Wetlands enhancement measure passes U.S. House of Representatives

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Oak Hammock Marsh, M.B., October 22, 2009 – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to enhance the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and improve continental conservation efforts. This is first major step for the passage of this bill, which is now before the U.S. Senate. If enacted, the measure would allow more Canadian investment for waterfowl conservation projects north of the border.

“The U.S. legislation will allow up to 50 per cent of the non-federal portion of wetlands conservation projects in Canada to be funded by Canadian conservation supporters,” said Jeff Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, Ducks Unlimited Canada. “If this bill is passed into law, it will be great news for Canada. This legislation would encourage Canada’s conservation community to add to our role in helping conserve Canada’s key habitats for the benefit of North American waterfowl populations.”

Since 1989, more than 1,600 NAWCA projects have conserved more than 25 million acres of habitat across North America. Each project requires at least a 1:1 match for each dollar from the U.S. federal government – however, the projects often attract 2-3 times that from conservationists, local governments, and others. Over $1 billion in federal grants have been allocated for NAWCA projects – a figure that has leveraged an additional $3 billion from matching and non-matching funds.

“This will provide a whole new funding mechanism for a wetland conservation program that was previously only shouldered by U.S. conservation interests,” said Nelson. “We believe the increased input of Canadian conservation supporters will prove invaluable toward this great program.”

According to Nelson, two-thirds of the Prairie Pothole Region lies in Canada and on average 71 per cent of prairie ducks settled there from 1955-2007. While this year the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region has been very productive, there is simply not enough habitat in the United States to support all the ducks even if conditions there remain good.

Earlier in the approval process, Director of Ducks Unlimited, Inc.’s Governmental Affairs Office Scott Sutherland had presented testimony to the House Resources Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee, supporting the bill from Congressman Robert Wittman (Va.). Wittman is a member of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission – the panel that reviews and approves NAWCA projects – and introduced the bill to ensure that the local money that Canadian partners are currently raising can be counted towards the required matching funds.

“NAWCA continues to be one of the great success stories for conservation, and by enhancing the program to allow investment from Canadian sources that success can continue,” said Sutherland during his testimony.

For more information, contact:

Duncan Morrison, d_morrison@ducks.ca
National Marketing and Communications
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: 204-467-3202

 
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