North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 925, the North American Wetlands Conservation Extension Act.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Wittman from Virginia, for coauthoring this measure with me and for his leadership on this issue; not just on this bill, but on this issue. He is a stalwart supporter and he works extremely hard on making sure our wetlands and environment are protected.

As members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, Congressman Wittman and I have the privilege of evaluating and approving NAWCA- funded projects in the United States, in Canada, and in Mexico.

On that commission, we share a responsibility to ensure that everyone in America can use and can enjoy the natural resources that belong to all of us.

Since 1989, North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants have funded close to 3,000 projects, carried out by more than 6,000 partners. Every year, restoration and conservation projects funded by NAWCA support 7,500 jobs across our country, from fisheries biologists and engineers, to construction teams and supply retailers.

Federal NAWCA grants require a 10-to-1 nonFederal match, and over the past 30 years, $1.6 billion in Federal funding has been matched more than 3 to 1 with $4.7 billion contributed by nonFederal partners.

The result so far has been 29.8 million acres, an area the size of the State of Pennsylvania, of rehabilitated and restored wetlands. These wetlands support ecological health and biodiversity while providing outstanding opportunities for Americans to hunt, to fish, to hike, to bird watch, to farm, and to ranch. The resulting economic activity exceeds $5 billion every year.

Even those who don't use these lands directly benefit. Wetlands provide natural processes that allow us to have clean, plentiful water supplies. Wetlands protect the lands around them by absorbing flood water and storm surges.

H.R. 925 reauthorizes NAWCA so we can continue the critical work on North America's wetlands that offer tremendous ecological and economic benefits to each and every one of us.

Mr. Speaker, I ask Members to support NAWCA today to make sure that we continue to conserve our public land. Let's work together today on behalf of all Americans, now and for future generations.

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