Defend Rivers Campaign will launch with River Celebration Flotilla, Barbecue Luncheon on the Alabama River
What: Over 100 people will celebrate the launch of Defend Rivers Campaign with a flotilla on the Alabama River and barbecue luncheon. Space will be provided for media on a pontoon boat that will accompany the flotilla and representatives from Alabama environmental organizations will take questions about the Defend Rivers Campaign and statewide water issues from media during the luncheon at Riverfront Park.
Where: Put-in at Montgomery Marina, 617 Shady Street, Montgomery, AL. Lunch, speakers, and a drinking water toast will be at Riverfront Park, 355 Commerce Street, Montgomery, AL. Participants will take out at Powder Magazine Park, 228 Eugene Street, Montgomery, AL and shuttles will be provided back to the Montgomery Marina.
When: Friday, July 18, 2014. Participants will meet from 9-9:30 am at Montgomery Marina. They will then travel to Riverfront Park where they will pause for photos and a barbecue lunch catered by Dreamland. A detailed agenda is available here.
About the Launch of Defend Rivers Campaign
MONTGOMERY, Ala. On Friday, July 18, 2014, the Alabama Rivers Alliance will launch the Defend Rivers Campaign as more than 100 people from over two dozen organizations travel down the Alabama River in a bright flotilla of boats, including patrol boats from Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Coosa Riverkeeper and kayaks and canoes compliments of Coosa Outdoor Center and The Nature Conservancy.
The flotilla will stop at the Riverfront Park for a barbecue luncheon, a drinking water toast to Alabama’s waterways, a group photo, and a press conference to discuss the campaign with media.
“Most concerned citizens and river advocacy groups lack big money to hire professional lobbyists or buy expensive advertisements to influence policy, but we do have a voice. We expect our elected officials to represent us as constituents,” stated Cindy Lowry, executive director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. “The Defend Rivers Campaign is about helping people be involved in government and let their elected officials know that they care about our rivers and that they want legislators to vote to protect rivers.”
The Defend Rivers Campaign will engage citizens across Alabama in raising awareness of water issues and communicating their significance to state elected officials and those seeking to become elected officials. Citizens can participate by signing the Defend Rivers Pledge at www.DefendRivers.org. Over a hundred Alabama citizens have already taken the pledge and thousands more signatures are needed to ensure that Alabama’s rivers have a voice in government.
The Alabama Rivers Alliance is Alabama’s statewide, nonprofit, water protection organization. Networking over fifty grassroots water protection organizations across Alabama at the local level and advocating smart planning and reasonable laws at the state level, we work to ensure healthy waters for future generations by empowering the citizens of Alabama to protect our waterways. Learn more at AlabamaRivers.org.