[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    NORTHWEST STRAITS MARINE CONSERVATION INITIATIVE ACT (H.R. 1672)

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                               speech of

                            HON. RICK LARSEN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 7, 2009

  Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
support for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative 
Reauthorization Act, H.R. 1672.
  Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s the marine waters of the Strait 
of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound, 
collectively known as the Northwest Straits, experienced substantial 
environmental decline. This was concerning because local communities 
rely on the resources of the Northwest Straits to create good-paying 
jobs and many iconic and endangered species, including orca whales and 
pacific salmon, rely on the Northwest Straits for food and habitat.
  In 1997, Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Jack Metcalf convened a 
blue-ribbon commission to examine ways to reverse this trend and 
restore the health of the Northwest Straits. In 1998, Congress adopted 
the Murray-Metcalf Commission's recommendations when it authorized the 
creation of the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Commission, a 
grassroots organization which does not exercise regulatory authority 
but harnesses the energy of local communities to develop and implement 
conservation and restoration projects.
  For the last 11 years, the Northwest Straits Commission has done 
great work to restore the Northwest Straits. Their projects have helped 
create jobs and protect endangered and threatened species.
  The Northwest Straits Commission has demonstrated the ability to 
implement challenging recovery projects. The Commission used $4.5 
million of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to 
remove hundreds of acres of abandoned fishing gear from the seafloor. 
This project created jobs for out-of-work fisherman and saved the lives 
of endangered species.
  The legislation under consideration on the House floor today would 
extend the legislative authorization of the Northwest Straits 
Commission for an additional five years. It will increase tribal 
participation in the Commission and improve oversight of its 
activities.
  H.R. 1672 has earned the support of our local community--I have 
received letters of support for this legislation from elected 
officials, businesspeople and environmentalists in every county in 
which the Northwest Straits Commission operates.
  Similar legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate 
by my friend Senator Patty Murray. I hope that our joint effort will 
help to protect and restore the Northwest straits for the people, fish, 
and threatened wildlife which rely on it.

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