[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[August 2, 1996]
[Page 1247]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Message to the Senate Transmitting the Canada-United States Protocol
for the Protection of Migratory Birds
August 2, 1996

To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to 
ratification, I transmit herewith the Protocol between the United States 
and Canada Amending the 1916 Convention for the Protection of Migratory 
Birds in Canada and the United States, with a related exchange of notes, 
signed at Washington on December 14, 1995.
    The Protocol, which is discussed in more detail in the accompanying 
report of the Secretary of State, represents a considerable achievement 
for the United States in conserving migratory birds and balancing the 
interests of conservationists, sports hunters, and indigenous people. If 
ratified and properly implemented, the Protocol should further enhance 
the management and protection of this important resource for the benefit 
of all users.
    The Protocol would replace a protocol with a similar purpose, which 
was signed January 30, 1979, (Executive W, 96th Cong., 2nd Sess. 
(1980)), and which I, therefore, desire to withdraw from the Senate.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration 
to the Protocol, with exchange of notes, and give its advice and consent 
to ratification.

                                                      William J. Clinton

The White House,

August 2, 1996.