[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 151 (Thursday, September 19, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7779-H7780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       OUR ESTUARIES: NATIONAL RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY TREASURES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Posey) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, today I join millions of my fellow Americans 
in recognizing National Estuaries Week, which extends from September 14 
to September 21.
  We know that estuaries are those places where freshwaters or rivers 
meet the seas. Estuaries are also places where biodiversity is often at 
its zenith. They are the ecologies of our coastal communities. Wherever 
a watershed empties into the sea, we find an estuary.
  My home in Florida is part of an estuary called the Indian River 
Lagoon, where the fresh and salt waters mix behind barrier islands to 
form what experts recognize as the most biodiverse estuary in the 
United States of America. My community and district depend on the 
lagoon to support a broad array of activities to meet our economic, 
environmental, and recreational needs.
  My neighbors and I understand how much we depend on the lagoon. We 
strive to protect the sea turtles and the habitat of the manatees. When 
they are thriving, we know that fishermen, boaters, businesses, and, 
most importantly, our families will thrive.
  For years, I have worked for the health of the Indian River Lagoon 
and tried to help other communities keep their estuaries healthy. The 
challenges of the Indian River Lagoon are the same challenges faced by 
all the other estuaries.
  Last Congress, I joined with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to found 
the Congressional Estuary Caucus to support the National Estuary 
Program, foster research in estuary restoration and protection, and 
bring other resources to bear on sustaining our estuaries.
  National Estuaries Week is a special time for a national celebration 
of our estuary efforts and for local estuary programs within the 
national program to bring the importance of estuaries to their 
communities and involve other citizens in their work.
  An important part of these goals is to communicate the value and 
importance of our estuaries and our coasts to key decisionmakers at the 
local, State, and Federal levels. That is what we are doing right now.
  Our friends at Restore America's Estuaries tell us that last year's 
celebration was a tremendous success, as organizations and volunteers 
from across the country gathered at their local bays or riverfronts and 
classrooms to celebrate and learn about the importance of our estuaries 
and how they benefit our daily lives. More than 30,000 volunteers 
across 21 States, Canada, and Guam participated in over 105 different 
estuary events.
  Many of this year's events are posted online, and they give us a 
stunning picture of how each estuary, while being a national asset, is 
also a unique treasure to its communities. For example, in Palm Bay in 
my district, the Marine Resources Council, the Indian River Lagoon 
National Estuary Program, The Nature Conservancy of Florida, Act 2 
Technologies, and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program held a rain barrel 
workshop and auction, heard from a distinguished panel of water quality 
experts, and dined on a fine barbecue meal. A speakers panel open forum 
focused on audience participation, facilitating questions and concerns, 
as well as the opportunity to present ideas and potential problems and 
solutions for our waterways.
  We also celebrate National Estuaries Week as a time to recommit our 
effort in the caucus to achieve full funding for the National Estuary 
Program and to bring those resources to the communities that live on 
the estuaries' edge.
  We can and we must work to assure that our estuaries and our 
environment are sustained.

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