Winter 2004

The PUT-YOUR-MONEY-WHERE-YOUR-MOUTH-IS Act
by Dee Butler

If fewer government regulations intruding upon the lives of citizens and cost-effective federal programs are what the current Congress is about, it ought to love the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (Act). And for those in the private sector who espouse the conservation of wetland habitats, the Act is made for them, but they have to put their money where their mouth is to make it work.

The Act's purpose is to encourage voluntary partnerships among public agencies and the private sector to conserve North American wetland ecosystems. It establishes an infrastructure and provides a source of funding to accomplish that end. For those who have a project in mind that would result in obtaining a real property interest in or the restoration or enhancement of a wetland ecosystem to benefit wetland associated species, particularly migratory birds, the Act may be the answer to their conservation prayers.

The Act established the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (Council) to review the merits of such projects. The Council consists of nine members: the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), the Executive Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Foundation), four directors of state fish and wildlife agencies (one from each flyway) and three individuals each representing a different nonprofit organization actively carrying out wetlands conservation projects under the Act, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (Plan) or the Canadian Mexican United States Tripartite Agreement (Agreement).

For a wetlands project to pass muster, the Council considers: 1) the extent to which the project fulfills the purposes of the Act, Plan, or Agreement, 2) the availability of sufficient nonfederal moneys to carry out the project and to match federal contributions, 3) the extent of the public private partnership developed, 4) the consistency with the National Wetlands Priority Conservation Plan developed under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986, 5) the extent to which the project would aid the conservation of migratory nongame birds and endangered species, 6) the substantiality of the project design and 7) the recommendations of other partnerships carrying out projects under the Act, Plan, Agreement or other bird plans.

The Council goes through the proposed project selection process three times a year. Selected, prioritized project proposals are recommended to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (Commission) for consideration of federal funding. The Commission was established under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929. Membership consists of the Secretary of the Interior, who serves as Chairman; the Secretaries of Transportation and Agriculture; Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; two Members of the Senate selected by the President of the Senate; and two Members of the House of Representatives selected by the Speaker of the House. The Commission is authorized to approve, reject or reorder the priority of the proposed projects.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act plays a valuable role in improving wintering habitat for migratory birds in Mississippi. Photo by Michael Kelly.

The Act identifies sources of federal funding for approved projects: sums received under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 from fines, penalties and forfeitures of property; interest accrued on the fund established under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937; and Congressional appropriations. In 1990, amendments to the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 directed that a portion of the moneys collected from federal fuel excise taxes on small gasoline engines be allocated for use under the Act for coastal wetlands projects in the United States. Revenues are deposited in the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (NAWCF) for dispersal.

In December 2002, President Bush signed into law a bill reauthorizing federal appropriations to assist in carrying out the Act for fiscal years 2003 through 2007. Up to $55 million could have been appropriated fiscal year 2003, $38.3 million was. In fiscal year 2004, as much as $60 million may be appropriated, with $5 million increases to occur annually until fiscal year 2007, when the appropriation cap will be $75 million.

The Act states that federal contributions for projects must not exceed 50 percent of the total U.S. contribution to the costs of the projects. Partners must at least match the federal funds, and the nonfederal share may not be derived from federal grant programs. In most cases, partner funds exceed the 1:1 ratio required by the Act.
Since passage of the Act, 551 Canadian and Mexican projects have been awarded Act grants, and 671 projects have received grants to conserve habitat in 50 U.S. states and the Virgin Islands. Of those, 285 projects have been located in the U.S. portion of Mississippi Flyway, with 6 being in the State of Mississippi.

Flyway projects have involved a variety of wetland habitats and have sought creative means to protect, restore and/or enhance them. In the northern part of the flyway, for example, partners of the Private Land Restoration Project targeted more than 3,300 acres of privately owned prairie pothole wetlands at 19 sites in 13 counties of western Minnesota for enhancement. At stake was much needed waterfowl brood-rearing habitat. Mallards and blue-winged teal have especially benefited, but other wetlands-dependent species like the American bittern, marbled godwit, Wilson's phalarope and king rail also take advantage of these areas.

The project partners used a number of options to achieve their conservation goal. Renewable and perpetual easements were purchased; dikes, dams and water control structures were used to improve existing wetlands; and islands were created to increase waterfowl nesting habitat.

The total project cost was $141,000. The NAWCF contributed $62,000; the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources added $79,000.

A think-outside-the-box project located in the south-central portion of the flyway demonstrates how individuals and groups having diverse interests and concerns can develop a common goal and achieve success with the help of the Act. Eleven partners, including Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, John and Elsa Crone, representing the English Family Trust, Arkansas Field Office of The Nature Conservancy, Sterling Lacy of Lacy and Alford Consultants, Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers Commission, International Paper, Georgia Pacific Corporation, Deltic Farm and Timber and Rattlesnake Bottoms Club, Inc., worked together to secure some 740 acres of bottomland hardwoods. The intact habitat, in an area known as Falcon Bottoms, lies along Bayou Dorcheat as it flows through southwestern Arkansas.

The partners estimated the projects acquisition costs at a little over $1 million. The partners contributed $598,725 in cash and such in-kind services as minerals assessment, surveying and beaver control. They received $422,135 from the NAWCF to fully fund the project.
The project's bottomland hardwood communities of cypress tupelo swamp and willow-oak forest are protected for posterity. Ducks galore, herons, egrets, songbirds, raccoons and mink, among others, are guaranteed a natural setting in which to do their thing.

Just across the Mississippi River, the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation saw an opportunity to improve approximately 10,000 acres of privately owned agricultural lands, palustrine emergent wetlands and bottomland hardwoods using NAWCF moneys. The project assisted private landowners with the fabrication of over 200 water-management structures and 1,000 wood duck nesting boxes.
Seventy-five percent of the project's efforts focused on developing water impoundments on agricultural lands. Impoundments not only afford overwintering waterfowl a place to feed and sit out the day but also add to the area's water quality. Impoundments filter out water pollutants, enhance flood control, reduce soil erosion and recharge groundwater supplies.

The remainder of the project's efforts were directed toward palustrine emergent wetlands and bottomland hardwoods. The idea was to restore the water regime in these habitats and construct wood duck nesting boxes to be placed by landowners. More than wood ducks have benefited from the project. If you can name a wetlands-dependent avian, reptilian or mammalian species found in Mississippi, there is a good chance the critter makes use of the project's habitats.

The Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation joined forces with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the SONAT Foundation (a division of Southern Natural Gas) and private landowners to make real their vision of wetlands restoration and enhancement in Mississippi. Project costs totaled $478,440. The NAWCF contributed $200,000 to the effort. The partners made up the difference.

It can also be said that partners make the difference. It is the voluntary public agency and private sector partnerships that make the goals of the Act achievable. However, much remains to be done in wetlands conservation. The latest report to Congress on wetlands status, Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 1986 to 1997, available at http://wetlands.fws.gov/bha/SandT/SandTReport.html, indicates that U.S. wetlands continue to be lost at the rate of 58,500 acres annually. Dedicated wetlands conservation partners, willing to put their money where their mouths are, are working hard to keep up. The Act helps out.

The article was written by Dee Butler of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Bird Habitat Conservation in Arlington, Virginia.

North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico and the United States. Its purpose is to recover waterfowl populations by protecting, restoring and managing wetland ecosystems, to conserve biological diversity in the western hemisphere, to integrate wildlife conservation with sustainable economic development and to promote partnerships of public and private agencies, organizations and individuals for conservation.

The 1998 Update to the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Expanding the Vision, is available at http://birdhabitat.fws.gov/NAWMP/nawmphp.htm. The 2003 update is expected to be published early in 2004.

Migratory Bird Conservation Commission
Honorable Gale Norton (Chair), Secretary of the Interior
Honorable Thad Cochran, Senator from Mississippi
Honorable John Breaux, Senator from Louisiana
Honorable John Dingell, Representative from Michigan
Honorable Curt Weldon, Representative from Pennsylvania
Honorable Mike Leavitt, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency
Honorable Ann Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture

For information about North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant applications, contact David Buie, U.S. Proposal Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, 11510 American Holly Drive, Merriam Lab, Laurel, Maryland 20703 4017, (301) 497-5870, david_buie@fws.gov, or visit http://birdhabitat.fws.gov.