NEW Quarterly Newsletter: The Invasive Species Bulletin

The Association’s Invasive Species Committee released its first Invasive Species Bulletin this week. It is a quarterly e-publication focusing on state invasive species actions. The Bulletin is populated with reports written by state invasive species coordinators on efforts to manage invasive species through outreach, collaboration, legislation and control techniques. The next issue is expected to be released this fall with more state reports. The Invasive Species Committee hopes to use the bulletin as a communication platform between states as well as the greater conservation community.

Check out the Summer 2009 issue of the Invasive Species Bulletin

Senator Johnson Awarded for His Leadership in Helping to Prevent Wildlife from Becoming Endangered

The Teaming With Wildlife Coalition and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies honored Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) today for championing federal funding for state-based wildlife conservation as part of the Teaming With Wildlife Act, which he introduced in March 2009.

The award recognizes the Senator’s leadership in supporting legislation to establish a first-of-its-kind funding program to help state fish and wildlife agencies further move their State Wildlife Action Plans into on-the-ground action to prevent at risk wildlife from becoming endangered nationwide.

“I am honored to receive this award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies,” Johnson said. “South Dakota has a deep history of appreciation for the outdoors and that’s why I introduced important legislation that will help preserve our wildlife.”

As introduced by Senator Johnson, the Teaming With Wildlife Act would provide $350 million annually over five years through a portion of the royalties collected from Outer Continental Shelf drilling and mineral development on federal land to help state agencies carry out their State Wildlife Action Plans, the primary, comprehensive conservation tool adopted in every state and territory to keep fish and wildlife healthy and off the list of threatened and endangered species.

“We are grateful to Senator Johnson for recognizing that taking action to conserve wildlife before it becomes endangered is environmentally sound and fiscally responsible to taxpayers, said Matt Hogan, Executive Director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “Once a species declines to the point of potential extinction, recovery efforts become risky and expensive. The Teaming With Wildlife Act is a major milestone in the effort to secure dedicated funding essential for state agencies’ fish and wildlife conservation efforts.”

In addition to state fish and wildlife agencies, the Teaming With Wildlife Act has the active support of the 6,100-member Teaming With Wildlife Coalition, which is the largest and most diverse wildlife conservation alliance ever assembled in the U.S. representing millions of birdwatchers, hikers, anglers, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts and conservation professionals.

To lean more about Teaming With Wildlife and State Wildlife Action Plans, visit http://www.teaming.com/ and http://www.wildlifeactionplans.org/.

Photo (l-r): Mark Humpert, AFWA Wildlife Diversity Director; Matt Hogan, AFWA Executive Director; Senator Tim Johnson; representing the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition --Laura Bies, Director of Government Affairs, The Wildlife Society; Derek Brockbank, Conservation Funding Campaign Director, National Wildlife Federation

Michigan DNR Director Testifies at Senate Hearing on Threats to Fish and Wildlife from Diseases

Rebecca Humphries, Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Chair of the Association’s Fish and Wildlife Health Committee, testified yesterday on behalf of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the issue of threats to fish and wildlife sustainability from diseases and pathogens.

Director Humphries reflected on the utility of the Association-developed “National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative” as an approach to addressing this national issue; and addressed the state-federal collaboration on the management of Chronic Wasting Disease as a model to approaching animal diseases that affect both free-ranging fish and wildlife, and domestic animals. Humphries also shared her experiences of managing CWD, Bovine Tuberculosis and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia in Michigan.

“The dramatically growing importance of fish and wildlife health issues in natural resource management makes it imperative that more human, financial and technological resources can be directed toward them in the future,” said Humphries.

To learn more about the National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative, go to http://www.fishwildlife.org/about_comm_fwhealth.html.

Read Humphries full testimony >

State Fish & Wildlife Agencies Support Restoration of Previous Clean Water Act Jurisdiction

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies appreciates the action of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in reporting the Clean Water Restoration Act out of committee today with a favorable substitute amendment to tightly restore previous jurisdiction.

The amendment to the bill would restore Clean Water Act jurisdiction over isolated, intrastate wetlands and intermittent streams, which are vital habitats for fish and wildlife, to the jurisdictional application that existed prior to two recent Supreme Court decisions (SWANCC,2001; and Carabell-Rapanos,2006). The substitute language is very tightly drafted to only restore previous jurisdiction and not expand jurisdiction. It also imports into statute the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule defining "waters of the United States.”

In support of the favored amendment to the bill, the Association joined with five other state executive branch organizations -- the Environmental Council of the States, the Association of State Wetland Managers, the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators, the Association of State Floodplain Managers and the Coastal States Organization -- in sending a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and its Chairman Senator Barbara Boxer (CA), on June 10, 2009.

The letter states:

“We have reviewed the compromise language for the Clean Water Restoration Act that your staff and the offices of Senators Baucus and Klobuchar reached as of June 10, 2009. We endorse this approach to solving the nation's Clean Water Act jurisdictional issues.

We believe that the clarified definition of “waters of the United States” will achieve a definitive return to the Act as it was without increasing or reducing the scope of its jurisdiction. The exemptions for agriculture, silviculture and other activities would remain in place. Further, we believe that the compromise language's reliance on the previous regulatory definition and interpretations of it neither broadens or lessens federal authority, nor causes a loss of states’ rights. We note that the compromise language makes findings that assert that “ground waters” and certain manmade artificial waters are not included in the jurisdiction of the Act. Also, the compromise language explicitly grounds these Clean Water Act protections within the scope of Congress' constitutional authorities.

We strongly encourage Congress and the Administration to continue to work together to make State Assumption of Section 404 a viable option, as it is for other sections of the Act. Primarily, a new authority is needed that authorizes EPA to provide states with grants to implement wetlands protection programs.

We are hopeful that the bill will pass out of committee and be enacted by the Senate at its earliest opportunity. Thank you for considering our views.”

View the letter >

MD DNR Deputy Secretary Delivers Congressional Testimony on behalf of Assoc. of Fish & Wildlife Agencies in Strong Support of Fish Habitat Legislation

On behalf of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Eric Schwaab, Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, today testified at a House Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing in support of the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act (NFHCA) (HR2565) and the Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act (PSSCA) (HR2055).

Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Ron Kind (WI) on May 21, 2009, the NFHCA is a high priority for the Association. The bill would create an architecture for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan; authorize and define the National Fish Habitat Board; identify terms for Fish Habitat Partnerships and standards for projects to be submitted for funding consideration; establish a National Fish Habitat Partnership office under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; authorize the program at $75M; and other provisions.

“The Plan offers an investment strategy to support and formalize a fledgling infrastructure already working hard unto that end,” said Schwaab. “The investment will pay rich dividends — clean water, healthy ecosystems, abundant fish, fewer ESA listings, and quality water-based places to recreate, which will also support our economy. Absent the funding contemplated in the Act, it will be difficult to sustain the existing momentum and voluntary coordination of federal and state agencies in progress.”

The PSSCA, introduced by Rep. Mike Thompson (CA), seeks to focus Pacific salmon conservation efforts on high priority conservation areas.

“The PSSCA will build the third leg of the stool to complement the NFHCA and existing salmon habitat conservation programs by focusing on public/private efforts to identify and protect a range-wide network of strongholds, facilitating a holistic and balanced approach to wild salmon conservation,” added Schwaab. “This added element is essential for helping the National Fish Habitat Board achieve its national goals by contributing to regional and international coordinated conservation actions specific to Pacific salmon.”

For more information about the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, the most comprehensive, science-based effort ever attempted to treat the causes of aquatic habitat decline and the fix the nation’s most pressing fisheries problems, visit www.fishhabitat.org.

Read the full testimony >

Landmark Fish Habitat Bill Introduced in U.S. Senate

Legislation offers grassroots, tanglible solutions to restore America's waterways

Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Christopher Bond (R-MO), Robert Casey (D-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Bernie Sanders (ID-VT) on June 9 introduced the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act of 2009, a comprehensive strategy to support and fund for effective conservation of our national waterways and the fisheries associated with them.

“The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, which I introduced today along with Senators Bond, Casey, Stabenow, Cardin, Whitehouse, Crapo and Sanders, will revolutionize how we as a nation approach fish habitat conservation issues,” said Senator Lieberman. “With 40 percent of our fish populations in decline and half of our nation’s fresh waters already impaired, the current fragmented approach to fish habitat protection has clearly not worked and in turn put aquatic resources preservation in a race against time.”

“This bill encourages collaborative regional conservation efforts that bring together federal government agencies, state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, fishing industry groups, private land owners, stakeholders and businesses,” he added. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to enact this critical legislation to help conserve fish stocks and habitat across the country.”

The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act addresses a continuing and alarming downward trend in our nation’s fish species resulting from loss in the amount and quality of our nation’s most important freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats.

Under this legislation, federal and state governments, the recreational and commercial fishing industries, the conservation community and businesses will work together collectively to voluntarily conserve (protect, restore and enhance) America’s aquatic habitats. The legislation will ensure that science-based conservation approaches that focus on the causes of habitat degradation and not on the symptoms of the many problems our waters face are utilized to change the trajectory of our nation’s waters.

The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act also leverages existing and critical, new federal, state and private funds to build voluntary regional partnerships equipped to use science based strategies and actions to solve the nation’s biggest fisheries problems associated with habitat loss and degradation.

The bill is supported by numerous leading conservation organizations including the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, the American Sportfishing Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Trout Unlimited, American Fly Fishing Trade Association and several federal and state agencies and non-governmental organizations and other trade organizations, all of which share a common interest in the success of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

“I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to the sponsors of the bill and their commitment to improving the quality of life in this country,” said Kelly Hepler, of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “The waterways in our country are the true lifeblood of our nation. The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act will not only provide additional fishing opportunities but will also improve the overall health of our fresh and marine waters and therefore the health of our families.”

Legislation that mirrors the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act introduced in the Senate was also introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR2565) by Representative Ron Kind (WI) on May 21, 2009.

Read full story

National Fish Habitat Conservation Act (Senate Bill - PDF)

America’s Wildlife Heritage Act will Level the Playing Field for Fish and Wildlife

WASHINGTON—Representatives Ron Kind (WI) and Walter Jones (NC) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives yesterday that will help improve populations of fish and wildlife on America’s National Forests and BLM lands.

The America’s Wildlife Heritage Act would end years of litigation and uncertainty surrounding the fish and wildlife planning protocols for federal lands by providing the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with clear directives and science-based tools to sustain and monitor healthy populations of fish and wildlife and their lands. The bill further would require improved coordination between federal and state agencies to achieve their mutual objectives.

“In addition to creating standards for establishing fish and wildlife population objectives to which BLM and FS land management plans are to aspire, the bill significantly directs and facilitates that these population objectives be achieved based on an evaluation and monitoring program that is designed and implemented in cooperation with the state fish and wildlife agencies,” said Gary Taylor, Legislative Director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

“States have principal authorities and responsibilities for managing fish and wildlife within their borders, including on most federal lands, and it is vitally important that the states and federal land managers work closely together to enhance the sustainability of fish, wildlife and their habitats on these important multiple-use public lands,” added Taylor.

Forest Service and BLM lands hold some of the best remaining lands for big game and sport fish species, provide habitat for countless other species, both imperiled and common, and protect some 3,400 public water supplies. But they are also under increasing pressure oil and gas planned development and the serious changes wrought by global warming.

“The America’s Wildlife Heritage Act is a bill that is good for America’s sportsmen and women because it will compel the federal land management agencies to do a much better job of prioritizing the needs of fish and wildlife populations in their planning processes,” said Steve Williams, President of the Wildlife Management Institute. “Fish and wildlife have taken a back seat to oil and gas leasing and other uses of federal lands for too long, and this bill will level the playing field as our nation’s multiple use laws have always intended,” said Williams.

“Hunters and anglers are do-ers, and we are sometimes skeptical of planning and monitoring,” said Steve Moyer, Vice President of Government Affairs at Trout Unlimited. But we know that with the many forces of habitat destruction on our public lands, especially the adverse affects of climate change, our federal land managers must plan and monitor better if we are to enjoy hunting and fishing in coming generations,” concluded Moyer.