[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 14 (Thursday, February 6, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ENDANGERED PLANT PRESERVATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PATSY T. MINK

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 1997

  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced a bill, H.R. 
570, seeking $1.5 million for a genetic plant conservation project that 
would collect and preserve genetic material from the Nation's 
endangered plants. A total of 513 U.S. plants are listed as endangered 
and 101 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, according to 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  Precious species such as the eastern prairie fringed orchid in 
northeastern Illinois, the just-listed Stebbins' morning glory native 
to the central Sierra Nevada in California, and many other declining 
plant species have been listed under the Endangered Species Act [ESA] 
and recovery actions have shown success. However, a lack of sufficient 
resources for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS] and inadequate 
ESA funding make it difficult to ensure that all of these species will 
be saved from extinction.
  A crucial part of the solution to save our endangered species is this 
genetic plant conservation project, which will save and catalog genetic 
material for later propagation. As genetic technology develops, we 
would have saved essential materials necessary to restore plant 
populations, preventing extinction.
  My bill requests $1.5 million for activities such as rare plant 
monitoring and sampling, seed bank upgrade and curation, curation and 
propagation of endangered plant collections, expanded greenhouse 
capacity, nursery construction, cryogenic storage research and 
development, and in-vitro storage expansion.
  In my State, this project could help combat Hawaii's endangered 
species crisis by collecting genetic material from native plants--275 
plants native to Hawaii which are already listed under the ESA as 
endangered or threatened. This represents a startling 45 percent of the 
total number of U.S. plants listed. About 75 percent of plant and bird 
extinctions in the United States have been Hawaiian species, despite 
that fact that the Hawaiian Islands make up less than 0.2 percent of 
the country's total landmass.
  A recent study in the journal Science highlighted the serious extent 
of Hawaii's endangered species crisis by naming Hawaii as one of four 
hot spots in which the Nation's endangered species are concentrated. 
The other hot spots are Florida, southern Appalachia, and much of 
southern California.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 570 and this forward-
looking, necessary genetic plant conservation project, which will 
preserve plants that many of our ecosystems cannot afford to lose.

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