
BIDEN HITS ONE YEAR MARK; OVER 100 LEADERS PUSH FOR NATIVE PLANTING
February 1, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. – 104 leaders from almost 90 non-profits, businesses, educational institutions, and state and local governments are urging the Biden-Harris Administration to convert the grounds of the White House and U.S. Capitol to 100% native, pollination-focused, and pesticide-free landscapes immediately. In their letter, the signers request that all federal grounds within the District of Columbia be converted by 2024, while encouraging all states and United States territories to implement the same landscaping principles on their grounds.
In light of last week’s one-year anniversary of Executive Order 14008 (January 27) that led to the creation of the “America the Beautiful” initiative, as well as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26), organizations are mobilizing across the nation to reverse emissions and achieve significant habitat restoration. Native plants are a critical component of thriving ecosystems, as they provide important food and shelter for wildlife, all while taking harmful greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere.
“Reasonable, research-driven solutions, like these, yield tremendous benefits in our efforts to reverse climate change and increase biodiversity,” said Benjamin Swanson, Co-Executive Director of South Florida-based Waterway Advocates, Inc., the initiative’s leading organization. Learn more about these efforts and how we can #GoNative and create #ThrivingEcosystems together, at waterwayadvocates.org/plant-native.
ABOUT
Waterway Advocates, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization serving the communities and ecosystems of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties, in South Florida. Our mission is to facilitate meaningful service-learning experiences that engage local communities in beautifying and protecting our ecosystems.
PRESS CONTACT
Benjamin Swanson
ops@waterwayadvocates.org
P.O. Box 8734, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310
954-667-7710
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SUPPLEMENTARY LETTER FROM WATERWAY ADVOCATES
Honorable Leaders,
In addition to the attached sign-on letter involving over 100 signatories, Waterway Advocates respectfully submits this supplementary input on behalf of our organization.
In light of last week’s one-year anniversary of Executive Order 14008 that led to the creation of the “America the Beautiful” initiative and our national goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, organizations are mobilizing across the nation to reverse emissions and achieve significant habitat restoration. Native plants are a critical component of thriving ecosystems, as they provide important food and shelter for wildlife, all while taking harmful greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere.
There is an international and domestic drive to implement native landscaping. This is reflected in Thailand, where organic rooftop gardens sequester carbon from the atmosphere each night. We have several Embassies, like those of Tunisia and Switzerland, who are planting native and creating pollination hotspots in Washington. Also on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Canadian residence promotes public engagement in environmental conservation through their beekeeping programs.[1]
Simple solutions sometimes yield the greatest results. Implementing native landscaping in Washington will serve as the catalyst for a nationwide movement to #PlantNative, leading to significant economic and environmental growth. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that pollinators add almost $20 billion in crop production revenue each year.[2] The larva of many pollinators, such as butterflies, moths, and other insects, rely on specific species of native plants. Doug Tallamy, a veteran professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, found that “native oak trees support over 500 species of caterpillars whereas ginkgos, a commonly planted landscape tree from Asia, host only 5 species of caterpillars.”[3]
The United States must use its position as a global leader to pave the way with innovative, creative, and reasonable solutions to our climate emergency. In our international collaboration, we must take a step back to review some practical ideas we can immediately act upon. Native landscaping is one idea that will play a critical role in surpassing our 30x30 and COP 26 goals.
Thank you for making our future sustainable (so that our future exists).
With sincere gratitude,
Caleb Merendino
Co-Founder
Waterway Advocates
Benjamin Swanson
Co-Founder
Waterway Advocates

February 1, 2022
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
The Honorable Kamala D. Harris
Vice President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Honorable President Biden, Vice President Harris, Speaker Pelosi, and other leaders,
We, the undersigned organizations, businesses, and municipal and educational leaders, work locally and nationally on issues relating to environmental conservation, water, and climate change. We write to urge you to convert the grounds of the White House and the United States Capitol to 100% native, pollination-focused, and pesticide-free landscapes immediately, and all federal grounds within the District of Columbia by 2024.
Furthermore, we ask that you vigorously encourage all states and United States territories to implement the same landscaping principles on their grounds.
We must take action to prevent the destruction of our intricate worldwide web of biodiversity. A 2017 study describes this as "biological annihilation," estimating that, "as much as 50% of the number of animal individuals that once shared Earth with us are already gone."[1] Insects that are vital to the survival of mankind are disappearing. Invasive flora and fauna are outcompeting their native comrades, having detrimental consequences on essential native pollinators. Societal emphasis on beauty and aesthetics, at the expense of environmental and human health, must stop.
We applaud the various U.S. ambassadors who are converting the grounds of their embassies into thriving native habitats. This simple, yet critical, step toward restoring native habitats throughout the United States will serve as an effective international model that is simple for nations, localities, businesses, and individuals to implement. Many organizations are already developing brilliant models, such as the Mt. Cuba Center, located in President Biden’s home state of Delaware. These thriving native habitats are also powerful agents of carbon sequestration, necessary in our strategy to reverse emissions and achieve significant habitat restoration, as outlined in the COP 26 goals. When we opt for native habitats and thriving ecosystems, instead of focusing primarily on aesthetic beauty, we take an easy step forward into protecting biodiversity and combating climate change.
In the wake of COP 26, the United States must send a strong message, that we are not only beautifying our ecosystems but ensuring they thrive into the future. The well-being of our communities, economy, and ecosystems, depends on it.
With sincere gratitude,
Caleb Merendino
Co-Founder
Waterway Advocates
Kyle Brooks
Board Member
Waterway Advocates
Hallie Templeton
Legal Director
Friends of the Earth
Matthew Schaut
Clinical Director
Spring Path Mental Health
Olivia Shan
Restoration Coordinator
Palouse-Clearwater
Environmental Institute
Rebecca Rettmer
Executive Director
Lummi Island Heritage Trust
Marc Imlay
Biologist
Mattawoman Watershed Society
Maria Brindle
President
Friends of the Locust Fork River
Ronald Illingworth
President
North Pole Peonies
Chad Allen
President
Coastal Tank, LLC
Matt Dobbins
First Coast Chapter Chair
Surfrider Foundation
Carling Kirk
President
North Metro Atlanta Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society, Inc.
Kathy Sauber
District 6 Director
Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc.
Neil Bernstein
Adjunct Professor
University of Iowa
Scott McAdam
Assistant Professor
University of Iowa
Todd Larsen
Executive Co-Director
Green America
Margaret Frisbie
Executive Director
Friends of the Chicago River
Thomas Lamar
Executive Director
Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute
Rudy Arredondo
President / CEO
National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
Julian Matthew
Board Member & Coordinator
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
Kelli Janice
Owner & Member
Willow Oak Flower Farm, LLC
Kelda Roys
State Senator
Wisconsin State Senate
Angela Turner Ford
State Senator
Mississippi State Senate
Sarah Unsicker
State Representative
Missouri House of Representatives
Kim Schofield
State Representative
Georgia House of Representatives
Michael Grieco
State Representative
Florida House of Representatives
Robert Figueroa
President
Paddle with a Purpose
Sara Kyle
State Senator
Tennessee State Senate
Rebecca Saldana
State Senator
Washington State Senate
Jeremy Katzman
Candidate
Florida House of Representatives
Nicole Lowen
State Representative
Hawaii House of Representatives
Jennifer Keintz
State Representative
South Dakota House of Representatives
Rep. Lynne Williams
State Representative
Maine House of Representatives
Susan Westrom
State Representative
Kentucky House of Representatives
Morgan Wilds
Chair
Virginia Surfrider Foundation
Benjamin Swanson
Co-Founder
Waterway Advocates
Nancy Barrett
Outreach Coordinator
Waterway Advocates
Tara Thornton
Deputy Director
Endangered Species Coalition
Janeese Lewis George
Councilmember
Council of DC
Kimberly Stoner
Agricultural Scientist
Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station
Aimee Petras
Executive Director
Farmington River Watershed Association
Tricia Burlison
Chairwoman
Democracy for America -
Maricopa County
Kelly Liska
Program Coordinator
Local First Arizona
Maria Rundquist
Community Activist
Northwest Iowa Sierra Group
Dennis Endicott
President
Peoria Audubon Society
Dave Doebler
Co-Founder
VolunteerCleanup.Org
Brittany Champey
Native Landscaper
Dropseed Native Landscaping
Patricia De Angelis
Botanist
Shamar Chin
Assistant Professor
University of Iowa
Michel Goguen
Artist
Open Strum
Lisa Haderlein
Executive Director
The Land Conservancy of
McHenry County
Amber Zionkowski
Head of Corporate Citizenship
American Automobile Association
(AAA)
Kari Dolan
State Representative
Vermont House of Representatives
Yvonna Cazares
Director of Community Engagement
Office of Mayor Libby Schaaf
City of Oakland, California
Kevin Ryan
State Representative
Connecticut House of Representatives
Mary Ware
State Senator
Kansas State Senate
Jonathan Brostoff
State Representative
Wisconsin State Assembly
Gregory Porter
Past President, National Black
Caucus of State Legislators
State Representative
Indiana House of Representatives
David Michel
State Representative
Connecticut House of Representatives
Sheila Ruth
State Delegate
Maryland House of Delegates
Lena Taylor
State Senator
Wisconsin State Senate
Pricey Harrison
State Representative
North Carolina House of Representatives
Christopher Belt
State Senator
Illinois State Senate
Mike Gabbard
State Senator
Hawaii State Senate
Kristina Schultz
State Representative
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Jay Livingstone
State Representative
Massachussetts House of Representatives
Dacia Grayber
State Representative
Oregon House of Representatives
Joseph M. Baldacci
State Senator
Maine State Senate
Alison Kocek
Vice President
Onondaga Audubon
David McVey
Board President
Waterway Advocates
Lori Ann Burd
Environmental Health Director
Center for Biological Diversity
Yaritza Perez
State Organizer
Moms Clean Air Force
Heather Good
Executive Director
Michigan Audubon
Juanita Irizarry
Executive Director
Friends of the Parks
Kathryn Goodleaf
Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Pamela Miller
Executive Director
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Christian Mundy
Vice President
Greencom
Micky Gutier
President and Chief Executive Officer
XYBOY, LLC
Stephen Overlock
President
Altacal Audubon Society
Rosa Rivera
Development Manager
Audubon Florida
Lisa Serafin
Executive Accountant
Traders Accounting
Edith B. Allen
Professor Emeritus
University of California Riverside
Adriene Barmann
Vice Chair, Broward Sierra Club
Member of Florida State Sierra Club Conservation Committee
Mary Pelletier
Director & Secretary
Park Watershed
Diane DuLoft
President
Waccamaw Audubon Society
Alba Tirado
Membership Chair
WildOnes Chesapeake
Tim Mathern
State Senator
North Dakota State Senate
Kaye Kory
State Delegate
Virginia House of Delegates
Brenda Carter
State Representative
Michigan House of Representatives
Rebecca Rios
State Senator, Democratic Leader
Arizona State Senate
LaDonna Appelbaum
State Representative
Missouri House of Representatives
Attica Scott
State Representative
Kentucky House of Representatives
Danielle Walker
State Delegate
West Virginia House of Delegates
Edith Patterson
State Delegate
Maryland House of Delegates
Jim Roscoe
State Representative
Wyoming House of Representatives
Robert Williams
State Representative
South Carolina House of Representatives
Patricia Torres Ray
State Senator
Minnesota State Senate
John Cloutier
State Representative
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Amy Perruso
State Representative
Hawaii House of Representatives
Louis DiPalma
State Senator
Rhode Island State Senate
Joseph Gresko
State Representative
Connecticut House of Representatives
Dr. George E. Young, Sr.
State Senator & Pastor
Oklahoma State Senate
Elizabeth Weight
State Representative
Utah House of Representatives
Parker Agelasto
Executive Director
Capital Region Land Conservancy