NAWCA Enhancement Bill Signifies Milestone In Wetlands Conservation
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 3:11 PMNorth American Wetlands Conservation Act Enhancement Bill Signifies Milestone In Wetlands Conservation
Canadian funding to go towards wetland conservation projects.
Ducks Unlimited
MEMPHIS, Tenn. –-(Ammoland.com)- For the first time since its inception more than 20 years ago, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) can now allow Canadian funding sources to count toward the dollar-for-dollar match required by the U.S. government.
A bill allowing the addition of Canadian funding was recently signed into law by President Obama after being passed unanimously by Congress last year.
Congressman Rob Wittman (Va.), one of the members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, introduced the bill into Congress in 2009. Scott Sutherland, Ducks Unlimited’s director of governmental affairs, testified in favor of the bill before the House Natural Resources Committee.
“NAWCA continues to be one of the great success stories for conservation, and by enhancing the program to allow investment from Canadian sources, that success can continue,” Sutherland said before the hearing. “Allowing Canadian funds to match the federal grants will help continue NAWCA projects to be matched by an average of $2 for every dollar from the U.S. government.”
Since the program’s inception more than 20 years ago, more than 1,600 NAWCA projects have contributed to the conservation of more than 25 million acres of habitat across North America. Each project requires at least a $1 to $1 match for each dollar contributed by the federal government. However, the projects often attract two to three times that from conservationists, local governments and others. More than $1 billion in federal grants has been allocated for NAWCA projects ─ a figure that has leveraged an additional $3 billion from matching and non-matching funds.
“This bill will enable DU and our many partners to strengthen and expand our collective efforts to conserve waterfowl habitats across North America, especially in the critical breeding area of Canada’s Prairie Pothole Region,” said Scott Yaich, DU’s director of conservation operations.
Watch a video featuring Dale Humburg, DU’s chief biologist, as he talks about the impact that this enhancement to NAWCA could have on wetland conservation.
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved over 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.
No tags for this post.
