With your support, New Englanders can thrive.

• Author: Molyneaux, Sara

WITH SPRING JUST UNDERWAY HERE IN NEW ENGLAND, I'VE BEEN GIVING THOUGHT TO THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANTING SEEDS--and not just planting but nurturing those seeds to germination.

Sometimes, those seeds sprout immediately--when we've sued a polluter for violating the Clean Water Act, for example, and we see them take measures to curb their harm. Other times, those seeds take years to grow and mature fully, reaching heights we may not have imagined.

But, of course, planting seeds is not enough. They require careful attention and nurturing to reach their full potential. Is the groundbreaking law we pushed to pass being enforced? Is the defendant in our case following through on the terms of our hard-won settlement agreement? Are regulators acting on the new policy we helped create?

It's when the answer to those questions is "no" that I've witnessed CLF at its best. Often our true impact comes not in the victory itself but in remaining steadfast to its promises in the face of delay and duplicity.

This past year has been...