[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            ON THE NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
dramatically successful wetlands conservation program and the architect 
of that program, our majority leader, Senator Mitchell.
  Last month, the New York Times reported that after decades of 
decline, waterfowl populations are on the rebound in North America. The 
spring of 1994 is reported to be the most successful breeding season 
for ducks since the 1950's. According to this article the population of 
breeding ducks among the 10 most common species jumped to an estimated 
32.5 million in 1994. This represents an increase of 24 percent above 
last year and 5 percent above the long-term average.
  The Times article cites the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, 
authored by Senator Mitchell in 1988, as one of the major factors 
accounting for the resurgence of waterfowl populations. In drafting 
this legislation, Senator Mitchell looked beyond State, regional, and 
even national boundaries and recognized that only a comprehensive, 
international conservation effort would stem the decline in migratory 
bird populations.
  The North American Wetlands Conservation Act is a model for public/
private sector cooperation and innovation. The act encourages 
partnerships among public agencies and private interests to conserve 
wetlands ecosystems for migratory birds and other fish and wildlife in 
the United States, Canada, and Mexico. One of the major purposes of the 
act is to help accomplish the goals of the North American Wetlands 
Waterfowl Management Plan--which sets out specific continentwide 
conservation measures. Thus far 342 public and private partner or 
partner groups have contributed to over 317 wetlands conservation 
projects across North America.
  Under Senator Mitchell's leadership, the North American wetlands 
program has made substantial progress, despite the severe budgetary 
constraints of recent years. In just the 5 years since the act was 
passed, over 860,000 acres of critical wetlands habitats have been 
protected, restored, or enhanced pursuant to the act.
  This has been possible because the North American program requires 
that Federal contributions be matched by private funding. As a result, 
$76 million in U.S. Federal moneys has been matched by $154 million in 
non-Federal funding. In this cost-effective program, Federal dollars 
have been used to leverage non-Federal contributions by more than a 2-
to-1 margin. In addition, the involvement of the States and private 
conservation groups have lowered the cost of restoring and enhancing 
wetlands and spurred innovation.
  Senator Mitchell has also played an active role in building support 
for the North American program and ensuring it receives adequate 
resources to achieve its potential. He has helped enlist the support of 
other Senators, including Senators Stevens, Nickles, and Byrd, whose 
support has been critical to the North American program's continued 
success. In recognition of this impressive record, I was pleased to 
cosponsor, along with Senator Mitchell, a bill to reauthorize the North 
American Act, which the Congress approved last month.
  The North American Wetlands Conservation Act is a landmark law, which 
has already made a major contribution to the conservation of this 
Nation's wildlife. It will benefit the natural resources of this 
continent and will be an enduring legacy of the environmental 
leadership of Senator Mitchell. The success of the Wetlands 
Conservation Act is proof that one Senator--George Mitchell in this 
case--can be an extraordinary force for good.
  I ask unanimous consent that the New York Times article be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed, as 
follows:

                [From the New York Times, Oct. 11, 1994]

                 Prairie Ducks Return in Record Numbers

                        (By William K. Stevens)

       Few birds are more avidly sought after by nature fanciers 
     and hunters alike than the ducks, and a lot of people have 
     been distressed to watch the sharp decline of wild duck 
     populations over the last decade.
       Now, though, the biggest flocks in years are forming up on 
     marshes across the mid-North American continent for their 
     annual migration south. The once-dwindling numbers of 
     mallards and widgeons, pintails and teal, redheads and 
     canvasbacks, gadwalls, shovelers and scaups have suddenly and 
     spectacularly rebounded, according to the United States Fish 
     and Wildlife Service, raising hopes for a long-term recovery.
       The population of breeding ducks this year was double the 
     average of the last four decades in the ``prairie pothole'' 
     region of the Dakotas and Montana, the heart of the 
     midcontinental ``duck factory'' where most of North America's 
     ducklings are fledged--vivid evidence of how profoundly the 
     restoration of lost habitat can affect wild creatures.
       Under Federal legislation passed nearly a decade ago, 
     millions of acres of farmland in the prairie pothole region 
     have been converted to grassland reserves where ducks can 
     nest in safety from predators. At the same time, hundreds of 
     thousands of acres of prairie potholes and other wetlands 
     that attract and feed ducks have been restored. And two wet 
     years in a row, after a decade-long dry spell, doubled the 
     number of ponds and puddles in much of the pothole region 
     during last spring's breeding season.
       Together these three factors made the spring of 1994 the 
     most successful breeding season for ducks since the 1950's 
     and 1970's in the midcontinental United States and southern 
     Canada.
       The success confirms the operating premise of the North 
     American Waterfowl Management Plan, a program in the United 
     States, Canada and Mexico to rebuild waterfowl populations 
     over the long term, said a member of the program, Michael W. 
     Tome. ``When you put good habitat and water conditions 
     together at the same time, you're going to produce ducks,'' 
     said Dr. Tome, a Fish and Wildlife Service specialist in 
     migratory birds.
       But the permanence of the duck recovery is in doubt. The 
     Conservation Reserve Program created by the Farm Security Act 
     of 1985, the main purpose of which is to combat erosion on 
     fallow land, rescued more than 10 million acres of farmland 
     in the prairie pothole region. As it happens, the land is 
     prime duck nesting habitat. But wildlife experts and 
     conservationsts are worried that Congress may not renew the 
     program when it expires next year. They are also concerned 
     that farmers may not sign up for a new program.
       While ``it's good to hear'' about this year's resurgence of 
     ducks, ``it would be a mistake to say we've turned some 
     permanent corner,'' said Dr. Joseph S. Larson, a wetlands 
     biologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
       Still, conservationists see this year's convergence of 
     positive factors as a chance for further progress. It is 
     ``probably the best opportunity to produce waterfowl on a 
     broad-scale basis we've had since the 1950's,'' said Jeff 
     Nelson, chief biologist for Ducks Unlimited, a private 
     conservation organization and leader in conserving duck 
     habitat. ``The reason is, we haven't had this extensive an 
     area of grass with this kind of water since those days.''
       While wet and dry climatic cycles cause natural 
     fluctuations in duck populations, few ducks will be hatched 
     even in the wettest of years if there is insufficient nesting 
     habitat. ``Water attracts ducks to the landscape, but water 
     doesn't make ducks,'' said Ron Reynolds, a wildlife biologist 
     who heads the Fish and Wildlife Service's habitat and 
     population study team based in Bismarck, N.D.
       Different species of ducks make different use of ponds and 
     wetlands. There are dabbing ducks and diving ducks, Dabbling 
     ducks, also known as puddle ducks, feed in shallow water, 
     dipping their heads just below the surface to eat plants, 
     insects and small fish. They build their nests on uplands 
     near the water. Mallards, pintails, teal, gadwalls, widgeons 
     and shovelers are dabblers. Divining ducks like the redhead 
     and canvasback, on the other hand, plunge into deep water to 
     feed on the bottom and make their nests on floating mats of 
     vegetation.
       The dabbling ducks took a double hit when the wetlands were 
     drained and their nesting areas converted to farmland. The 
     loss, combined with a prolonged midcontinental dry spell, 
     sent breeding populations into a tailspin. The number of 
     Northern pintails shrank by nearly two-thirds; that of blue-
     winged teal, widgeons and mallards dropped by nearly a third 
     each, and the population of readheads by nearly a quarter. By 
     the 1990's, North American ducks seemed in serious trouble. 
     Most of the decline took place in the midcontinent, the very 
     heart of duck country. The climate was more favorable and the 
     habitat more stable on the eastern and western ends of the 
     continent. But far fewer ducks breed there.
       ``The reason ducks have declined is low nesting success,'' 
     said Mr. Reynolds. Diving ducks had fewer wetlands for their 
     floating nests and the dabblers, confined to shrunken patches 
     of grassland, could not conceal their eggs and young from 
     foxes, crows and many other predators.
       Governments have joined forces with private organizations 
     like Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy to restore 
     wetlands in the prairie pothole region, an especially 
     important development for diving ducks. But the Conservation 
     Reserve Program has brought the biggest habitat dividends by 
     far. The program paid farmers to protect formerly cultivated 
     land that lay fallow, often because of fallen crop prices.
       Although the main purpose of the program was to prevent 
     soil erosion, it turned out that as the grasslands grew back, 
     an abundance of thick cover was created for ducks, as well as 
     other birds like meadowlarks, black terns, bobolinks and 
     sandpipers. Along with the grasslands and birds there 
     returned a variety of wildflowers, small mammals and 
     invertebrates.
       The grasslands also tipped a balance between two of the 
     duck's main predators in the victims' favor. Foxes, which 
     hunt a small area intensively and are the greater threat to 
     ducks, gave way to coyotes that hunt a larger range and 
     plunder fewer nests. ``When we see coyotes on the landscope, 
     we see that as being good news,'' said Mr. Reynolds.
       At the same time, the biological enrichment that followed 
     the regrowth of grasslands has been good for creatures like 
     meadow voles and white-footed deer mice, offering predators a 
     broader menu: ``They don't have to key in on just duck 
     eggs,'' he said.
       The other good news for the ducks was heavy precipitation 
     in 1993 and early 1994. Though the historic floods they 
     caused wreaked havoc with the upper Mississippi basin, the 
     summer rains of 1993 also filled many dry potholes and other 
     wetlands. A snowy winter in 1993-94 further increased the 
     number of spring ponds in prairie Canada and the north-
     central United Stats to six million, according to the Fish 
     and Wildlife Service--47 percent more than a year before and 
     a third more than the long-term average of 1955 through 1994. 
     In Montana and the western Dakotas, the heart of the duck-
     producting region, the number of ponds was double the long-
     term average.
       From this confluence of factors, more ducks congregated 
     this year on the midcontinent breeding grounds than in many 
     years. In a standard survey area encompassing the northern 
     midcontinent and Alaska, the population of breeding ducks 
     among the 10 most abundant species jumped to an estimated 
     32.5 million in 1994, up 24 percent from last year and 5 
     percent above the long-term average. The increase was mostly 
     accounted for by Montana and the Dakotas, where the 
     population roughly doubled between last year and this, and 
     nearby southern Saskatchewan, where it grew by 64 percent.
       Just as important, the hatching rate of ducks also went up 
     this year. In the case of mallards, the most abundant and 
     familiar species, about 30 percent of the eggs hatched, 
     compared with 10 or 12 percent before the Conservation 
     Reserve Program's benefits took hold, said Mr. Reynolds. 
     ``Mallards need a nesting success of about 15 percent to 
     maintain their population,'' he said.
       The Fish and Wildlife Service predicts that when the 
     mallards that hatched last spring join their parents on this 
     fall's migration to wintering grounds in the southern United 
     States and the tropics, 12 million in all, 36 percent more 
     than in 1993, will make the trip. Over all, the fall 
     migration flight from the standard survey area is expected to 
     total 71 million, 20 percent more than in 1993.
       In fact, said Dr. Tome, this year's 32.5 million breeding 
     ducks in the standard survey area approaches the North 
     American Waterfowl Management plan's long-term recovery 
     target of 36 million for that area--roughly the average count 
     of the 1970's, when at one point it exceeded 40 million for a 
     record. For the entire continent, the recovery target is a 
     breeding population of 62 million by the year 2000, with a 
     fall migration flight of 100 million. No continentwide survey 
     of the present population has been made.
       The immediate concern, said Mr. Nelson of Ducks Unlimited, 
     ``is that we get them up to where they were in the 1970's 
     before the next dry spell.''
       For now, anyway, pothole and pond resonate once more with 
     predawn sounds that evoke images of abundance in the mind's 
     eye. Aldo Leopold, the naturalist and conservationist, put it 
     this way in his book ``A Sand County Almanac'': ``When you 
     hear a mallard being audibly enthusiastic about his soup, you 
     are free to picture a score guzzling among the duckweeds. 
     When one widgeon squeals, you may postulate a squadron 
     without fear of visual contradiction.''
       It will be almost like old times this October as squadron 
     after squadron, species after species rises and, in Leopold's 
     phrase, heads toward the equator ``on quivering wings, 
     ripping the firmament neatly into halves.''

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