CONSERVATION CORNER
Migratory Bird Conservation Fund Important To Mississippi
by James L. Cummins

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed to reallocate 90 percent of the overall annual funding of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission (MBCC) to conserve breeding habitats, which results in almost 90 percent of all of the funds shifting to the Prairie Pothole Region (North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana).

While the conservation of breeding habitat is extremely important, a funding shift of this magnitude will likely have a profound and far reaching effect on our Nation's ability to ensure that resident and migratory waterfowl habitat in the Lower Mississippi Valley, especially Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, is conserved. Although I strongly believe that we need to ensure that everything possible is done to conserve waterfowl production habitat in the mid-continental region of the country, such a dramatic shift in funding away from the Lower Mississippi Valley could have unintended, yet significant and far reaching consequences for waterfowl and other species across all flyways.

This proposal is at a time when we are already seeing a declining in the use of the Lower Mississippi Valley by waterfowl, although populations are still at healthy levels.

The proposed allocation gives little value to wintering habitats as an essential component in the life history of ducks and the necessity of these habitats for wintering especially along the Gulf Coast where wintering habitats for pintails and other species are being lost or deteriorated at an alarming rate. The proposed allocation process does not appear to adequately consider wood duck breeding and wintering habitat or breeding habitats for other species including mottled duck and black duck. The wood duck is often the number 2 species harvested in Mississippi yet its breeding habitats are 90-95 percent outside of the northern prairies.

One potential solution that is not being considered is to request the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to focus more attention on breeding habitat through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The CRP can focus a tremendous amount on breeding habitat and has a proven track record in doing so. Furthermore, almost all of the habitat in Arkansas for the ivory-billed woodpecker was purchased using MBCC funds. If they had been reallocated, the bird may not even exist today.

We support the desire to ensure that our MBCC allocations are done in such a way that maximizes waterfowl benefits across the country. The proposal is a reasonable place to start this discussion. Any action of this magnitude should be handled in a transparent manner, be grounded in sound science, open to peer review and fully coordinated with our key partners and stakeholders including the States and Flyway Councils.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.