Have you listened in on the podcast How the River Flows? On this podcast you’ll hear from entrepreneurs and experts who will share their best ideas about conserving local forests while ensuring a lasting, clean supply of drinking water downstream. In each episode, they’ll bring you a new take on how local communities are financing the forest stewardship that is providing our clean water and how landowners can be financially compensated for the tremendous environmental value that their working forests provide to everyone.
How the River Flows is produced by Keeping Forests and supported by members the USDA Forest Service and US Endowment for Forestry and Communities. The Endowment works collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to identify innovative and transformative ways to support the health and vitality of our forests and the communities that rely on them. How the River Flows highlights how communities are banding together to conserve the 245 million acres of existing forests. Each episode will take a close look at the relationship between healthy forests and clean drinking water. We talk to the experts on the ground who share their best ideas for conserving local forests to ensure a lasting, clean supply of drinking water for future generations. Included in these discussions will be issues surrounding taxes and compensation, infrastructure, and voter initiatives. You’ll learn how these innovations are financed, managed and how your local community can join the effort in protecting our precious southern forests and the many benefits that they provide.
In the most recent episode, two representatives from member organizations USEPA and National Rural Water, Kara Goodwin and James Kilgo about innovative funding options available for Source Water Protection. Goodwin works with regional, state, and local partners at the EPA to integrate Source Water Protection across environmental programs. Kilgo is a water protection specialist with the South Carolina Rural Water Association, with experience working with water utilities, forest landowners, and watershed-based planning. They discuss the current fiscal challenges facing water utilities and the growing urbanization of forest lands, explaining emerging funds that support greener infrastructure and partnerships to facilitate those projects, including the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
Check out all the great episodes by visiting the Keeping Forests website https://www.keepingforests.org/podcast or you will also find it on, Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3eqLjSH), Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/30SvNJ7) and other podcast services.