but we will still protect them.
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Another trophy is headed to the #BlackWarriorRiver basin, the #WatershedOfChampions, as #Alabama wins the #SugarBowl. Photo from #Moundville by #Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke. #HappyNewYear from the river!
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Leading by example: @UofAlabama’s Sigma Alpha Mu cleans up @tuscaloosacity’s beautiful River Walk. Yet another reason to @VisitTuscaloosa!
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“In court documents, Black Warrior Riverkeeper says its staff and members documented seeps and discharges coming from the area on 21 separate occasions between May 2021 and August 2022.” -@dennispillion, @aldotcom
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Our volunteers recently removed 706 lbs of trash from Sander’s Ferry Road in the Black Warrior River watershed in #collaboration with Druid City Bike Club and #Tuscaloosa County. Join our next #AmeriCorps cleanups:
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We are proud to win the 2018 Outstanding River Advocate award from our wonderful colleagues at Cahaba River Society, especially since our Waterkeeper Alliance and Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham partners Cahaba Riverkeeper won it last year!
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Congratulations to our #AmeriCorps member, Rosey White, on her graduation yesterday from @UofAlabama, where she was the Department of Geography’s Outstanding Undergraduate in Environmental Science! Learn more about her service to the #WatershedOfChampions:
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“If #Tyson were fined a million dollars it would add up to .003 percent of its income – the equivalent of a cup of coffee for a guy who makes $100,000 a year. Nothing.” -@JohnArchibald on @TysonFoods’ spill:
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Eleven Conservation Groups Call for ADEM Director’s Resignation or Termination. For Immediate Release:
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Blackwater Creek, a tributary of the Black Warrior River’s Mulberry Fork, photographed by your Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Nelson Brooke. #DefendRivers
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Happy #WorldRiversDay! Help #DefendRivers: find our who your local @Waterkeeper is and support them!
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The First Church Birmingham Youth Group removed 202.4lbs of trash around Valley Creek in our #AmeriCorps #cleanup on Friday!
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Alabama needs a State Water Plan so future generations can enjoy our outdoor traditions. Learn more: #DefendRivers
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“Primitive. Ancient. Rare. These are the words that best describe Alabama’s three species of sturgeon, a fish that dates back 245 million years in fossil records.” @now_bham
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“No entity should be allowed to pollute the river in a manner which threatens drinking water and rare wildlife without being held accountable to the law.” -#Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke via @CenterForBioDiv: Flattened musk turtle photo by Joe Jenkins.
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We recently removed 301 lbs of #litter from McPherson Landing Rd with help from Northridge High School, #Tuscaloosa County, UA #Conservation #Biology Society, and @UofAlabama’s #SigmaPhiEpsilon and #PhiSigmaPi chapters! Join our next #AmeriCorps #cleanup:
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“Why help clean up the Black Warrior River? Because, he tells me, ‘It makes me feel like a superstar.’” - @RickKarle, @WVTM13, on @Mac_Hereford, @AlabamaFTBL.
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“Alabama’s largest utility plans to bury a heap of toxic coal waste in one of North America’s most biodiverse river systems. Experts say it will put one of the nation’s most pristine wetlands at risk.” -@CNN @selc_org @MobileBaykeeper.
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"Responding to hazardous material spills is a dangerous job. Wearing proper personal protective equipment is really important. This chemical respirator reduced my exposure to the toxic volatile organic compounds off-gassing from the spill while on #riverkeeperpatrol." (1/2)
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At staff meeting this week, we celebrated Nelson Brooke's 20th year as our #Riverkeeper! Nelson is the patrolman and spokesman for Alabama's 17-county Black Warrior River watershed. Learn more about Nelson and his essential role in our #Waterkeeper work:
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“Nelson Brooke—the riverkeeper. has done his own investigation, and is sure he knows where the pollution is coming from. ‘It’s 100% coming from @WarriorMetCoal’s number seven underground mine,’ Brooke, who works for the local chapter of @Waterkeeper Alliance, said.” @dharnanoor
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#Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke photographed the confluence of Black Creek and Clear Creek near Camp McDowell.
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Coal waste from Southern Red Rock in Pleasant Grove stains a stream. We wrote ADEM, "when the Department receives public criticism for failure to enforce the Clean Water Act and Alabama Water Pollution Control Act, situations like this are the reason why."
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You never know what you are going to find during an #AmeriCorps #cleanup. Sometimes it’s trash that has been there for decades, sometimes it’s creepy dolls, and sometimes it’s something completely unexpected. A year ago today, we found a dog! Meet Lou:
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Agreed — and it WILL not end here.
Now that the bribers and the bribee has been brought to justice, it is time to look at so many others involved in this case who looked the other way or were complicit in the travesty. It should not end here.
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EPA Proposes to Deny Alabama’s Unsafe Coal Ash Program, Opening Door for Public Comments! For Immediate Release:
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NEW RECORD! On Saturday we removed 4,298.7lbs of trash near Village Creek and Roebuck’s #LitterGitter! Please help us, Osprey Initiative, Keep Birmingham Beautiful, City of Birmingham and Freshwater Land Trust remove more litter there at 9AM this Saturday:
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Excited to have our first tree in #Tuscaloosa's #TinselTrail supporting Tuscaloosa's One Place, a Family Resource Center. Our #Christmas #tree includes ribbons with names of major waterways in the Black Warrior #watershed! Many thanks to Jim Colby, Heather Elliott and Tom McLeod!
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Congratulations to the #Birmingham #Stallions for winning the #USFL #championship at @ProtectiveStdm in the Black Warrior River basin, the #WatershedOfChampions!
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Happy New Year! . Photo of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River by #Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke.
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On Friday, 6 apprentices from Jones Valley Teaching Farm removed 185.4 lbs of trash with us from A.G. Gaston Park in the Black Warrior River watershed! Sign up for our monthly volunteer newsletter and next #AmeriCorps cleanups:
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“Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper, told that the settlement shows the importance of the Clean Water Act, which allows citizens or environmental groups to sue polluters to enforce environmental laws.”
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“Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Cahaba Riverkeeper joined as partners in the initiative to help protect their respective watersheds. Five of the traps are in the Black Warrior watershed, and three are on tributaries to the Cahaba.” -@aldotcom
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Good morning from the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in Jefferson County! Photo by Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper.
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Today our executive director @CharlesScribner was elected President of the #UAB National Alumni Society’s #MPA Chapter, following in the footsteps of @TheRedBarnAL’s wonderful executive director, Joy O’Neal.
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Members of the #AlphaKappaAlpha sorority at #UAB removed 171.5 lbs of litter from #Birmingham's A.G. Gaston Park in the Black Warrior River basin. Join our next #AmeriCorps cleanups:
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Ongoing gasoline spill into Village Creek. Your Riverkeeper, Nelson Brooke, is on scene documenting the fuel spill from an 18 wheeler truck on I-59 in Roebuck. A large amount of fuel spilled into the creek and has contaminated water downstream of the spill. (1/2)
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Beautiful Hurricane Creek in #Tuscaloosa, home of Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen. Photo by Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper.
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We appreciate students Rianna and Mayah who organized the #UAB Black Student Awareness Committee’s Public Service Mixture and invited @CharlesScribner to discuss opportunities to serve the community and watershed!
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