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Executive Director s Perspective he critical need to safeguard freshwater ecosystems is addressed in the recently published Worldwatch Paper entitled Liquid Assets, by Sandra Postel. This article focuses on what is essentially the mission of the Freshwater Society, and should be required reading for all who acknowledge that vital freshwater resources are seriously threatened.. After a factual and compelling assessment of the damage of the world's freshwater resources and how the damage occurred, Postel details the tasks involved with preserving and maintaining healthy watersheds for drinking water, food, and ecosystems, and establishing appropriate water. policies for the 21st century. The latter task is the most challenging in the current political milieu. The following activities must occur to successfully achieve Postel's proposed tasks: • Make watershed protection an integral part of drinking water supply and rural development; • Inventory the state of health of all freshwater ecosystems; • Restrict river modification, groundwater withdrawal, nutrient discharges, and watershed degradation; • Operate dams to better resemble natural flow; • Encourage water trading and payments for activities that achieve ecological goals; • Reduce irrigation subsidies, establish efficiency incentives, and institute tiered water pricing. to encourage conservation; • Boost investment in affordable irrigation technologies to increase irrigation productivity; • Encourage rain fed crop production; • Increase monitoring .and surveillance of stream flows and watershed conditions; and; • Edtic~te the public bn how their choices affect freshwater resources, and encouragepublic participat ~n' in watermanagement systems. ~" f},~~e are e}earh~ a`list c,f kP~~ policies that are needed on every level of ~overnmeilt; and in maior_:== -CC~I-i~Ul~~ifl' l~~'c'f~1ll~~il~ fO~):1 (... ~nr tile' ~,U~llit' i~t l~lll~ ~relll~_~hi ri`,ul.~rCe. ~ ^) - ~' ~-~ ~ ~ ' _. Gam, - - ,_ . '1.~.~~~uli~c I)iri~~li~r Governor Pawlenty Acknowledges Freshwater Society leaders Kicking off RiverNight '05 aboard the Centennial Showboat docked at Harriet Island, Governor Tun Pawlenty celebrated the wealth of Minnesota`s water resources. "Minnesota is the land of lakes and the region of rivers. Clean water is an important part of our quality of life;' noted Governor Pawlenty. Attending as the Guest of Honor, Governor Pawlenty expressed his gratitude for the efforts of private citizens in protecting and improving Minnesota's waters. He acknowledged the long-time achievements of Dick Gray and Dick Caldecott -founders of the Freshwater Society almost 40 years ago. "I'm proud of the leadership and initiative shown by these community leaders who have done a great deal to protect and improve water resources. Citizens stepping forward to address local water issues have made an important and positive difference across the state. I applaud their work and encourage all Minnesotans to follow their example of conservation and stewardship." Governor Tim Pawlenty and his Water Cabinet were the guests of honor this year. The Governor shared his vision for the waters of Minnesota with over 200 guests and honored citizens and communities for their outstanding efforts in river conservation. ~.; FACETS October 2005