Special Bulletin
Administration Decision Supports Wetlands Protection
On December 16, the Bush administration took a significant step toward continued protection of wetlands by declaring that there would be no new rules that would affect their protection under the federal Clean Water Act. In an official statement, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Mike Leavitt announced that the decision reaffirms protections for wetlands and wildlife habitat in the United States.
In November, a draft wetland rule change was leaked to the national media. That rule change proposed weakening or eliminating existing federal safeguards against the destruction of isolated wetlands and other waterways. However, President Bush chose to reject that idea, based on his administration's goal of “no net loss of wetlands.”
This announcement came just four days after President Bush met with DU President John Tomke and other conservation leaders to discuss major issues facing the wildlife conservation community. During that meeting, Tomke raised the importance of protecting isolated wetlands through the Clean Water Act to ensure healthy waterfowl and other wildlife populations, and emphasized it as a critical issue to hunter-conservationists and other outdoor enthusiasts across the United States.
“For nearly three years, the staff and volunteers of DU have provided important science-based input to issues related to a 2001 U. S. Supreme Court decision known as SWANCC, which affects wetland protection. DU looks forward to continuing our work with the White House, EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and others to fulfill President Bush's commitment to protect wetlands,” stated Don Young, executive vice president of Ducks Unlimited.
This issue has been a concern for many sportsmen-conservationists since the Supreme Court issued the SWANCC decision, which, depending upon agency interpretation, could further accelerate losses of isolated wetlands and small bodies of water. We are still losing 117,000 acres of wetlands annually, so we have a long way to go to achieve “no net loss.”
DU President Tomke Discusses Conservation With President Bush
On December 12, Ducks Unlimited President John Tomke met with President George Bush and other leaders from the conservation community in the west wing of the White House to discuss major issues of interest to the wildlife conservation community. Also participating in the meeting were Secretary of Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, and Council on Environmental Quality Chairman Jim Connaughton.
Seated next to the President during the meeting, Tomke raised the importance of protecting isolated wetlands to ensure healthy waterfowl and other wildlife populations. Tomke's concern arose from a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision that, if broadly interpreted, could eliminate long-standing protection of wetlands and small bodies of water under the Clean Water Act. During the meeting, Tomke remarked that in recent months more than 20,000 letters on this issue had been sent to White House officials and to other key decision makers in Washington by DU members and supporters. “The strong response is a true testament of the nationwide interest in the federal protection of isolated wetlands under the Clean Water Act,” Tomke stated. (For more information on this issue, log on to http://www.ducks.org/news /PDF/SWANCCFactSheet.pdf.)
During the hour-long meeting, President Bush pointedly and repeatedly stated his support for wetlands protection and his commitment to “no net loss of wetlands.” He also mentioned his own enthusiasm for hunting and fishing along the Gulf Coast.
Other issues discussed during the meeting included the North American Wetlands Conservation Act program and its successes, wise energy development on federal lands, and hunter/angler access to national wildlife refuge lands.