February 2006 - Inside IAFWA
In This Issue
• Supreme Court Cases Threaten Scope of Clean Water Act
• Association Hires Contractor to Lead Efforts Surrounding the
North American Conservation Education Strategy
• Cooperative Conservation: A message from CEQ Chairman
James L. Connaughton
• Teaming with Wildlife Update: State Wildlife Grants in FY
’07
• Lawyer Volunteers to Work with the Association on Federal
Appropriations Issues
• News from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation
• New Study Gives First Glimpse at Duck Hunter Attitudes
• Despite Cheney Accident, Hunting is ‘Safe’ –by NSSF-
Supreme Court Cases Threaten Scope of Clean Water Act
The International Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies Submits Briefs for Continued Protections
This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in three of the most important Clean Water Act cases in the law's 34-year history. Based on the arguments presented on February 21, the court will rule whether the law protects all the waters of the United States, or only those waters suitable for interstate commerce and the wetlands and streams immediately adjacent to those waters.
"The role of the state agencies under the federal Clean Water Act is critical for a strong program between the regulator, the regulated, and the resources," says, Rebecca A. Humphries, Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "At times, the states need the federal "hammer" provided in the Clean Water Act to assist them in maintaining the integrity of the state's tributaries and wetlands. In turn, the federal government needs the states to assist in water quality protection when dams necessary for creating hydropower disrupt the nation's rivers."
An unprecedented array of state attorneys general, former Environmental Protection Agency administrators, members of Congress, environmental advocates and hunting and fishing groups have sided with the Bush administration to support continued protections for our nation's wetlands, streams, tributaries and rivers.
Two of the cases focused on Michigan developers who want to construct a condominium development (in Carabell v. United States) and a shopping mall (in Rapanos v.United States) in wetlands that were not directly connected to a navigable body of water. Each case is asking the Supreme Court to overturn two appellate court decisions that are consistent with the existing Clean Water Act. If they prevail, nearly 60 percent of the total length of U.S. streams (excluding Alaska), surface waters that provide drinking water for more than 110 million Americans, and more than 20 million acres of wetlands in the lower 48 states could be excluded from Clean Water Act protections.
If the Supreme Court rules that the Clean Water Act protects only those waterways suitable for interstate commerce (and immediately adjacent wetlands and streams), it would be difficult for many states to protect their waters from pollution. Many states defer to the federal regulations provided by the Clean Water Act, and should the two developers win a favorable judgment from the Supreme Court, many states would be forced to develop new legislation or even constitutional amendments to guarantee safe water supplies, recreational opportunities, and healthy fish and wildlife populations and habitats.
In the third case (S. D. Warren v Maine Department of Environmental Protection), the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether five dams owned by Warren in the middle of the Presumpscot River need to be licensed or certified by the Maine state agency under the Clean Water Act. The question is whether any water released from the dam meets the definition of “discharge of pollutants” under the Act—a focal point of hearing arguments. Attorneys for the state of Maine argued that while Warren is not adding more water to the river, a ‘discharge’ is created as the dams remove the water from its natural course. They also argued that this tactic exercises private control of the water before adding it back into the river. Attorneys argue that the water is changed when released on the other side of the dam when, among other things, the temperature and oxygen levels are different. Attorneys for Warren argued that licensing or certification from the Maine state agency should not be required, as the dam adds nothing to the water—claiming no change from one side to the other.
Briefs supporting continued Clean Water Act protections were filed by 34 attorneys general (from 33 states and the District of Columbia) in each of the cases, including the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies; the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and; four former Environmental Protection Agency administrators; nine members of Congress who helped pass the 1972 Clean Water Act; more than a dozen outdoor recreation organizations and businesses; and more than 30 state and national environmental, conservation and public health organizations.
“Neither the states nor the federal government can act in isolation,” says M.
Carol Bambery, Legal Counsel for the International Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies, who attended the hearing. “The Clean Water Act recognizes
roles for both governments. The U. S. Supreme Court decisions may not be a
complete win for either side, but will be a continued evolution towards the
balance between public resources users and the stewards of the public trust.”
Association Hires Contractor to Lead the North American Conservation Education Strategies
The Association awarded a one-year contract to SR Enterprises, Inc. to further develop, coordinate and advance the Association’s North American Conservation Education Strategy.
The North American Conservation Education Strategy (CE Strategy) was designed to
unify and strengthen conservation education efforts of International Association
of Fish and Wildlife Agencies member agencies and partners in a manner that
effectively advances the Association’s Strategic Plan and the North American
Model of Fish and Wildlife Conservation. The CE Strategy’s approved goals are:
Elevate the value of conservation education
Advance the conservation education agenda
Achieve excellence in conservation education
Maximize partnerships
Secure funding for conservation education
Association staff and its Conservation Education Working Group reviewed more than 10 excellent proposals during a period of more than a month and chose the best candidate, SR Enterprises, Inc., a Missouri business that is owned and operated by Sharon Ruston.
Rushton began work immediately on February 14. Her first duty as a contractor for the Association was the coordination of a concepts meeting at the end of this month that will help lay out the needed concepts and goals for work throughout 2006-2008.
Rushton can be reached at RushtonSR@aol.com,
or 417.230.8066. Stay tuned for more next month!
Cooperative Conservation: A message from CEQ Chairman James
L. Connaughton
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am writing to update you on our progress in implementing the vision for Cooperative Conservation set forth in Executive Order 13352, Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation. You have played an integral role in focusing this vision through your participation at the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation and through your updates and suggestions since the conference. This letter highlights funding in the President's Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) budget for cooperative conservation initiatives and actions taken by our task force to further cooperative conservation.
First, the President’s FY07 budget will sustain Federal tools that contribute to the success of cooperative conservation programs nationwide. Our FY07 budget request also seeks to advance cooperative conservation through innovation and inclusion.
For example, the FY07 budget request includes $403 million for the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wetlands Reserve Program, a $153 million increase over 2006 levels. This program in 2007 will enroll 250,000 new acres, increasing total enrollment to over 2 million acres an important step toward fulfilling the President s commitment to restoring, improving and protecting at least three million acres of wetlands by 2009. The request also includes nearly $10 million for a new USDA program that will provide competitive grants for the development of innovative and cooperative approaches to combating the most destructive invasive species.
The FY07 Budget also includes more than $322 million for programs that emphasize
cooperative conservation at the Department of the Interior (DOI). This
constitutes an increase of approximately $9.7 million over the 2006 enacted
level. Included in the DOI request is nearly $75 million for the Department s
State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.
Approximately $5 million of this amount will fund a new competitive grant
program for innovative, collaborative, results-focused projects. In addition to
the $322 million cooperative conservation provisions, the Department s 2007
budget includes $3 million for the National Fish
Habitat Initiative, which is modeled after the successful Joint Ventures Program
under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. This constitutes an increase
of nearly $2 million.
Second, the cooperative conservation task force has compiled your suggestions from the conference into a report, Supplemental Analysis of Day 2 Discussion Sessions.
Created in partnership with the Day 2 conference facilitators, the report, available at <http://conservation.ceq.gov/, identifies a number of short-, mid-, and long-term actions for a more collaborative and efficient Federal workforce, solutions to statutory and regulatory barriers to cooperative conservation, and more effective local involvement in Federal decision-making. Progress is underway on these objectives.
Third, Members of the task force and their agencies are also working to fulfill the Federal commitments made at the Conference. For example, task force representatives are working to develop legislation that will establish cooperative conservation as a defining policy approach to environmental and natural resources issues. Work on the EPA’s Good Samaritan Initiative is underway to clean up waste from mines in the American Fork Canyon watershed in Utah. USDA is following through on its commitment to maintain and enhance the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program and is also working to develop a new Market-Based Environmental Stewardship Coordination Council.
The Department of Commerce is advancing its Open Rivers Initiative by moving forward with plans to remove a number of small and obsolete barriers to fish passage. I’m happy to report that nearly $6 million is included in the FY07 budget request to get this initiative off to a strong start. In addition, the FY07 request also includes $10 million from the Natural Resources Conservation Service s (NRCS) Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program to complement the Open Rivers Initiative. NRCS s program empowers partners to reconnect aquatic species to historical habitats and to restore natural water flows through the removal of impediments to fish passage.
Fourth, based on your recommendations, we are integrating the principles of
cooperative conservation into the hiring, training, and rewarding of federal
natural resources and environmental employees. On November 28, 2005 Office of
Personnel Management (OPM)
Director Linda Springer and I issued a Guidance Memorandum directing the
Departments of Defense, the Interior, Commerce, Agriculture and the
Environmental Protection Agency to take the steps necessary to hire applicants
with proven skills in collaboration, train existing employees in building
partnerships, and reward those who demonstrate cooperative conservation skills
and initiative. On or before March 31, 2006 each department and agency will
submit a report to OPM and the Council on Environmental Quality outlining the
specific actions they will take to implement this effort.
Fifth, I recently joined Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten in issuing a Joint Policy Memorandum on Environmental Conflict Resolution. The Memorandum outlines a number of best practices for conflict prevention and collaborative decision making. It directs Federal agencies to develop and enhance their capacity to effectively implement environmental conflict resolution and collaborative problem-solving approaches. Both of these documents are posted to the cooperative conservation website.
Finally, the Task Force is committed to maintaining communications through the internet. Recently, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) agreed to host, administer and improve the cooperative conservation website. We are currently working with USGS to transform the website into an interactive resource that will facilitate the use of collaborative processes for achieving on the ground results.
Please contact Mitch Butler at mailto:Mbutler@ceq.eop.gov to share your thoughts
on these issues or to request additional information. I look forward to even
greater accomplishments as we continue to build on our united commitment to
cooperative conservation.
Teaming with Wildlife Update: State Wildlife Grants in FY ’07
The President's budget for Fiscal Year 2007 proposes $74.7M for State Wildlife
Grants. Like the past two years, the President is again supporting an increase
above last year's enacted level of $68.5 million. The State Wildlife Grants
Program was highlighted in the President's Council on Environmental Quality's
statement on the budget. This is particularly important in an increasingly tight
budget for conservation. Overall the Department of Interior budget took a big
hit with $615M in cuts from last year. This "starts us out of the gate" in a
good way but it will take much work to gain even greater funding, secure the
President's number or maintain level funding as in past years!
We are working with our Hill champions to circulate a "dear colleague" letter
seeking $85 million for State Wildlife Grants, and are counting on your help in
securing members of congress to sign on. Last year 128 members of the House and
55 members of the Senate signed on and with your help we can increase that
number this year. Both the House and Senate letters are available at
www.teaming.com, along with a list of last year’s signers.
The annual Teaming with Wildlife Fly-In Day coming up on March 1st will be key
to this effort. We hope you can join us for this important week of coalition
building, communications trainings, and important discussions with your members
of Congress.
News from the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation
2006 Media Buy
We’re excited to announce the 2006 media plan for the Take Me Fishing™
campaign. The campaign continues to target lapsed anglers and boaters; reminding
them that time spent on the water is the best way to connect with their
families. The target audience includes men and women, ages 25-54. In all, the
national ad campaign will generate more than 1.2 billion consumer impressions.
The 2006 plan builds on the research and great success of last year’s efforts.
Ads will run from April until June. The plan includes an exciting variety of
proven media elements, including national cable television, magazines, movie
theatres, and online advertising. The advertising budget is comparable to last
year's but the reach is greater.
For more details on the campaign strategy and the 2006 media buy, please visit
http://www.rbff.org/nac/.
Take Me Fishing Marketing Guide
In 2005, the Take Me Fishing campaign generated more than 1.1 billion
consumer impressions. Don’t miss the boat this year! It’s easy to enhance your
outreach initiatives by capitalizing on the reach and impact of the Take Me
Fishing campaign.
The new Take Me Fishing Marketing Guide contains a wide variety of free,
high-quality marketing materials that maximize the proven, successful national
ad campaign. If you haven’t already received a guide, please contact Brianne
Carl at rbfforders@rbff.org and we’ll get one out to you right away.
Alternately, you can download all marketing materials by visiting the
Cooperative Marketing section on RBFF.org.
National Fishing and Boating
Week
The 6th annual National Fishing and Boating Week is right around the corner.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for June 3 -11! For information and
resources on planning your event, please contact Erin Shaulis, Specialist,
Stakeholder Outreach at eventinfo@rbff.org.
New Study Gives First Glimpse at Duck Hunter Attitudes
An independent national survey released on February 15 suggests that a majority of the hunting public agrees with recent waterfowl season lengths and bag limits set by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The National Duck Hunter Survey, commissioned by the National Flyway Council and the Wildlife Management Institute, is the first effort ever to ask a sample of duck hunters in every state their views about waterfowl regulation. It will enable the Service to incorporate an accurate representation of hunters' views as part of the waterfowl management process.
The National Flyway Council and the Wildlife Management Institute received completed questionnaires from more than 10,000 duck hunters nationwide to gauge opinions of recent seasons and bags, perceptions of duck populations, duck management priorities and past involvement and current interest in duck hunting.
"This survey is the first to ask a representative sample of duck hunters in every state their opinions on duck hunting and conservation," said Don Childress, National Flyway Council chair. "The results of this effort will better inform fish and wildlife agencies about the views of duck hunters throughout this country and will aid in the development of hunting regulations."
"Hunting regulations work best when hunters understand and support the underlying rationale and goals behind management decisions," said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "It is important that policy-makers consider the attitudes of hunters in the development and ongoing adjustment of a successful waterfowl management program. The National Duck Hunter Survey helps provide this information."
Highlights from the Survey include:
• Fifty-nine percent said that the duck season length (number of days in the season) in the state they hunted most over the last 5 years was "about right," though 35 percent said the season was "too short," and 3 percent, "too long."
• Almost three-quarters (72 percent) said that the total daily duck bag limit in the state they hunted most over the last 5 years was "about right." Thirteen percent said it was "too low," and 8 percent, "too high."
• Nearly 75 percent of respondents said duck hunting was one of their most important (58 percent) or most important (14 percent) recreational activities.
• On average, respondents in the Atlantic and Pacific Flyways said
"hunting pressure" and "crowding at hunting areas" had become "somewhat more" of
a problem over the last 5 years. Respondents in the Mississippi Flyway said
"ducks concentrating on fewer areas," "crowding at hunting areas," "hunting
pressure," and "ducks arriving after season close" were "somewhat more" of a
problem. On average, respondents in the Central Flyway did not characterize any
of 7 potential problems posed to them as a greater or lesser issue over the last
5 years.
• Six percent, now age 45-64, indicated that they began duck hunting in the relatively recent past (1997-2004).
The National Duck Hunter Survey includes hundreds of pages of analyses of responses to 32 questions from hunters in 49 states. However, these results, as interesting and insightful as they are, represent just the beginning. Now, duck hunters, Flyway Councils, state fish and wildlife agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, conservation organizations, duck clubs and the outdoor media will review and discuss what the results mean and how they might be used to inform future decisions regarding waterfowl hunting and management.
Waterfowl hunting is regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with state fish and wildlife agencies. These agencies work through structures called flyway councils, which are management structures that geographically represent the general north-south migration patterns of waterfowl. Representatives from the four Flyway Councils - Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific - compose the National Flyway Council.
To view the entire survey report visit
www.ducksurvey.com.
Despite Cheney Accident, Hunting is ‘Safe’
-By NSSF-
Anti-gun groups, political opponents, pundits and newspaper editorial writers wasted no time in criticizing Dick Cheney and the great tradition of hunting after the vice president's unfortunate hunting accident this weekend in Texas. The vice president was hunting quail when he fired his shotgun and accidentally peppered another member of his party with birdshot. Unreported or ignored in many news accounts is the fact that hunting accidents are not common, and that hunting ranks as a safe activity.
Out of an estimated 17.9 million active hunters who spent 228 million hunting days afield in 2002, there were 89 fatalities and 761 non-fatal injuries—or one incident per 268,235 days afield, according to the latest data from the International Hunter Education Association and the National Sporting Goods Association. In the past 10 years, non-fatal hunting accidents declined 31 percent, while fatal accidents declined 12 percent. The Houston Chronicle ran a story Monday about the current record-low numbers of hunting accidents in Texas.
To help these record numbers fall even lower, all hunters should continue to
review their safety practices, including always keeping the gun's muzzle pointed
in a safe direction, keeping your finger off the trigger until you have properly
identified your target and always knowing what lies beyond your target before
taking a shot. Click here to read NSSF's Industry Intelligence Report on
firearms-related accidents.
Lawyer Volunteers to Work with the Association on Federal Appropriations Issues
IAFWA welcomes Kristine Gielow, an attorney recently admitted to the Maryland bar. She is volunteering her time and training to the Association for the next several months.
Kristine is a graduate of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan, where she won the National Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award for scholarly achievement and was on the Dean's list.
Prior to law school, Gielow went to the University of Wisconsin and received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude in Criminal Justice. She also clerked for Honorable David McKeague, United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
Gielow will be assisting IAFWA’s Legislative Director, Gary Taylor, and the Association’s member agencies in federal appropriation issues. She can be reached at kgielow@iafwa.org.