Jessie Thomas-Blate
Coordinator, Most Endangered Rivers
Department: Conservation
Area of Focus: Jessie works with our staff and partners to develop our Most Endangered Rivers Program and annual report.
Background: Jessie joined American Rivers in 2010. Prior to that she worked for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission as their Habitat Coordinator. There she played a fundamental role in the establishment of the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership. Jessie also did an internship at the Natural Resources Defense Council where she focused on the reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act.
Education: B.S. in Biology from Mary Washington College, and M.S. in Natural Resources from Delaware State University
Favorite River: Rappahannock River
Blog Posts By This Author
All Hope is Not Lost for St. Croix
October 16, 2012 | Most Endangered Rivers, Wild and Scenic Rivers
Poor St. Croix River… sigh…
Recent attacks on this river caused it to appear on our 2009 and 2011 lists of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. In March 2012, President Obama signed a bill that created an exemption to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in order to build a superhighway bridge across the river.
Nominate Your Endangered River for our 2013 List!
October 15, 2012 | Most Endangered Rivers
Every year, American Rivers generates a list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®. Ten rivers are selected each year for inclusion in our list, not because they are the most polluted, but rather because they are facing a turning point in the coming year that could negatively impact the river into the future.
Read more »What’s Happening on the Kansas River?
October 3, 2012 | Water Pollution, Most Endangered Rivers, Blue Trails
This has been a really eventful year for Friends of the Kaw and the Kansas River. The Kaw made national attention for being listed as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® for 2012 due to proposed expansion of commercial mining for sand.
Read more »Fracking With Diesel
June 27, 2012 | Water Pollution, Fracking
Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing permitting guidance for hydraulic fracturing operations using diesel. The guidance will be the first federal policy focused on protecting drinking water sources from fracking.
Read more »Growing Up On The Wild Skykomish River
June 7, 2012 | Dams & Dam Removal, Most Endangered Rivers, Wild and Scenic Rivers
The more I travel and with each new city I live in, nothing becomes more apparent to me than how blessed I was to have grown up on the Skykomish River. With its stunning clear green-blue water running beneath the cliffs of Mount Index, it’s a paradise that even to this day doesn’t exist anywhere else.
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