Newsgroups: bit.listserv.biosph-l
Date:         Sun, 26 Jul 1992 10:38:38 EDT
Reply-To:     "Norman C. Saunders" <NYS@NIHCU.BITNET>
From:         "Norman C. Saunders" <NYS@NIHCU.BITNET>
Subject:      Two F&WS Press Releases
X-To:         biosph-l@ubvm.BITNET, NZPEM001@SIVM.BITNET,
              chuckw%evax2@arizona.edu, David.A.Merker@mac.dartmouth.edu,
              LLARSON@PUCC.BITNET, econet@igc.org

Office of the Secretary
For Release:  July 16. 1992


Steve Goldstein  202-208-6416 (W)
                 202-887-5248 (H)


       Interior Secretary Lujan Announces Four Appointments
          To North American Wetlands Conservation Council


       Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced  the
appointment  of  four  members  to  the  North  American  Wetlands
Conservation  Council, established in 1990 to guide the  purchase,
restoration,   and   enhancement  of   wetlands   vital   to   the
environmental health of North America.

       "This Council has been extremely effective in carrying  out
President  Bush's  commitment  to  the  stewardship  of  America's
natural resources," Lujan said.  "In the first two years,  it  has
recommended 164 projects totalling $56 million in funding  through
the  North  American  Wetlands Conservation  Act.   These  Federal
dollars have been matched by an impressive $103 million in funding
from non-Federal partners."

       Lujan  noted  that  250  partners were  involved  in  these
wetlands  projects in Canada, Mexico, and this country.  "Hundreds
of species of wildlife benefitted from these projects, from white-
tailed  deer  and migrating shorebirds to the endangered  whooping
crane," Lujan said.

       Appointed to the nine-member Council were Boyd H.  Gibbons,
Director of the California Department of Fish and Game, and  Wayne
R  LaPierre,  Executive  Vice  President  of  the  National  Rifle
Association.   Two members were reappointed: William  O.  Montoya,
Director  of  the  New Mexico Department of  Game  and  Fish,  and
Michael  Dennis, Vice President and General Counsel of The  Nature
Conservancy.

       The  Council was established by the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act of 1989 to evaluate wetlands projects and  assign
priorities  for funding.  Composed of Federal, State, and  private
members  who  are actively involved in wetlands conservation,  the
Council   recommends  projects  to  the  existing,   Cabinet-level
Migratory  Bird  Conservation Commission, which approves  the  pro
jects for funding.

        The  Act  authorizes  annual  appropriation  for  wetlands
conservation  projects of up to $15 million and an additional  sum
of  about $10 million a year from a special trust fund composed of
interest  on  Federal excise taxes from hunting  equipment  sales,
fines, penalties and forfeitures.

       The  legislation provided new impetus to the North American
Waterfowl  Management Plan, a major international agreement  among
the  United States, Canada, and Mexico to improve 6 million  acres
of  wetlands and restore waterfowl populations by the  year  2000.
The  law  also  provided  new funding for  wetland  habitats  that
support  endangered species, nongame birds, and other animals  and
plants.

       Other  members of the Council include Matthew B.  Connolly,
Executive  Vice President, Ducks Unlimited; Gary Myers,  Executive
Director,  Tennessee  Wildlife  Resources  Agency;  and  James  A.
Timmerman,  Jr., Executive Director, South Carolina  Wildlife  and
Marine Resources Department.

       John F. Turner, as Director of Interior's Fish and Wildlife
Service, and Amos Eno, as Executive Director of the National  Fish
and Wildlife Foundation, are permanent members of the Council.

               =====================================

       The  foregoing information is provided as a service of  The
Osprey's  Nest,  a computer bulletin board for birders  and  other
amateur  naturalists in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.  The  system
answers  the phone at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud, with communications
parameters  set at 8N1.  The Osprey's Nest phone number  is  (301)
989-9036 and is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.   The
bulletin board is also accessible via PC Pursuit.

       The  opinions expressed in this press release are those  of
the  current  Administration's political appointees  to  the  U.S.
Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service
and generally do not represent those of the system operator of The
Osprey's Nest.







Fish and Wildlife Service
For Release July 16, 1992


Inez Connor  202-219-3861


           Commission Approves Additions At Six National
            Wildlife Refuges And Five Wetlands Projects
                      In Canada And The U.S.


       Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced  the
approval  of nearly $6 million in waterfowl and wetlands  projects
that  will add almost 3,500 acres to the National Wildlife  Refuge
System,   bring   another  1,250  wetland-acres  under   long-term
protection  in  Canada, and improve 23,000 acres  of  wetlands  in
North  America.   The conservation projects were approved  by  the
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which Lujan chairs.

       The  two projects approved on June 23 include 120 acres  at
Hamden  Slough National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Minnesota,  which
was  established  to preserve and restore prairie pothole  habitat
for  nesting  waterfowl.  When complete, the refuge  will  protect
13,754  acres through a combination of leases, farming agreements,
easements, and acquisition.

      In New Jersey, the Commission approved the acquisition of 17
acres  for the Cape May NWR, which provides high-quality wintering
habitat  for migrating waterfowl and a critical feeding  stop  for
migrating  shorebirds.  Acquisition of an additional 57 acres  was
approved  at Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, a major wintering and stopover
point  for  waterfowl, particularly the black  duck  and  Atlantic
brant.

       Other  acquisitions  approved were  1,911  acres  at  Lower
Hatchie   NWR  in  Tennessee,  another  important  migrating   and
wintering  habitat for waterfowl; 1,338 acres at Back Bay  NWR  in
Virginia,  established in 1938 to provide wintering and  migrating
habitat  for  a variety of waterfowl; and 42.8 acres at  Montezuma
NWR  in  New  York, which was also established  in  1938  for  the
protection of migratory waterfowl and other waterbirds.

      The Commission also approved an 11,900-acre expansion of the
Montezuma  refuge  as  part  of  the  Northern  Montezuma  Wetland
Project,  a  joint  venture  under the  North  American  Waterfowl
Management Plan between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the  New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

       The  $4.15  million  for  these  projects  comes  from  the
Migratory  Bird  Conservation Fund, which  consists  primarily  of
money received from the sale of the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting
and  Conservation  Stamp  ("Federal  Duck  Stamp")  that  must  be
purchased  by all waterfowl hunters 16 years and older.   By  law,
this money must be used to acquire waterfowl habitat.

       In  other actions, the Commission approved $1.3 million for
two  projects in Canada and three in the United States  under  the
North   American  Wetlands  Conservation  Act.   The   legislation
provides   matching  Federal  funding  for  wetlands  conservation
projects  in  Canada, Mexico, and the United States.   Funds  come
from  interest on Federal excise taxes on hunting equipment sales,
fines  and  penalties from violators of the Migratory Bird  Treaty
Act, and private donations.

       The  Commission approved $445,000 for an innovative project
in  South Dakota that will create 500 new wetlands on private land
in 35 counties.  These new wetlands, averaging 5 acres each for  a
total  of 2,500 acres, will enhance another 15,500 acres resulting
in  improved water quality, erosion control, protection of fragile
riparian  areas  , and benefits to all species of  prairie-nesting
birds  and several species of shorebirds.  Multiple partners,  who
have contributed $569,300 in non-Federal funds, include two Native
American   organizations,   35   conservation   districts,   Ducks
Unlimited, the State, and three Federal agencies.

       The  Eagle  Bluffs  Wetland Restoration  Project  in  Boone
County, Missouri, received $640,000 to restore wetlands along  the
Missouri  River where 94 percent of the wetlands have  been  lost.
The  area  is important for wetland wildlife, rare and  endangered
plants and animals, floodway, water quality, and public use.  Part
ners  include  the  Missouri  Department  of  Conservation,  Ducks
Unlimited, the City of Columbia, and the University of Missouri.

       Also  approved  was $232,500 to enhance and  restore  1,450
acres  in the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento River NWR.  It  is
part  of  the  most  important wintering  area  for  waterfowl  in
California  and  also is used by more than 270 species  of  birds,
including sandhill cranes and 60 species of waterbirds.  The Llano
Seco  Unit  is  a  priority project of the  Central  Valley  Joint
Venture of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

       The  Commission also approved $108,125 to restore, enhance,
and  manage  1,250 acres of wetlands in Ontario and New Brunswick,
Canada,  that  would be acquired through purchase  and  easements.
The  project  is expected to at least double waterfowl  production
and  to benefit a variety of other species.  Partners matched  the
Federal funding and then Canada matched it again with $129,750.

       "I applaud the innovative partnership approaches being used
to  protect  and  improve  wetlands  and  wildlife  habitat  on  a
continent-wide basis," said Mike Hayden, Assistant  Secretary  for
Fish  and  Wildlife  and  Parks.  "These  collective,  cooperative
efforts  are  the  kind of stewardship that's needed  to  conserve
wetlands."

      The projects were recommended to the Commission by the North
American Wetlands Conservation Council, a public and private  body
established  by  legislation  in support  of  the  North  American
Waterfowl  Management Plan.  The Plan is a 15-year,  international
program to conserve wetlands and enhance waterfowl populations  in
the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

       Members  of  the  Migratory  Bird  Conservation  Commission
include  Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan, Secretary of Agriculture
Edward  Madigan,  Environmental  Protection  Agency  Administrator
William  Reilly,  U.S. Senators Thad Cochran  of  Mississippi  and
David  Pryor  of  Arkansas, and Representatives  John  Dingell  of
Michigan and Richard Schulze of Pennsylvania.

               =====================================

       The  foregoing information is provided as a service of  The
Osprey's  Nest,  a computer bulletin board for birders  and  other
amateur  naturalists in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.  The  system
answers  the phone at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud, with communications
parameters  set at 8N1.  The Osprey's Nest phone number  is  (301)
989-9036 and is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.   The
bulletin board is also accessible via PC Pursuit.

       The  opinions expressed in this press release are those  of
the  current  Administration's political appointees  to  the  U.S.
Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife  Service
and generally do not represent those of the system operator of The
Osprey's Nest.