[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 51 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION ACT

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague Senator 
Boozman in introducing legislation that reauthorizes and makes 
improvements to the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. The 
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act program has historically 
had strong bipartisan support, and it has been my honor to champion 
this program's reauthorization since I was elected to the Senate in 
2007. I am pleased to welcome Senator Boozman to this effort after many 
productive years working with Senator Portman. This is a critical 
program administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that 
supports habitat conservation work throughout the United States, Latin 
America, and the Caribbean.
  Migratory birds undertake awe-inspiring journeys, from as far north 
as the boreal forests of Canada and the Artic, to Latin America and the 
Caribbean. Their journeys require ``habitat anchors'' that the species 
have relied on for tens of thousands of years to stop over as they make 
their migratory journeys. The wetlands of the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
provide one such critical stepping stone for the 500 hundred species 
that travel along the Atlantic Flyway.
  The program enables the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support 
conservation partners along migratory flyways throughout the Western 
Hemisphere. This is the only Federal grant program that ensures that 
the links in the full migratory chain have the conservation support 
they need.
  Since 2002, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act program 
has provided more than $89 million in grants to support 717 projects in 
43 countries. The projects funded have positively affected more than 5 
million acres of bird habitat and spurred partnerships on multiple 
levels, contributing to an additional $346 million. It has fostered 
international cooperation and has evolved into a powerful conservation 
alliance.
  Throughout my time in the U.S. Senate, I have worked to improve 
programs, increase authorization levels, and make funding more 
accessible. Still, historic funding levels have been disappointing. 
Congressional appropriations for this popular program are far below 
what is needed to support this important work, especially as climate 
change continues to put undue stress on our bird populations and their 
habitats.
  Migratory birds rely on water and its associated habitats--lakes, 
rivers, streams, ponds, swamps, marshes, and coastal wetlands--for 
breeding, resting and refueling during migration, and wintering. Yet 
increasing human demand for water, along with climate change, 
pollution, and other factors are threatening these precious aquatic 
ecosystems. Global headlines are sounding the alarm: 35 percent of the 
world's wetlands, critical to migratory birds, have been lost in the 
last 50 years. Birds provides critical ecosystem services, and when 
species are lost, their functions and benefits to particular habitats 
are lost as well. Birds are important to people and the planet; this is 
exactly why I have made their protection one of my highest priorities 
in Congress.
  Today, I am celebrating the important improvements this bill makes to 
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation program and committing to 
working in a bipartisan manner to provide increased resources to this 
worthy endeavor.

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