Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 2.djvu/958

 103 STAT. 1968 PUBLIC LAW 101-233—DEC. 13, 1989 Public Law 101-233 101st Congress An Act Dec. 13, 1989 To conserve North American wetland ecosystems and waterfowl and the other [S. 804] migratory birds and fish and wildlife that depend upon such habitats. North American Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Wetlands United States of America in Congress assembled, Conservation ' ° Act. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. protection. This Act may be cited as the "North American Wetlands Con- Public lands. servation Act". Canada. Mexico. SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. note. (^) FINDINGS.— The Congress finds and declares that— 16 USC 4401. (1) the maintenance of healthy populations of migratory birds in North America is dependent on the protection, restoration, and management of wetland ecosystems and other habitats in Canada, as well as in the United States and Mexico; (2) wetland ecosystems provide essential and significant habi- tat for fish, shellfish, and other wildlife of commercial, rec- reational, scientific, and aesthetic values; (3) almost 85 per centum of all rare, threatened, and endan- gered species of animals are dependent on wetland ecosystems; (4) wetland ecosystems provide substantial flood and storm control values and can obviate the need for expensive manmade control measures; (5) wetland ecosystems make a significant contribution to water availability and quality, recharging ground water, filter- ing surface runoff, and providing waste treatment; (6) wetland ecosystems provide aquatic areas important for recreational and aesthetic purposes; (7) more than 50 per centum of the original wetlands in the United States alone have been lost; (8) wetlands destruction, loss of nesting cover, and degrada- tion of migration and wintering habitat have contributed to long-term downward trends in populations of migratory bird species such as pintails, American bitterns, and black ducks; (9) the migratory bird treaty obligations of the United States with Canada, Mexico, and other countries require protection of wetlands that are used by migratory birds for breeding, winter- ing, or migration and are needed to achieve and to maintain optimum population levels, distributions, and patterns of migration; (10) the 1988 amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Conserva- tion Act of 1980 require the Secretary of the Interior to identify conservation measures to assure that nongame migratory bird species do not reach the point at which measures of the Endan- gered Species Act are necessary; (11) protection of migratory birds and their habitats requires long-term planning and the close cooperation and coordination of management activities by Canada, Mexico, and the United States within the framework of the 1916 and 1986 Migratory

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