A River Renewed – The AWS 2024-2028 Strategic Plan

A River Renewed – The AWS 2024-2028 Strategic Plan
October 16, 2024 by: Christopher E. Williams, Anacostia Watershed Society President & CEO

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In 2024, the Anacostia Watershed Society celebrates our 35th year. It is a perfect moment to look back and take stock of where we’ve been, and look ahead to what comes next. We are proud of our track record of success in improving the water quality of the Anacostia River, restoring vital stream and wetlands habitats throughout the watershed, and reconnecting local folks to the river and its watershed through education, volunteer and outreach programs. But we still have a lot to do to, finishing important work while we chart a course for the future. It is in this spirit of building on past progress while meeting new challenges that we present A River Renewed – The Anacostia Watershed Society Strategic Plan 2024 – 2028.

Highlights include:

  • A state-of-the-art environmental education center on the new 11th Street Bridge Park
  • A continuing commitment to a swimmable and fishable Anacostia River (Spoiler alert: These won’t be achieved by 2025 as we hoped, but success on both is in sight).
  • A campaign to make the watershed “Climate Ready by 2035.”
  • A renewed focus on ensuring our programs promote environmental justice and equity.
  • Expanded field restoration efforts including protection for native mussel beds, conservation of vernal pools, an ambitious program to restore tree canopy to the river and its wetlands, and identifying field strategies for climate resilience in watershed stream and wetlands.
  • An ambitious plan to extend the reach and increase the impact of our education programs.
  • And so much more!

In addition, the Plan includes an answer to the age-old question - what is a “watershed”, anyway? – and provides a handy guide to the history of AWS. 

Most importantly, the Plan is a guide to the future and a call to action. And it is a work in progress. Like most strategic plans that look years into the future, AWS’s plan does not have all the answers. We need to learn how to do many of the things we aspire to achieve, and we need a lot of help to achieve them. That’s where all of you come in. In the coming months, we will be looking for opportunities to listen, to learn, and to hear what your aspirations are for the watershed and the communities along its river, streams and wetlands, and how we can help. We’ll work to fill in some of the unanswered questions about how all this is going to happen, and we’re depending on supporters, partners, community activists, scientists, and public officials to enrich our work with your knowledge, experience, and insights. 

It’s always been this way. For 35 years, ever since our founder Robert Boone brought folks down to the water’s edge and asked them what they wanted the Anacostia River’s future to look like, AWS has been listening, learning, and doing. Take a look at A River Renewed for a brief look at what we intend to do next!

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