DU, flyway council seek funding to conserve 300,000 acres

A loan now could save waterfowl habitat and money in the long run.

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Ducks Unlimited (DU) and the Mississippi Flyway Council are appealing to Congress and the Bush Administration for a loan to conserve 300,000 acres of waterfowl habitat. In the end, they say, it will save more than ducks.

Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The Flyway Council is an organization of state and Canadian government agencies that share responsibility for managing migratory birds in central North America. Both groups have endorsed legislation that would provide a Congressional loan to protect wetland habitat critical to the health of migratory bird populations.

The 2006 Emergency Wetlands Loan Act would provide a $400 million advance over 10 years on future revenue from the sale of federal duck stamps. The measure has a precedent in Public Law 87-383, known as the Wetlands Loan Act. Passed in 1961, this law provided $200 million for migratory bird habitat protection. The measure expired in 1988.

Dave Erickson, Wildlife Division administrator for the Missouri Department of Conservation, chairs the flyway council. In an August letter on behalf of the flyway council, Erickson asked President George W. Bush to support the 2006 Emergency Wetlands Loan Act. He said the proposed law ultimately would save the government money.

"What is being proposed isn't an increase in federal revenues," said Erickson. "The money will be paid back from future duck stamp sales revenues. Getting an advance on those revenues will enable us to set aside land at today's prices rather than what we would have to pay 10 years from now."

Erickson said hundreds of landowners in North and South Dakota and other states are prepared to work with Ducks Unlimited and the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect 300,000 acres of wetland and grassland habitat, providing long-term benefits for ducks, geese and other wildlife.

"The continued rapid loss of wetlands and other waterfowl habitat jeopardizes the future of waterfowl populations," said DU President Dr. Jim Hulbert. "We are asking Congress to act quickly to create the 2006 Emergency Wetlands Loan Act and pass it soon. It's now or never, and we simply don't have any time to waste."

DU Executive Vice President Don Young said waterfowl habitat continues to be lost at staggering rates in the northern United States.

"At the present rate, it will take another 20 years and several hundred million dollars to protect the best waterfowl habitat," said Young. "If those funds were available now, we could do this job in just a few years and keep all this habitat intact and producing ducks. The next decade will determine if we see prairie wetlands and grasslands saved or lost forever."

If Congress approves the emergency loan, the Fish and Wildlife Service would use the money to help landowners protect existing wetlands and surrounding duck production habitat in breeding areas across the northern United States. The Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies proposed the idea, and several governors and U.S. representatives have endorsed it.

For more information, visit www.ducks.org/News/EmergencyWetlandsLoanAct.asp or http://gov.louisiana.gov/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=943.

-Jim Low-

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