National Legislation Supported
by the
DWIGHT LYDELL CHAPTER OF THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE

Visit the Contact Your Elected Officials links page to let your legislators know of your opinion.  It counts!

The Conservation Reinvestment Act (CARA)

The Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), HR 701, passed the US House of Representatives in the 106th Congress with a bipartisan vote of 315-102.  However, it failed to pass in the Senate. It has been re-introduced in the 107th Congress with the same name and number.

Under CARA, $2.8 billion a year in federal revenue from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leases would be spread to all 50 states and US protectorates. The money would be used for a range of conservation activities including: fish and wildlife rehabilitation projects, land restoration, conservation easements and purchases, historic site preservation, and for urban, state and local parks.  States, such as Michigan, would receive extra funds for shoreline impact assistance and coastal conservation. In total, Michigan would receive $50-$60 million annually. This is not a tax, but simply taking an item off budget and diverting some funds from the annual budget process. 

Congress established the Land and Water Conservation Fund 36 years ago and authorized an annual appropriation of $900 million to the fund.  But for the last 20 years, rarely has the fund received a third of the appropriation. For a number of years now, congressmen and conservationists have been searching for a good way to make up this underfunding and support the wide range of wildlife and conservation needs.  The result is CARA that was written with a great amount of bipartisan effort, and would provide for long term planning and subsequent funding

Representative Don Young of Alaska is the sponsor of the bill.  There are already eight co-sponsors including John Dingell and Dale Kildee from Michigan.  The bill was referred to the House Committee on Resources on February 14, 2001.  We need to contact Michigan Senators Stabenow and Carl Levin and Representatives Bracia, Bonier, Camp, Conyers, Ehlers, Hoekstra, Kilpatrick, Sander Levin, Rogers, Rivers, Stupak, and Upton and ask them to also become co-sponsors of the bill and to move it through Congress. All of Michigan’s Congressional Delegation except one supported this legislation last year.

Senators and Representatives need to be contacted NOW to let them know of your interest and concern that these bills get made into law. The names, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of Michigan Senators and Congressmen from this area are on the back side of this information sheet, or they can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking for their office.

GREAT LAKES BALLAST WATER TREATMENT

AS PASSED BY THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE AT ITS NATIONAL CONVENTION, JULY 2000

Everyday, the Great Lakes are being invaded by exotic (non-native) aquatic organisms and pathogens transported from foreign waters. Primarily they arrive in the ballast water discharged by ships using our inland waterways.  Previously introduced exotic species, such as Eurasian ruffe and round goby, are being carried in ballast water from one Great Lakes port to another.  Once introduced and established, these non-native aquatic organisms are expensive to control and almost impossible to eliminate.

The impact on sport and commercial fisheries (worth an estimated $4 billion annually) is immense, as exotic species displace or deplete important sources of food for native fish. Moreover, shoreline communities are being forced to spend an estimated $500 million annually on control measures to protect drinking water, power plants, and recreational facilities. To make matters worse, some of these aquatic organisms, such as zebra mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil, are now making their way into inland lakes and streams across the United States where they are displacing native animal and plant species.

The ballast water that harbors these invaders is used to maintain the stability of cargo vessels when they are empty or only partially loaded. It is pumped in or out of large holding tanks, as needed, before the ships leave port. Although U.S. and Canadian laws currently require ships entering the Great Lakes to exchange their ballast water at sea, ship design makes it impossible to eliminate all of the ballast water. The average ship retains 42,000 gallons of ballast water and sludge when entering the Great Lakes or moving between ports. Exotic organisms are flushed into the lakes as ships take on and discharge ballast water in the course of their voyages.

The present federal laws have clearly failed to prevent exotic species in this residual ballast water from reaching the Great Lakes. Several new aquatic organisms have been introduced into the Great Lakes since these laws were enacted in 1988-89.

On April 7, 2000, federal legislation - the Great Lakes Ecology Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 4191) - was introduced to address the issue. The bill would amend the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Control and Protection Act of 1990 by requiring ships traveling in and out of the Great Lakes to purify their ballast water prior to discharge and certify that any discharge or exchange within the Great Lakes will not introduce any Nonindigenous organisms.

The Izaak Walton League of America, assembled in convention at Des Moines, Iowa, July 15, 2000, urges Congress to promptly pass legislation requiring the use of environmentally sound treatment methods for ballast water and sediments, such as sterilization, by all ships capable of discharging ballast water, whether equipped with ballast tank systems or otherwise.  Additionally, upon enactment of such legislation, the League calls on federal authorities to take immediate action to implement its provisions and intent, inspecting vessels and taking enforcement action as necessary to ensure strict compliance with the law.

Fish Need Clean Water Too

Gaithersburg, Md. - The promise of "fishable and swimmable waters"contained in the 1972 Clean Water Act will be a step closer to being realized if the Fishable Waters Act (H.R. 325) introduced by Rep. John Tanner, Tenn. becomes law. The Izaak Walton League commends Rep. Tanner for his leadership to provide the resources and programs needed to restore healthy fisheries to the nation's waters.

The Fishable Waters Act is the product of several years of effort by a coalition of fisheries and agricultural organizations known as the Fishable Waters Coalition (FWC). It creates a voluntary, incentive-based plan that would enable states to convene watershed councils that would in turn develop plans for watershed protection. Projects in the plan would be focused on improvements to water quality and fish habitat. Direct financial support would be available for projects in approved plans or to compliment other federal conservation programs benefiting fish.

"This locally led, incentives-based approach for cleaning our waters and restoring our fisheries offers a new and exciting tool that willsupplement, not supplant, existing regulatory protections for the nation's water quality," said Paul Hansen, the League's executive director.  "We are pleased to be a part of the FWC that worked to craft this bill".

Separate provisions of the bill address urban fisheries, fish habitat issues in major waterways and acquisition of water rights from willing sellers for fish conservation. "The latter provision is often the most critical element required for fish," said Jim Mosher, IWLA conservation director. "Not only are minimum in-stream flows necessary to support a healthy fishery, but restoration of normal flow regimens especially below dams can be equally important". The League is committed to work with bill sponsors, the FWC and others to successfully move a good water quality and fish conservation bill through this Congress.