Bills to Aid Waterfowl, Everglades Signed

President Bush Wednesday signed a pair of environmental bills to begin rebuilding dwindling waterfowl populations by buying nearly 2 million acres of wetlands, and to expand Everglades National Park by 110,000 acres.

“This was a nice Christmas present for the conservation movement,” Bush said at a signing ceremony for the wetlands bill, where he also mentioned his signing of the Everglades measure.

Bush said it would provide “a steady source of funds for the purchase of critical wetlands in the United States, Canada and Mexico.”

The bill authorizes spending $15 million annually over a four-year period for wetlands. Another $10 million would be generated for purchases each year by putting excess receipts from excise taxes on hunting equipment into interest-bearing accounts.

Fines and forfeitures collected under a migratory bird act, amounting to about $850,000 a year, also would be used to purchase wetlands.

“This bill is an excellent first step in reaching our national goal of no net loss of wetlands,” Bush told a White House audience of environmentalists and lawmakers.

He said a steady decline in the duck population is largely due to the continuing loss of wetland areas. The President does not favor a ban on development projects that destroy wetlands, but wants any development offset with an equal amount of acreage restored as wetlands.

Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, (D-Me.), who introduced the bill last April, said it would allow the nation to begin rebuilding waterfowl populations by conserving nearly 2 million acres of U.S. wetlands under a 1986 agreement with Canada.

The expansion of the Everglades will be undertaken in cooperation with the state of Florida, which will donate 35,000 new acres to the federal park. The government estimates that it will cost $40 million to acquire the rest of the new acreage, with Florida paying 20% of the costs.

The Everglades, the second largest national park in the 48 contiguous states, is home to 13 endangered species, but problems with the flow of water have harmed the habitat for both birds and alligators.