WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2007 – In an effort to have wetland conservation keep pace with soaring land prices, Senator Max Baucus (MT) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Wetlands Loan Act yesterday.  

The bill aims to reinvigorate long-term protection of wetlands and associated habitats in the United States by authorizing an advance of $400 million of federal duck stamp revenue over the next 10 years for wetlands protection in key areas for waterfowl and other wildlife.

“We commend Senator Baucus for recognizing the urgent need to conserve breeding habitat for the future of waterfowl and waterfowling,” said Scott Sutherland, director of Ducks Unlimited Governmental Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. “The protection of valuable waterfowl habitat in the Prairie Pothole Region has become very expensive, and additional duck stamp revenue will allow landowners to protect land now before it is too late.”

Since 1934, more than 119 million stamps have been sold, primarily to waterfowl hunters, for an investment of more than $700 million to protect more than 5 million acres of habitat in the U.S.  In Montana, more than 80,000 acres have been conserved, primarily in the Blackfoot Valley, the Rocky Mountain Front and the Prairie Potholes of eastern Montana.

“I’m working to make sure our wetlands stay wet and undeveloped and to help ensure families can take their kids hunting for years to come,” said Senator Baucus.  “This measure is another step in helping to protect our outdoor heritage for future generations to enjoy and I’m committed to working together with my colleagues to get this legislation passed.”

In some areas the cost of protecting the habitat that remains has increased more than 300 percent over the last several years.  There are already hundreds of private landowners in the Prairie Pothole Region of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota awaiting the opportunity to conserve thousands of acres of waterfowl habitat.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would use money generated by the Act to purchase lands for national wildlife refuges and to assist landowners in protecting existing wetlands and surrounding duck breeding habitat in key breeding grounds and other areas across the United States.

The Wetlands Loan Act is modeled after similar legislation originally authorized in 1961. It would allow borrowing against future federal duck stamp revenues from sales to hunters and other conservationists. Sportsmen and women have a 70-year history of willingly supporting our nation’s waterfowl heritage through the purchase of duck stamps.

Contact:  Neil Shader
Conservation Policy Specialist
 202-347-1530
 nshader@ducks.org

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization with almost 12 million acres conserved. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature’s most productive ecosystem - and continues to lose more than 80,000 wetland acres each year.