Source: Benimoto via Flickr

That’s a headline that will surely get your attention, but the kudos are well deserved. Last week, the U.S. EPA put it’s foot down — vetoing a massive Army Corps engineering project that would have drained and degraded a gazillion acres of wetlands in Mississippi. And one of the politicians who took a lot of heat over the years to provide political cover for the agency as it weighed this move is none other than Senator and candidate John McCain.

Now I’m not in the business of writing statements for the press anymore, but if I was, I’d probably draft up something chock full of words that work. Something like this:

EPA made a brave and responsible decision today, standing up to pressure from polluters and arm-twisting politicians, to veto the so-called Yazoo Pumps. The project was never anything more than a thinly disguised handout to corporate agribusiness interests, and if this misguided project had ever been built, future generations of Americans would have never been able to experience a vast and rich area that is home to rare wildlife and unique opportunities for families to experience nature together. Now that the pumps are off the table, we look forward to beginning a dialog with local leaders — planning ahead to develop smart choices for how live and work along the healthy, natural rivers that flow through their communities

Disclaimer: These are my views alone. I do not speak for any organization involved in the Yazoo Pumps issue.

I’ll spare you the policy blow-by-blow — but my hat is off to my former colleagues at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the “Corps Reform Network” for sticking to their guns for years and years, speaking up for nature and wildlife, and advocating for sensible and balanced investments to keep local residents safe from floods in the years to come.

If you’ve ever wondered if policy advocacy is your cup of tea, imagine the joy these hard working conservationists must be feeling today. Wouldn’t you like to feel that way about your own work someday?