[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 36 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E380-E381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES RESEARCH ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2003

  Mr. EHLERS.  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce today a bill that 
is a critical component in our efforts to combat aquatic invasive 
species--the Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act. This legislation 
creates a comprehensive research program that supports federal, state 
and local efforts to prevent invasive species from ever entering our 
waterways, as well as detection, control and eradication efforts once 
they are here. It complements a bill introduced today by Mr. Gilchrest 
in the House and Mr. Levin in the Senate, to reauthorize the National 
Invasive Species Act. This legislation is a critical component in our 
battle against these harmful and extremely damaging pests.
  In undertaking this effort, I have found that many people wonder--
``What is an invasive

[[Page E381]]

species? Why it is so crucial to keep them out of the United States?'' 
It is important that we understand these questions so that we can 
appreciate the scope of the threat that invasive species pose to our 
economy and environment.
  The introduction of non-native species is not new to the United 
States. People have brought non-native plants and animals into the 
United States, both intentionally and unintentionally, for a variety of 
reasons, since the New World was discovered. Some examples include the 
introduction of nutria (which is a rodent similar to a muskrat) by 
trappers to bolster the domestic fur industry, and the introduction of 
the purple loosestrife plant to add rich color to gardens. Both nutria 
and purple loosestrife are now serious threats to wetlands. Non-native 
species may also be introduced unintentionally, such as through species 
hitching rides in ships, crates, planes, or soil coming into the United 
States. For example, zebra mussels, first discovered in Lake St. Clair 
near Detroit in the late 1980s, came into the Great Lakes through 
ballast water from ships.
  Not all species brought into the country are harmful to local 
economies, people and/or the environment. In fact, most non-native 
species do not survive because the environment does not meet their 
biological needs. In many cases, however, the new species will find 
favorable conditions (such as a lack of natural enemies or an 
environment that fosters propagation) that allow it to survive and 
thrive in a new ecosystem.
  Only a small fraction of these non-native species become an 
``invasive species''--defined as a species that is both non-native to 
the ecosystem and whose introduction causes or may cause economic or 
environmental harm or harm to human health. However, this small 
fraction can cause enormous damage, both to our economy and our 
environment.
  Estimating the total economic impact of invasive species is extremely 
difficult. No single organization accumulates such statistics 
comprehensively. However, researchers at Cornell University estimate 
that invasive species cost Americans $137 billion annually. This 
includes the cost of control, damage to property values, health costs 
and other factors. Just one species can cost government and private 
citizens billions of dollars. For example, zebra mussels have cost the 
various entities in the Great Lakes basin an estimated $3 billion 
during the past 10 years for cleaning water intake pipes, purchasing 
filtration equipment, etc.
  Beyond economic impacts, invasive species cause ecological costs that 
are even more difficult to quantify. For example, sea lamprey control 
measures in the Great Lakes cost approximately $10 million to $15 
million annually. However, we do not have a good measure of the cost of 
lost fisheries due to this invader, which was first discovered in the 
Great Lakes in the early 1900s. In fact, invasive species now are 
second only to habitat loss as threats to endangered species. 
Quantifying the loss due to extinction caused by these invasive species 
is nearly impossible.
  Given the enormous economic and environmental impacts these invaders 
cause, two clear goals emerge: First, we need to focus more resources 
and energy into dealing with this problem at all levels of government; 
second, our best strategy for dealing with invasive species is to focus 
these resources to prevent them from ever entering the United States. 
Spending millions of dollars to prevent species introductions will save 
billions of dollars in control, eradication and restoration efforts 
once the species become established. In fact, one theme is central to 
both Mr. Gilchrest's bill and this legislation. It is an old adage, but 
one worth following--``An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of 
cure.''

  To successfully carry out this strategy, we need careful, concerted 
management of this problem underpinned by research at every step. For 
example, we know that we must do more to regulate the pathways by which 
these invaders enter the United States (ships, aquaculture, etc.), 
which is an important component of Mr. Gilchrest's legislation. 
However, research must inform us as to which of these pathways pose the 
greatest threat and which techniques used to manage each pathway are 
effective. This legislation would help develop this understanding 
through the ecological and pathway surveys conducted under this bill. 
In fact, research underlies every management decision aimed at 
detecting, preventing, controlling and eradicating invasive species; 
educating citizens and stakeholders; and ensuring that resources are 
optimally deployed to increase the effectiveness of government 
programs. These items are also reflected in the legislation, which I 
will now describe in more detail.
  The bill is divided into six main parts. The first three parts 
outline an ecological and pathway research program, combining surveys 
and experimentation, to be established by the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, the Smithsonian Environmental Research 
Center and the United States Geological Survey. This program is focused 
on understanding what invasive species are present in our waterways, 
which pathways they use to enter our waterways, how they establish 
themselves once they are here and whether or not invasions are getting 
better or worse based on decisions to regulate pathways. In carrying 
out this program, the three principal agencies I mentioned previously 
will develop standardized protocols for carry out the ecological and 
pathway surveys that are called for under the legislation. In addition, 
they will coordinate their efforts to establish long-term surveys sites 
so we have strong baseline information. This program also includes an 
important grant program so that academic researchers and state agencies 
can carry out the surveys at diverse sites distributed geographically 
around the country. This will give federal, state and local managers a 
more holistic view of the rates and patterns of invasions of aquatic 
invasive species into the United States. Lastly, the principal agencies 
will coordinate their efforts and pull all of this information together 
and analyze it to help determine whether or not decisions to manage 
these pathways are effective. This will inform policymakers as to which 
pathways pose the greatest threat and whether or not they need to 
change the way these pathways are managed.

  The fourth part of the bill contains several programs to develop, 
demonstrate and verify technologies to prevent, control and eradicate 
invasive species. The first component is an Environmental Protection 
Agency grant program focused on developing, demonstrating and verifying 
environmentally sound technologies to control and eradicate aquatic 
invasive species. This research program will give federal, state and 
local managers more tools to combat invasive species that are also 
environmentally sound. The second component is a program to develop 
dispersal barriers--administered by the Army Corps of Engineers--which 
have been a critical issue in the Chicago Sanitary Canal where Great 
Lakes managers have been desperately trying to keep the Asian Carp from 
entering Lake Michigan from the Mississippi River system. The third 
component is expansion both in terms of scope and funding of a National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Fish and Wildlife Service 
program geared toward demonstrating technologies that prevent invasive 
species from being introduced by ships. This is the federal 
government's only program that is focused solely on helping develop 
viable technologies to treat ballast water. It has been woefully 
underfunded in the past and deserves more attention.
  The fifth part of the bill focuses on setting up research to directly 
support the Coast Guard's efforts to set standards for the treatment of 
ships with respect to preventing them from introducing invasive 
species. Ships are a major pathway by which invasive species are 
unintentionally introduced; the ballast water discharged by ships is of 
particular concern. One of the key issues that has hampered efforts to 
deal with the threats that ships pose is the lack of standards for how 
ballast water must be treated when it is discharged. The Coast Guard 
has had a very difficult time developing these standards since the 
underlying law that support their efforts (the National Invasive 
Species Act) did not contain a research component to support their 
work. This legislation provides that missing piece.
  Finally, the sixth and final part supports our ability to identify 
invaders once they arrive. Over the past couple of decades, the number 
of scientists working in systematics and taxonomy, expertise that is 
fundamental to identifying species, has decreased steadily. In order to 
address this problem, the legislation sets up a National Science 
Foundation program to give grants for academic research in systematics 
and taxonomy with the goal of maintaining U.S. expertise in these 
disciplines.
  Taken together, both my legislation and Mr. Gilchrest's represent an 
important step forward in our efforts to prevent invasive species from 
ever crossing our borders and combat them once they are arrive. New 
invaders are arriving in the United States each day, bringing with them 
even more burden on taxpayers and the environment. We simply cannot 
afford to wait any longer to deal with this problem, and so I urge all 
of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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