[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 158 (Wednesday, October 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10858-S10859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU:
  S. 1965. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
financial assistance to the State of Louisiana for a pilot program to 
develop measures to eradicate or control feral swine and to assess and 
restore wetlands damaged by feral swine; to the Committee on 
Environment and Public Works.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill that 
will be an important component in our efforts to rebuild Louisiana's 
vast wetlands. Today, the coastline of my home state is the site of one 
of the Nation's most pronounced ecological disasters: the massive 
erosion of Louisiana's coastal wetlands. Few are aware that the marsh 
and wetlands along Louisiana's coast comprise some 40 percent of the 
Nation's total salt marshes. Louisiana's coastline is a national 
treasure. Yet, this national treasure is disappearing at an alarming 
rate due to a number of natural and man-made factors, including the 
destruction of wetlands caused by non-native feral pig populations that 
are literally eating away the coast. The loss of our wetlands threatens 
not only our teeming wildlife, but also land, lives, energy 
infrastructure, and navigation.
  That is why I rise today, to introduce the Feral Swine Eradication 
and Control Pilot Program Act of 2009, address the challenges these 
species pose to our efforts to reverse coastal wetland deterioration.
  Every 30 minutes, a portion of Louisiana's coast the size of a 
football field is converted from healthy marsh into open water. Since 
1930, 1.2 million acres have been lost--an area roughly the size of 
Delaware. Scientists predict that Louisiana will lose another 700 
square miles of coastal wetlands by 2050--an area the size of the 
greater

[[Page S10859]]

Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.
  Louisiana's coastal land loss problems are caused by a number of 
natural and man-made factors. The primary factor has been the leveeing 
of the Mississippi River for purposes of flood control and navigation. 
Historically, the river would flood seasonally, taking silt from the 
Midwest and depositing it across the Mississippi Delta. Levees provided 
the needed flood protection, yet prevented vital land-building 
sediments and nutrients from replenishing and elevating deteriorating 
marshes. Additional activity added to the problem, including dredging 
thousands of miles of access canals for petroleum extraction and 
navigation. Those canals accelerated saltwater intrusion, further 
weakening the marsh.
  Another human activity that resulted in significant wetland loss was 
the introduction of two invasive species to the marshland habitat: the 
nutria and the feral pig. These non-native species are consuming our 
wetlands at an alarming rate. Nutria were initially introduced by those 
who wanted to raise them for their furs. Their population exploded in 
the wild and their appetite for marsh grass is boundless. Scientists 
estimate that nutria are currently affecting an estimated 100,000 acres 
of coastal wetlands.

  The feral hog is another exotic species which has expanded its range 
throughout most of Louisiana. Feral swine cause extensive damage to 
natural wildlife habitat. In Louisiana, the wild omnivores compete with 
native wildlife for food resources; prey on young domestic animals and 
wildlife; and carry diseases that can affect pets, livestock, wildlife 
and people. Scientists now believe that the feral hogs are not only 
wreaking enormous damage to the marsh, but are also negatively 
impacting native freshwater mussels and insects by contributing E. coli 
to water systems.
  According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the 
wild pig is the most prolific large mammal in North America and given 
adequate nutrition, its populations in an area can double in just 4 
months.
  As I mentioned earlier, Louisiana's landscape has already been 
ravaged by the nutria rodent. In 2002, the first program was created to 
combat the increasing nutria populations. This program, the Coast-wide 
Nutria Control Program, CNCP, incentivized trappers to catch nutria in 
return for monetary compensation. This program has proven successful at 
decreasing nutria populations and significantly reducing their impact 
to coastal wetlands.
  However, more effort was needed to further reduce the nutria damage 
to wetlands, both in Louisiana and in other marshy environments, 
including Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. The Nutria Eradication and Control 
Act was enacted in 2003 to provide a critical supplement of funding to 
strengthen the Coast-wide Nutria Control Program. In July, I joined my 
friend and colleague Senator Cardin in introducing the reauthorization 
of the Nutria Eradication and Control Act. These two measures have been 
instrumental in reducing the nutria damage to Louisiana's wetlands.
  Now, it is my hope that we can achieve similar success with the 
problem of feral hogs. Feral swine are listed by the World Conservation 
Union, IUCN, as one of the top 100 invasive species worldwide. If 
action is not taken to control the feral swine population, our 
biologists fear these animals will undo much of the progress Louisiana 
has made in controlling the nutria population. It is my hope that with 
the help of my colleagues, we can pass this bill to help eradicate 
these pests from our vanishing coastline once and for all.
  The bill I am introducing today authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to allocate funding to create a pilot program modeled off of 
the Nutria Eradication and Control Act. This program will assess the 
nature and extent of damage to the wetlands in Louisiana and develop 
methods to eradicate or control the feral swine population, and restore 
the coastal areas damaged by this invasive species.
  It is a small program, but rewards it could reap are potentially 
vast. Consider this, Louisiana's wetlands are not only the home to our 
famed wildlife, they are also the most effective protection we have 
against future storm damage.
  Coastal wetlands are the last barrier between the sea and the land. 
Wetlands reduce high winds and absorb the deadly storm surges that 
often accompany hurricanes. Scientists estimate that every 3 to 4 miles 
of wetlands can absorb enough water to reduce the height of a storm 
surge by 1 foot. That protects the millions of hardworking men and 
women who live along Louisiana's coast.
  But I would also like to remind my colleagues of the vital strategic 
importance these wetlands serve to the Nation's energy security: 
Louisiana is one of the economy's largest producers of energy. Without 
wetlands as a buffer, storms could devastate the Nation's critical 
energy infrastructure.
  It is for all of these reasons that this legislation is crucial. I 
ask that my colleagues support its prompt passage.
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