Mounting Risks to Wetlands A Journalist’s Perspective

Miranda Willson, A17, Journalist at E&E News

For decades, environmentalists, homebuilders, energy companies and members of Congress have debated how the U.S. should regulate and protect wetlands. From bogs to saltmarshes to cypress swamps, wetlands help reduce damage from floods, shelter endangered species and filter pollutants to keep our drinking water safe. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that a large swath of wetlands nationwide are not covered by the Clean Water Act, leaving over half the nation’s wetlands unprotected by the law. In this lecture, Miranda Willson will discuss what’s at stake as U.S. wetlands continue to be filled in for development, and how the high court ruling could accelerate what scientists view as an alarming trend of wetlands loss. She will also dive into a wetlands restoration debate in Louisiana on which she recently reported and explain how she covers water issues for an audience of lawmakers, scientists, oil industry executives, NGOs and many others.

Miranda Willson, A17, is a reporter at E&E News, a subscription-based environmental news site run by Politico. She covers water policy, including EPA regulations and water debates and bills in Congress. She also reports on how the courts are shaping water law, the threat of drinking water contaminants like PFAS, and the impacts of water pollution and climate change on communities nationwide.

Previously, she covered energy policy for E&E News, with a focus on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – the most important climate agency you’ve probably never heard of. She also worked for a year and a half as a local news reporter in Las Vegas. Born and raised in suburban New York, Miranda graduated from Tufts in 2017 with a degree in environmental studies and urban planning, a major she self-designed. She lives in Washington, D.C.