In addition, the Senate has their own version of this legislation which we could also support. We will be happy to work with the Subcommittee, other House members and the Senate to resolve the differences in the bills and to ensure that the final legislation serves the needs of neotropical migratory birds with the best program possible. We would like to thank Chairman Saxton of the Subcommittee and Chairman Young and Ranking Member Miller of the full Committee for co-sponsoring this important legislation. The legislation recognizes the need for international cooperation for these conservation efforts and establishes a grant selection process to ensure that projects focus on long term sustainability of local conservation efforts. The bill establishes a Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Account in the Multinational Species Conservation Fund and limits the Federal cost-share of the projects to 33 percent.
Migratory birds continue to face enormous and increasing challenges.
Thus, the Service has identified migratory bird conservation as one of our four highest priorities for the coming year. Despite our best efforts to date, many populations of migratory birds continue to decline, some quite markedly. If population trends of these birds continue on their present downward course, the next place for these species may be on the List of Endangered Species. Mexico presently lists some 390 bird species as endangered, threatened, vulnerable, or rare. Birdwatching and other forms of bird-related recreation are highly valued pastimes in North America, with a growing interest in the Caribbean and Latin American countries.