WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 22, 2009 – The following is a statement Ducks Unlimited Director of Conservation Operations, Dr. Scott Yaich, issued in response to a letter sent by the secretaries of agriculture and interior, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the chairs of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee supporting restoration of Clean Water Act protection to more than 20 million acres of wetlands across the United States.
"Ducks Unlimited is pleased to see this support for cleaner water from the president's administration. We applaud their strong, clear stance on this issue, which is a top policy priority for American sportsmen," said Yaich. "The proposed legislative restoration of Clean Water Act protections for wetlands and other waters also contains guarantees that America's farmers and ranchers can continue to work their land as they have for decades. The restoration of protections lost in 2001 is critical to ensure that our waters will be shielded from pollutants and that our wetlands will continue to provide fish and wildlife habitat for generations to come.
"Ducks Unlimited looks forward to continuing work with Congress and the administration to advance the Clean Water Restoration Act and restore protections to wetlands and streams that provide our drinking water, restore our aquifers and provide habitat for America's wildlife and places for millions of people to enjoy our fish and wildlife resources."
For more information on the Clean Water Restoration Act, please visit Ducks Unlimited's Clean Water Action Center at www.ducks.org/cleanwater.
With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective wetlands and waterfowl conservation organization and has conserved more than 12 million acres. 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 important to waterfowl each year.
Neil Shader
nshader@ducks.org
202.347.1530