[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4680-S4682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Cochran, Mr. 
        Warner, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Snowe, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
        Kerry, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Reed, 
        Mrs. Murray, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Sununu):
  S. 1142. A bill to authorize the acquisition of interests in 
undeveloped coastal areas in order better to ensure their protection 
from development; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise today along with Senator Lautenberg 
to introduce the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act. We are 
introducing this much needed coastal protection act along with Senators 
Cochran, Warner, Wyden, Kennedy, Lieberman, Snowe, Boxer, Kerry, 
Menendez, Cantwell, Feinstein, Reed, Murray, Collins, and Sununu. In 
addition, this legislation is supported by the Trust for Public Land, 
The Nature Conservancy, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the 
Land Trust Alliance, The Conservation Fund, Restore America's 
Estuaries, The Ocean Conservancy, American Fly Fishing Trade 
Association, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, 
National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, Association of 
National Estuary Programs, Coastal States Organization, New Jersey 
Audubon Society, and the NY/NJ Baykeeper.
  The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act promotes coordinated 
land acquisition and protection efforts in coastal and estuarine areas 
by fostering partnerships between non-governmental organizations and 
Federal, State, and local governments. As clearly outlined by the U.S. 
Commission of Ocean Policy, these efforts are urgently needed. With 
Americans rapidly moving to the coast, pressures to develop critical 
coastal ecosystems are increasing. There are fewer and fewer 
undeveloped and pristine areas left in the Nation's coastal and 
estuarine watersheds. These areas provide important nursery habitat for 
two-thirds of the Nation's commercial fish and shellfish, provide 
nesting and foraging habitat for coastal birds, harbor significant 
natural plant communities, and serve to facilitate coastal flood 
control and pollutant filtration.
  The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act pairs willing sellers 
through community-based initiatives with sources of federal funds to 
enhance environmental protection. Lands can be acquired in full or 
through easements, and none of the lands purchased through this program 
would be held by the Federal Government. This bill puts land 
conservation initiatives in the hands of State and local communities. 
This new program, administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, would provide Federal matching funds to states with 
approved coastal management programs or to National Estuarine Research 
Reserves through a competitive grant process. Federal matching funds 
may not exceed 75 percent of the cost of a project under this program, 
and non-Federal sources may count in-kind support toward their portion 
of the cost share.
  This coastal land protection program provides much needed support for 
local coastal conservation initiatives throughout the country. In New 
Hampshire, we have worked collaborative1y with local communities, 
environmental groups, willing sellers, and the State to conserve lands 
around Great Bay, Sagamore Creek, Massacre Marsh, Hurd Farm, Moose 
Mountain, Winnicut Headwaters, Marden Woods, Sleeper Wetlands, and the 
Piscassic River Greenway. These lands are home to a wide variety of 
plants and animal species that are particularly threatened by 
encroaching development and environmental pollutants. By working with 
local communities to purchase lands or easements on these valuable 
parcels of land, New Hampshire has been able to successfully conserve 
the natural and scenic heritage of this vital estuary.

[[Page S4681]]

  Programs like the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection program will 
further enable other states to participate in these community-based 
conservation efforts in coastal areas. This program was modeled after 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's successful Forest Legacy Program, 
which has conserved millions of acres of productive and ecologically 
significant forest land around the country.
  I welcome the opportunity to offer this important legislation, with 
my good friend from New Jersey, Senator Lautenberg. I am thankful for 
his leadership on this issue, and look forward to working with him to 
make the vision for this legislation a reality, and to successfully 
conserve our coastal lands for their ecological, historical, 
recreational, and aesthetic values.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to join Senator Gregg in 
our introduction of legislation that would help protect and preserve 
the valuable coastal and estuarine lands of our Nation.
  Development of the Nation's coastal and estuarine areas poses an 
increasing threat to water quality, wildlife habitat, flood protection, 
and recreational opportunities. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy 
emphasized that intact coastal lands are vital to ensuring the 
ecological and economic health of coastal communities. However, as 
these areas are fragmented and disappear, so do the benefits they 
provide. The Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act (CELP) would 
authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as 
the lead Federal agency supporting State, local or private acquisition 
of land or conservation easements in undeveloped coastal areas in order 
to ensure their protection from development. The Joint Ocean Commission 
Initiative has identified enactment of the Coastal and Estuarine Land 
Protection Act as a high priority for improving our coastal resource 
management. This legislation builds upon the existing Coastal and 
Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) within NOAA. The Program 
allows States to compete for matching funds to acquire land or 
easements for the protection of sensitive coastal ecosystems. The 
Federal funds provided through this program help leverage additional 
State, local and private funding.
  The CELCP complements private, Federal and State conservation 
programs. This program is based on the highly successful Forest Legacy 
program which is a Federal-State partnership program that supports 
efforts to protect environmentally sensitive forest lands. Permanent 
protection of lands in the coastal zone is also necessary to maintain 
and enhance coastal and estuarine areas for the benefit of the Nation, 
including protecting water quality, keeping public beachfront 
accessible, conserving wildlife habitat, and sustaining sport and 
commercial fisheries.
  Coastal and estuarine areas are some of the most productive 
ecosystems on earth. They are home to countless plants, animals, birds, 
and fish. These are complex ecosystems that provide a foundation for 
marine life as well as protection of inland areas from storm damage. 
Over the last 150 years the national system of estuaries has decreased 
in size because of our growing coastal populations and short-sighted 
land-use planning. Today our coastal areas are home to over 150 million 
Americans, about 53 percent of the U.S. population, and over 180 
million people visit the coasts each year. Due to the increasing 
pressures from development in low-lying areas, NOAA has estimated 80 
percent of our Nations' coastal waters are impaired for human use and 
marine life.
  The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) established 
under the Coastal Zone Management Act is a network of 27 protected 
estuaries throughout the United States, including the Jacques Cousteau 
NERRS site in New Jersey. These are pristine areas that provide public 
education and conservation awareness, and serve as living laboratories 
for scientific research. The funds provided through the CELP program 
established by our legislation would promote the expansion of these 
estuarine areas and assist in keeping coastal ecosystems healthy and 
productive.

  Federal funds help make New Jersey conservation possible. New 
Jersey's treasured natural resources--from the Meadowlands to the 
marshlands of Barnegat Bay--have substantially benefited from Federal 
support. The existing CELCP has aided in securing protection for over a 
thousand acres in New Jersey including lands for Gunning Island, 
Tuckerton Creek, and the Harbor Herons project. This week there will be 
a formal dedication of a 115-acre property, acquired with the aid of 
CELCP, on Potter Creek in Berkeley Township for public use and 
recreation. Lands have been protected in the Manahawkin Marsh, for 
wildlife habitat, including migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway. 
In Ocean County, the CELCP helped secure the acquisition of 800 acres 
on Tuckerton Creek in Little Egg Harbor which is vital to protecting 
Atlantic white cedar stands and improving the water quality of the 
Barnegat Bay. These projects have successfully protected our coasts 
while sustaining human activity.
  The coastal zone is essential to our country's prosperity and well-
being. The coastal and estuarine lands are areas of national importance 
and they are vulnerable to human activities. From 2002 through 2006 
twenty-five States have benefited from the CELCP. Now is the time for 
Congress to authorize this program to conserve lands that are vital to 
our Nation.
  The bill Senator Gregg and I are introducing today, the Coastal and 
Estuarine Land Protection Act, will ensure an ongoing partnership 
between Federal, State, and local governments to support the economic 
and natural resource base of communities through the acquisition of 
coastal and estuarine lands. This legislation offers the opportunity 
for States to protect coastal and estuarine areas that have significant 
conservation, recreation, ecological, historical, or aesthetic values 
and are threatened by conversion to other uses.
  The organizations supporting this legislation include The Trust for 
Public Land, The American Littoral Society, NY/NJ Baykeeper, 
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Land Trust Alliance, Restore 
America's Estuaries, American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Society 
for the Protection of New Hampshire's Forests, National Estuarine 
Research Reserve Association, Association of National Estuary Programs, 
The Ocean Conservancy, Coastal States Organization, The Conservation 
Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the New Jersey Audubon Society. I ask 
unanimous consent that a letter of support from these groups be printed 
in the Record.
  I would like to thank Senator Gregg for his long-time leadership on 
this issue. I would also like to thank Senator Mikulski for her many 
years of support for this legislation. I look forward to continuing to 
work with Senator Gregg and my colleagues in the Senate to ensure its 
passage so that we can fill this vital need for coastal and estuarine 
protection.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                                   April 16, 2007.
     Hon. Judd Gregg,
     Russell Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
     Hon. Frank Lautenberg,
     Hart Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Gregg and Lautenberg: On behalf of the 
     organizations listed below, we would like to thank you for 
     your longstanding support of coastal zone management and 
     coastal land conservation. We are writing today in support of 
     the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection Act (CELP), which 
     would formally codify the Coastal and Estuarine Land 
     Conservation Program. This program was created by Congress in 
     FY 2002 in order to ``protect those coastal and estuarine 
     areas with significant conservation, recreation, ecological, 
     historical or aesthetic values, or that are threatened by 
     conversion from their natural or recreational states to other 
     uses.'' Thus far, this program has invested over $177 million 
     towards 119 conservation projects in 25 of the nation's 35 
     coastal states. This federal investment has leveraged more 
     than an equal amount of state, local and private funding, 
     demonstrating the importance of coastal protection throughout 
     the nation and the critical role of federal funding to its 
     success.
       Our nation's coastal zone is under significant pressures 
     from unplanned development. In fact, it is estimated that by 
     2025, nearly 75 percent of the nation's population will live 
     within 50 miles of the coast, in addition to millions more 
     who enjoy America's storied coastlines. Across the nation, 
     beaches and waterfronts have always been the destination of 
     choice for Americans. Fully one-half of the nation's gross 
     domestic product, $4.5

[[Page S4682]]

     trillion annually, is generated in coastal watershed 
     counties, inexorably linking our coastal zone with the 
     economic health of the nation.
       As a result of this economic boom, rapid, unplanned 
     development has marred the once-pristine viewshed and 
     substantially reduced public access to the coast. The 
     resulting increase in impervious surfaces has correspondingly 
     increased non-point source pollution and seriously degraded 
     coastal and estuarine waters. The loss of coastal wetlands 
     has drastically impaired estuaries, some of the most 
     productive habitat on earth, and has exacerbated damage from 
     coastal storms. The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy has also 
     stressed the importance of land conservation as part of its 
     broader recommendations to Congress and the nation.
       From our first-hand experience at the local level, we know 
     that CELP will significantly leverage ongoing community-based 
     conservation, and will provide a much needed boost to local 
     efforts. Given the importance of healthy, productive and 
     accessible coastal areas, a federal commitment to state and 
     local coastal protection is a sound investment. The new 
     legislation codifies the existing investment that Congress 
     has already made to coastal protection and authorizes the 
     program formally. We believe this is an important and 
     necessary step to enhance efforts to ensure safe and 
     accessible coastal waters.
       We thank you for introducing this legislation, and look 
     forward to working with you towards its enactment.
           Sincerely,
         Gary J. Taylor, Legislative Director, Association of Fish 
           and Wildlife Agencies; Russell Shay, Director of Public 
           Policy, Land Trust Alliance; Alan Front, Senior Vice 
           President, The Trust for Public Land; Steven Bosak, 
           Vice President for External Affairs, Restore America's 
           Estuaries; Robert Ramsay, President, American Fly 
           Fishing Trade Association; Jane A. Difley, President-
           Forester, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire's 
           Forests; Angela Corridore, Executive Director, National 
           Estuarine Research Reserve Association; Rich Innes, 
           Executive Director, Association of National Estuary 
           Programs; David Hoskins, Vice President for Government 
           Affairs and General Counsel, The Ocean Conservancy; 
           Kacky Andrews, Executive Director, Coastal States 
           Organization; Lawrence A. Selzer, President, The 
           Conservation Fund; Jimmie Powell, Director of 
           Government Relations, The Nature Conservancy; Eric 
           Stiles, Vice President for Conservation and 
           Stewardship, New Jersey Audubon Society; Tim 
           Dillingham, Executive Director, American Littoral 
           Society (NJ).
                                 ______