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Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act to Reduce Sedimentation, Improve Water Quality |
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Mississippi River
U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) today held an event with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to highlight and call for the passage of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act, legislation calling for the development of a coordinated, public-private approach to studying and reducing nutrient and sediment runoff in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Legislation Kind authored, the bill also establishes a water-quality monitoring system and a computer modeling program to analyze data.
“The river plays a vital role in our economy and our quality of life in western Wisconsin,” said Rep. Kind, founder and Co-chair of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Congressional Task Force. “Increased sediment and nutrient flow into the upper basin poses a very serious threat to the long-term health of the entire Mississippi River system. This bill will lay the scientific foundation necessary to ensure the future quality and beauty of the Mississippi for generations to come.”
The accumulation of excess sediment from increased soil erosion and nutrients, such as fertilizers and animal waste, in the Upper Mississippi River Basin degrades aquatic and wetland habitat and imperils a wide variety of fish and waterfowl. The increased soil erosion causes applied fertilizer from area farms to wash into the river, resulting not only in dangerously high nitrogen and phosphorous levels, but also a reduction in the long-term sustainability and income of family farms, and the plaguing of farmers annually with $300 million in unnecessary costs. In addition, sediment accumulation fills the main shipping channel of the river and valuable wetlands throughout the basin, reducing the value to wildlife and their capacity as nutrient filters and costing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers more than $100 million annually in dredging costs.
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act aims to produce the data needed to better understand sediment and nutrient flow from its source in the landscape to its destination in rivers and lakes and drive the innovation needed to solve the excess sediment and nutrient problem in the Mississippi River System. The legislation establishes a sedimentation and nutrient reduction monitoring network and an integrated computer modeling program that, when combined, will provide the baseline data needed to make scientifically sound and cost-effective decisions to improve the Upper Mississippi River's ecosystem.
“While there is no easy solution to stopping the runoff of sediment and nutrients into the Upper Mississippi River Basin, this legislation will make significant strides toward reducing this flow of harmful pollutants into the river,” said Rep. Kind. “I have worked closely with farmers, industry, sporting groups, conservation organizations, and government agencies to develop this effective, basin-wide, and non-regulatory approach. Having passed the House recently, I am confident that with Senator Klobuchar’s help, the bill will find support in the Senate as well.”
The bill passed the House of Representatives on March 19, 2010. Under Senator Klobuchar’s sponsorship, the Senate held a hearing on the bill on June 9, 2010. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is expected to mark up the bill in coming months.
“It doesn’t matter what side of the river you’re on, we all have a stake in protecting our land and water,” said Senator Klobuchar. “Every time soil and nutrients run off the land, it increases the cost of farming and the cost of maintaining navigation on the Mississippi River. These costs add up to hundreds of millions of dollars every year. This legislation will ensure that objective, scientific data is available for everyone to work together to safeguard our natural resources for multiple uses, whether it’s farming, industry, transportation, recreation or hunting and fishing.”
The Upper Mississippi River system, with tributaries and a basin encompassing much of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, is widely recognized as one of our nation’s great multi-use natural resources. The Mississippi River and its tributaries provide drinking water to approximately 22 million Americans and the system’s 1,300 navigable miles transport millions of tons of commercial cargo via barges. In addition, 40 percent of North America’s waterfowl use the wetlands and backwaters of the main stem as a migratory flyway, illustrating the environmental significance of the system as well as recreation capabilities.
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Farming Programs on National Wildlife Refuge Lands |
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The Midwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is beginning a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of farming programs in an eight state region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin). Through this process, the Service will evaluate the use of farming and genetically modified crops on lands of the National Wildlife Refuge System (refuges).
Historically, farming has been an important tool used to manage refuge lands. Refuge managers used farming to provide high quality, energy rich foods for many wildlife species including migrating waterfowl. Additionally, because of the cold, long winters typical in the Midwest, agricultural crops are also used to provide food for resident wildlife. In addition to providing food for wildlife, farming is often utilized on refuges to prepare areas for restoration of native habitats. Because most refuge units farm relatively small acreages and lack specialized equipment required for crop production, share cropping or cooperative farming arrangements are often used to administer refuge farm programs. Generally, local agriculture producers plant designated areas on a refuge and harvest a predetermined share of the crop. The remaining crop is left in the field to provide food resources for wildlife.
Locally, the La Crosse District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, has been utilizing cooperative farming as a starter for restorations. Most of the farmed acres to date are on newly acquired tracts, with a few acres on lands that need restoration a second time. Farming of corn and soybeans allows the land to be prepped and held at a manageable state until restoration can be accomplished. Farming discourages undesired and highly competitive vegetation from taking hold under the annual disturbances from machinery, until natives can be planted. Under the Comprehensive Conservation Plan
(2006), farming is allowed, but for the purpose of habitat management for only a short-term basis (5 years or less).
Recently, the Service has committed to review farm programs on refuges across the nation. We will be reviewing the appropriateness of farming on refuges and the administration of refuge farm programs. During this review, we will also be evaluating the use of genetically modified crops on refuges. Further information on this effort can be obtained through your local refuge {to find a phone number for a specific refuge the following web site has links to every Midwest Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/Refuges/)} or through the regional website at the following address: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/planning/FarmingNEPA/. Comments for the review are requested no later than close of business on July 9, 2010. Comments may be provided by email to
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or may be mailed to the following address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attention: Sandra Siekaniec, BHW Federal Building, 1 Federal Drive, Ft. Snelling, MN, 55111.
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$3 million for a national program for volunteers |
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Lawmakers spoke in favor of a proposal to expand volunteer opportunities at National Wildlife Refuges. The bill, H.R. 4973, from Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-Md.), would amend the 54-year-old Fish and Wildlife Act to create a national volunteer coordination program.
It would authorize $3 million for a national program to help set up and standardize programs for volunteers who want to assist federal employees in conservation and education programs. The bill calls for the Interior Department to develop the program within one year.
Paul Schmidt, the Fish and Wildlife Service's assistant director for migratory birds, said his agency supports the bill, which would allow them to build capacity to recruit volunteers, manage the volunteer work force more effectively and offer enhanced training and mentoring programs.
"You'll never be without volunteers, people want to volunteer -- the question is, do you have the refuge staff to set them up and train them? You have to know what you are doing," said Thomas Hook from the volunteer group Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. "This will help create a consistent program across the system, a place to review best practices and coordinate."
Care Urges Refuge Funding
- Refuges face a $3.7 billion
backlog in deferred maintenance and operations funding. Washed-out
trails, leaking roofs, closed roads, and broken equipment are just a
few of the more than 11,000 problems currently waiting to be addressed
on refuges nationwide. Unless funding is secured to address the
backlog, many refuge facilities could deteriorate beyond repair.
- Crime is a big problem in
the Refuge System, yet only 213 officers patrol its more than 150
million acres. A minimum of 209 additional officers are needed (at an
additional annual cost of $31.4 million) to protect refuge visitors
and respond to crimes that include drug production and dealing,
wildlife poaching, illegal border activity, assaults, and a variety of
natural resource violations.
- The Refuge System is
fighting a losing battle against invasive plants and animals.
Approximately 2.3 million acres of refuge lands are overrun with
non-native invasive plants, while more than 4,400 invasive animal
populations ravage millions more acres. The Refuge System needs at
least $25 million per year to treat just one-third of its infested
plant acreage and begin low-level control of invasive animals.
- There has been a dramatic
increase in oil and gas drilling on 155 refuges, but the Refuge System
is not well equipped to oversee these activities or clean up degraded
sites. Some $15 million per year is needed to adequately oversee oil
and gas operations on wildlife refuges.
- With the recent addition of
more than 50 million acres of marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean,
the Refuge System faces increased management, coordination,
restoration, and law enforcement challenges. These increased
responsibilities carry a price tag of between $18 and $35 million
annually.
CARE
has urged that Congress boost refuge operations and maintenance funding to
$578 million for FY 2011. These funds are needed to provide nature programs
to the public, maintain high water quality, complete critical habitat
restoration projects, and properly patrol and enforce laws in the Refuge
System. Since 2008, Congress has begun to reverse a damaging trend of
budget cuts that started in 2003. "We need to maintain this momentum
and continue to invest in these special places at a level that recognizes
their importance to so many Americans," notes Hirsche.
The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) is a diverse
coalition of 22 conservation, recreation, sporting, and scientific
organizations that represent more than 15 million members and supporters
across the United States. CARE has been working since 1995 to help the
National Wildlife Refuge System fight a serious funding crisis.
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Lampreys offer lessons in federal Asian carp response |
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Federal officials trying to prevent invasive Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes are using many of the same techniques used to fight the sea lamprey, a parasite that was once as feared as Asian carp but has been largely brought under control.
Though the work has been long and costly, lamprey populations have been cut by about 90 percent in the Great Lakes, suggesting that an Asian carp invasion -- should it occur -- would not necessarily cripple fishing and recreation industries as feared.
"When a lot of people say, 'The game is over' when it comes to Asian carp getting into the Great Lakes, I don't think so," said Michael Hoff, invasive species coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's a different game we play. But it's not over."
Federal agencies have used toxic chemicals and barriers to keep lampreys at bay, as they are now doing with Asian carp. Researchers also use pheromones to attract or repel the lampreys, interfering with their spawning patterns.
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing the same technology to fight Asian carp, said Leon Carl, the agency's Midwest regional executive. Though the project was discontinued due to lack of funding, recent federal research funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will allow it to move forward, he said.
If the lampreys provide precedent, though, the Asian carp response will remain expensive for decades. More than 60 years after lampreys first invaded the Great Lakes, the federal government continues to spend $20 million to $30 million per year fighting them, Carl said
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