IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE OF AMERICA
NEWS RELEASE
FEBRUARY 27, 2006

BACKYARD WETLAND CONSERVATION WEBCAST REGISTRATION OPENS

Join the Izaak Walton League for two live Webcasts this spring that will help
you conserve wetlands and provide a home for wildlife while creating beautiful
landscaping for your home, office or schoolyard.

Wetland-Friendly Backyard (March 28, 8:00-10:00pm, EST) includes information on
how to create rain gardens, install rain barrels, landscape with native plants,
and reduce pesticide and fertilizer use. What you plant in your garden and how
you take care of your lawn can affect water quality in your neighborhood. In
this Webcast series, the concept of backyard conservation will be introduced, as
well as some of the basic things people are doing to make their yards more
eco-friendly. The focus of this segment will be practical, and will include
how-to sections on creating rain gardens, installing rain barrels and designing
wetland-friendly landscapes on your own property. Additionally, we will document
the experiences of actual homeowners that have successfully implemented these
practices in their own yards.

Wet Spots into Wonderlands (April 25, 8:00-10:00pm, EST) will help you learn the
benefits of having wetlands on your property, how to protect those wetlands, and
how to create vernal pools or bog gardens. Do you have a wetland on your
property? Discover the many benefits (both environmental and economic) of
"greening" your property, and find out how you can ensure that these sensitive
ecosystems remain healthy. No wetlands on your property? Learn how to create
vernal pools and backyard bogs that are guaranteed to attract wildlife and
reduce storm-water runoff. Using low-cost materials and simple techniques, this
program will demonstrate how you can transform your backyard landscape into a
"greenscape."


In addition to the live programs, there will be various resources available on
the League's Web site to help you get started with these projects. These
programs will also be broadcast on cable and satellite television stations in
North Carolina and may also be broadcast on other stations across the country.
Visit <http://www.iwla.org/> and click on Webcasts to register.

"The webcasts are not replacing our traditional on-the-ground workshops that
have proved so successful but give us a powerful new tool to educate the public
and policymakers," said Leah Miller, Director of Watershed Programs for the
Izaak Walton League of America. "We wanted to reach more people and new
audiences with our workshops and do so more effectively. Clearly the world wide
web is the place to do it. We can also bring to the table different kinds of
stakeholders who can interact with each other in ways they've always wanted to
but couldn't because of time, travel, money and other obstacles," added Miller.

The Webcasts will be available live on the Internet nationwide through streaming
video. These programs will also be broadcast on cable and satellite television
stations in North Carolina. To find out if the programs will be broadcast on a
television station in your area, please visit <http://www.iwla.org/> and click
on Webcasts. Participants will be able to interact with the presenters through
question and answer sessions and a discussion group. Each session will be
archived on the Izaak Walton League's web site and will be available on DVD for
future use.

This on-line training series is made possible with support from the Bureau of
Land Management, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.

Founded in 1922, the Izaak Walton League of America is dedicated to common sense
conservation that protects America's hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage
relying on solution-oriented conservation, education, and the promotion of
outdoor recreation for the benefit of our citizens. The League has more than
40,000 members and supporters in 21 state divisions and more than 300 local
chapters in 32 states.

For more information, contact Suzanne Zanelli, 301-548-0150, ext. 223;
szanelli@... <mailto:szanelli@...>