AUGUSTA, Maine - Environmental advocates in Maine are welcoming the results of a new national survey showing widespread support among sportsmen for the revised Clean Water Act.
In May, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency finalized the act's Clean Water Rule, extending its protections to the smaller streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation's water resources.
The survey, conducted by the National Wildlife Federation, polled 1,000 registered voters across the political spectrum who identify as hunters, anglers or both. More than four-fifths of them supported the revised Act.
"I hope that our elected officials in Washington pay attention to the overwhelming bipartisan support that's been shown in this poll for insuring clean water protections," says Judy Berk, of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Berk says support was strongest in the Northeast, where 86 percent of those polled were in favor of the new measures.