A bill to improve the popular North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) continues to be a hot topic on Capitol Hill. A Senate panel discussed the bill and is expected to vote on sending it to the Senate later this week.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works' Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife examined H.R. 3433, a bill to enhance NAWCA to allow for more investment in Canadian waterfowl habitat projects. Millions of ducks and geese breed in the prairies and boreal forests of Canada before flying south to the United States every year.
The bill, authored by Migratory Bird Conservation Commission member Rep. Robert Wittman, would enable more funding from Canadian sources to match the investments being made by U.S. federal grants.
To date, more than $1 billion in federal grants has leveraged more than $3 billion in other funds to conserve more than 25 million acres of habitat across North America.