John Chafee: “today, I am pleased to introduce, along with my distinguished colleague Senator Mitchell, a bill to reauthorize the…”

“today, I am pleased to introduce, along with my distinguished colleague Senator Mitchell, a bill to reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act--a true wetlands success story. This is a voluntary, nonregulatory wetlands protection program that has the support of private landowners, hunter, bird watchers, and resource agencies all across North America. Under this act, public and private partners in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have protected, restored, or enhanced hundreds of thousands of wetlands that are home to migratory waterfowl, songbirds, endangered species, and other fish and wildlife species. The success of this effort to bring State and Federal Government agencies together with a wide array of private conservation groups demonstrates what can be achieved with cooperative, creative approaches to conservation. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act, signed by President Bush in 1989, was a response to two facts. First, waterfowl and other migratory bird resources do not recognize political boundaries. Second, populations of these birds have drastically declined in this century as a result of extensive wetlands losses in many parts of North America.”