[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S9941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT ACT

  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, earlier this week I introduced the 
Hutchinson-Lincoln Wetlands Reserve Program Enhancement Act to help 
strengthen the popular Wetlands Reserve Program administered by the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service. Simply put, this legislation 
will act to strengthen the current WRP which provides financial 
incentives to farmers and private landowners who voluntarily set aside 
marginal lands and restore them to optimal wetland wildlife habitat.
  These restored wildlife areas are some of the best wildlife 
conservation habitat in America and are critical to the future of 
waterfowl throughout our Nation. Established by the 1990 farm bill as a 
long-term conservation option for farmers, the WRP protects farm 
wetlands using 10-year, 30-year, and permanent easements. Land which is 
eligible for WRP is characterized by wetlands that are farmed, lands 
adjacent to protected wetlands, and croplands and pastures which are 
naturally prone to flooding.
  If eligible, the landowner voluntarily limits the use of the lands 
while retaining private ownership and access to the land. In addition, 
they may also lease the land for hunting, fishing, and other 
undeveloped recreational activities. The NRCS, in conjunction with the 
landowner, then develops a plan for the restoration and the maintenance 
of the wetland.
  Once restored, wetlands act to: No. 1, improve water quality by 
filtering sediments; No. 2, reduce flooding; No. 3, recharge ground 
water; No. 4, promote biological diversity; and No. 5, furnish 
educational, recreational, and aesthetic benefits. These benefits, as a 
result of the WRP, have helped landowners throughout the 46 States 
where farmers have currently enrolled in what has become a very 
successful program.
  At the local level, I want to mention three farmers in Arkansas who 
are benefiting from the WRP. Hattie Neely of Moro, AR, in Lee County, 
grows soybeans and has enrolled 31 acres in this very important 
program. Then there is Donald Wallace of Gillett, AR, in Arkansas 
County, who grows soybeans, and he has enrolled 30 acres in the WRP. 
And Dick Carmichael of Monticello, AR, in Drew County, grows soybeans 
and rice and has enrolled 115 acres in the WRP.
  In each case, these farmers are using the WRP to restore bottom land 
hardwood forests and a natural wildlife habitat. Other farmers in 
Arkansas are using WRP to retire agricultural lands unsuited for crop 
production because of elevated levels of salt from irrigation water. In 
this case, WRP lands filter runoffs, keeping salts and sediments in the 
wetlands and out of the natural waterways.
  Despite the benefits to farmers across America, the WRP will soon 
become a victim of its own success. The current WRP is authorized to 
enroll up to 975,000 acres nationally through the year 2002. WRP is in 
such high demand from America's farmers that it will reach its acreage 
cap next year. The top 10 States--Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, 
California, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Illinois--
have a combined enrollment of almost 427,000 acres in these States 
alone.
  In response to the success of WRP, my bill seeks to expand the 
acreage cap from the proposed 180,000 acres in fiscal year 2000 to a 
newly authorized maximum of 250,000 acres per year through the year 
2005. This will help to ensure that farmers who want to enroll in the 
program will have the option to do so.
  There is no doubt that the American farmer faces an industry that is 
in crisis. In the race to find solutions for the many challenges facing 
farmers, I want to ensure that my colleagues in the Senate do not 
overlook the importance of conservation to family farmers, both as a 
way to protect valuable wildlife resources and as a source of 
additional income.
  In the Mississippi Delta, family farmers are using the WRP to move 
frequently flooded farmland away from high-risk, high-cost farming back 
to original hardwood timberlands.
  Mr. President, I thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of 
family farmers who care about protecting the natural resources with 
which they are entrusted. I ask my colleagues to consider the 
importance of wildlife conservation in the life of family farmers. Join 
me in the support of what I think is very good, very important, 
bipartisan conservation legislation.

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