Waterkeeper Alliance a global movement uniting more than 270 Waterkeeper organizations and affiliates, recently approved a new affiliate, Seneca Lake Guardian. Joseph M Campbell and Yvonne Taylor of Gas Free Seneca are excited to extend their efforts as the Seneca Lake Guardians to protect and preserve Seneca Lake, one of New York’s Finger Lakes, by combining their firsthand knowledge of the watershed with an unwavering commitment to the rights of the community.
“Waterkeeper Alliance is thrilled to have Seneca Lake Guardian to be the eyes, ears and voice for this vital watershed and community,” Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “Every community deserves to have swimmable, drinkable and fishable water, and Joseph Campbell and Yvonne Taylor are the right leaders to fight for clean water in the region.”
Seneca Lake Guardian will be an advocate for the Seneca Lake watershed and its tributaries, protecting and restoring water quality through community action and enforcement. Campbell and Taylor will work on watershed-related issues from their home base in Watkins Glen, New York.
“Seneca Lake Guardian, a Waterkeeper affiliate’s aim, is to provide strong advocacy that will result in an improved quality of life for all citizens whether they rely on it for drinking water or recreation or whether they simply value the lake’s continued well-being,” Campbell explained.
“Seneca Lake Guardian will have an incredibly important job,” Marc Yaggi executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance, added. “Waterkeeper Affiliates defend their communities against anyone who threatens their right to clean water, from law-breaking polluters to irresponsible government officials. Until our public agencies have the means necessary to protect us from polluters and the will to enforce the law, there will always be a great need for people like Joseph and Yvonne to fight for our right to clean water.”
“Gas Free Seneca has, as a small grassroots organization, been successfully keeping Crestwood’s misbegotten plans to industrialize the shores of Seneca Lake from coming to fruition for five years,” Taylor said. “But the threats to our lake are many and this collaboration will now allow us to fully address those threats and bring the resources of the Waterkeeper Alliance into the fray. Becoming a Waterkeeper affiliate was the perfect evolution for us.”