[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION FUND 
                    REAUTHORIZATION: APRIL 28, 1994

                                 ______


                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 2, 1994

  Mr. WELDON. Mr. Speaker, Chairman John Dingell, Chairman Gerry 
Studds, Congressman Jack Fields, and I introduced H.R. 4308 to 
reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund [NAWCF]. I 
would like to begin by thanking Chairman Dingell for sponsoring this 
important legislation.
  NAWCF is the result of the efforts of the late Congressman Conte and 
Chairman Dingell. Congressman Conte and Chairman Dingell served as the 
two Representatives of the U.S. House on the Migratory Bird 
Conservation Commission [MBCC]. The MBCC has the responsibility of 
distributing Duck Stamp moneys and other proceeds for the acquisition 
and enhancement of waterfowl habitat.
  As the newest member of the MBCC, I had a chance earlier in the year 
to help celebrate Chairman Dingell's quarter-century of service to the 
Commission. For 25 years Chairman Dingell has worked tirelessly to 
expand and enhance the National Wildlife Refuge System to protect 
critical waterfowl habitat.
  Our wildlife refuges alone, however, cannot provide sufficient 
habitat to support the millions of waterfowl which annually migrate 
across America. Chairman Dingell and Congressman Conte created the 
NAWCF to address this problem. As a result of their foresight, great 
headway is being made.
  The NAWCF is truly one of the most successful and cost-effective 
wetlands preservation initiatives in existence. The fund operates as a 
public-private partnership, with Federal grant moneys being matched, 
often times at rates as high as 4 to 1, by private, State, and local 
moneys. To date, non-Federal partners have matched $98 million in 
Federal grants with $163 million of their own resources.
  NAWCF was established under the North American Wetlands Conservation 
Act of 1989. Since its inception, NAWCF has led to the preservation or 
enhancement of almost 7 million acres of prime North American wetlands 
habitat. That averages out to an astonishingly low $14 of Federal grant 
funding per acre.
  As successful as the fund has been, much more still needs to be done. 
The 1993 estimate of North America's breeding duck population is 18 
percent below the average of the last 40 years. For certain species, 
the numbers are far worse. Mallard populations, for example, are down 
20 percent and the northern pintail population has declined by half. 
Other migratory species have suffered as well. Populations of 
Franklin's gulls, black terns, and soras all have declined 
significantly since the 1950's.
  Habitat loss has played a major role in the decline of these birds. 
Only through the continuation and expansion of programs such as the 
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund can we head off even greater 
losses. This bill will do just that, reauthorizing the NAWCF through 
the year 2000.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to again congratulate Chairman Dingell on 
25 years of service to the MBCC and for introducing this critical 
legislation. I encourage all my colleagues to help preserve North 
America's vanishing wetlands and waterfowl by cosponsoring the 
reauthorization of NAWCF.

                          ____________________