Why Celebrate the EPA?

Tonight, Environment Montana is partnering with local artists to host an environmental art show celebrating 47 years of the Environmental Protection Agency’s work in Montana. Organizer Holly Seymour explains why we wanted to do the event:

“Unfortunately, one of our greatest environmental defenses, the Environmental Protection Agency, is facing crippling budget cuts that would render the agency far less effective, and severely shrink funding for necessary cleanup and protection projects.

Here in Montana, we have 17 Superfund sites alone, and countless other watershed cleanup projects. Missoula sits at one end of the largest Superfund complex in the country.  The health of our people and the quality of life that we are able to lead in Montana is dependent on the health of our watersheds, and the EPA has done a great deal for their protection and preservation. It’s clear that this is an issue that hits close to home. Montanans want to protect and preserve our beautiful watersheds, and the EPA has more work to do. That can’t happen without full funding.

This art show serves to bring together a community united in caring for our state’s water by displaying beautiful aquatic pieces by local artists and supplementing them with a history of the work of the EPA in Montana. It’s both visually appealing and educationally insightful, while attracting a crowd that may otherwise not have attended an event to celebrate the anniversary of the EPA.”