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Sportsmen Join Kerry Campaign Effort to Make Conservation a National Priority

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 April 2004, 06:00 CDT

NEW ORLEANS, April 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- As a lifelong sportsmen, John Kerry has long known the importance of clean water, abundant habit and sound wildlife management for America's hunters and anglers. Today in Louisiana, John Kerry talked about the importance of conservation to America's sportsmen and announced the formation of Sportsmen for Kerry, a new effort by hunters and fishermen across America to join Kerry in fighting for rich habitats and abundant wildlife.

"In the months ahead, I look forward to reaching out to hunters and fisherman across America to join them in fighting for rich habitats and abundant wildlife," Kerry said. "As President, I will stand with them in that fight to protect America's precious natural resources. We will make conservation a national priority and protect our habitats for Americans, both present and future, to enjoy."

KERRY'S SPORTSMEN CONSERVATION AGENDA:

Conserve Fish and Wildlife Habitat. As every hunter and angler knows, healthy and abundant habitat is key to maintaining fish and wildlife. As President, Kerry will focus the efforts of the Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on conserving and restoring habitat throughout this country. Some of this work will entail expanding the use of voluntary, incentive-based programs that target private landowners. In other cases, it will involve enhancing upland habitat or better protecting water quality on federal lands.

-- Wetlands: We are losing tens of thousands of wetland habitats in this country every year. As President, Kerry will ensure that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service immediately develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reverse this trend and restore hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands that have been lost over the last few decades. Kerry will also increase funding for wetlands protection and restoration under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

-- Energy Development: The current effort to extract gas and oil from federal lands in the West is putting fish and wildlife unnecessarily in harm's way. John Kerry will effectively implement the multiple use mandate and ensure that fish and wildlife resources are not sacrificed to irresponsible drilling. More resources will be devoted to beefing up federal land management field offices, so better land management plans can be developed with input from all interested parties - including hunters and anglers, ranchers, and local businesses that rely on a healthy range. Where federal lands are leased and permitted for energy development, sufficient protective conditions will be applied to ensure that fish and wildlife are not adversely affected.

-- National Forest Management: Many fish and wildlife species depend on the wise management of the national forests. We should undertake legitimate thinning projects to reduce the risk of fire around communities and to create a mosaic of habitat in the forest. In managing the forests, we should also seek to protect the remaining wild places. To preserve our pristine natural environment, Kerry will work to prevent new roads built in our roadless habitats.

-- Conservation Program Funding: Sound stewardship of the nation's fish and wildlife, and the habitat on which it depends, relies on a consistent commitment of resources to federal and state natural resource agencies. Kerry strongly supports guaranteed and increased funding for federal and state fish and wildlife programs and for land acquisition, as well as enhanced tax incentives for the donation of private land conservation easements.

-- Farm Programs: Farm programs like the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program have contributed enormously to the cause of conservation, to improved water quality, and to farm and ranch income. As President, Kerry will work with the conservation and agriculture communities to expand these programs. Kerry will also work to use the Farm Bill to maximize benefits to fish and wildlife consistent with providing strong economic support to rural America through existing farm programs.

Expand Public Access. One of the greatest challenges facing hunters and anglers today is the dwindling access to nearby places to hunt and fish. Our great outdoors are being lost to urban sprawl, leasing of private lands for pay hunting or simply an unwillingness of private landowners to risk liability associated with public hunting or fishing on their lands. John Kerry has supported legislation to provide more money to states to open up millions of acres of private land for hunting and fishing. As President, Kerry will work to open millions of new acres of land to public hunting and fishing by better funding state walk-in access programs.

GEORGE BUSH HAS TURNED HIS BACK ON SPORTSMEN:

New Bush Administration Guidelines Reduce Federal Wetlands Protection. In January 2003, the Bush Administration released a new "guidance document" to Army Corps of Engineers and EPA regulators discouraging them from asserting jurisdiction over wetlands unless they lie adjacent to traditional navigable rivers, streams and their tributaries. The document also requiring them to seek permission from Washington, D.C. headquarters before regulating so-called "isolated" waters, including wetlands, ponds and intermittent streams. That guidance, which is still in effect, substantially undermines protection for isolated wetlands, including non- navigable bodies of water, which have been subject to much greater protection in the past. (New York Times, 1/11/03; LCV Presidential Scorecard, http://www.lcv.org)

Bush Administration Scales Back Effort to Control Mercury Emissions. A proposed rule change by the Bush Administration would remove mercury emissions from Clean Air Act regulations that have been used to limit the most toxic air pollutants, despite the fact that fish advisories urge reduced consumption of many fish species. Instead of seeking to dramatically reduce mercury emissions, the Administration rescinding a December, 2000 EPA ruling which concluded that mercury emissions are a public health menace and required power plants to install equipment to achieve the maximum amount of emission reduction. (New York Times, 12/3/03; Washington Post, 12/3/03)

-- Mercury Contamination Affects Sportfishing Industry. Mercury contamination has tarnished recreational fishing, the second most popular sport in the US. Throughout significant regions of the country fishermen can no longer consume their "catch" because of mercury contamination. It is estimated that nearly 49 million Americans participate in recreational fishing, adding $69 billion annually to the economy. (Clear The Air, cta.policy.net)

Bush Administration Accelerates Oil and Gas Drilling in Rocky Mountain States. The Bush administration has accelerated leasing and permitting to drill for oil and gas on public lands in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, as well as speeding up permit approvals in some of the areas and easing some of the regulatory hurdles that oil and gas companies face before exploring for oil in the Rockies. According to the Washington Post, a "White House task force established last May to speed decisions on drilling permits has garnered thousands of pages of comments from industry officials, most of them complaining that red tape and rigid legal interpretations are strangling domestic energy production." The task force, which is headed by James L. Connaughton, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, was also seeking to lower barriers to offshore drilling, pipeline construction, electricity transmission and the production of renewable energy. (Washington Post, 4/18/02)

Bush Administration Fights Roadless Area Protections. The Bush administration filed a motion to postpone implementation of a Clinton-era initiative to put one-third of the national forests off limits to development. The Administration said it needed more time to completely review Clinton's initiative, however, in doing so, it basically granted a request by Boise Cascade, a "timber giant," that a federal judge grant a preliminary injunction barring the rules from taking effect. According to the New York Times, "the move also opened a window for possible negotiations between the Bush administration and the Western states, timber interests, off-road enthusiasts and others who have filed lawsuits aimed at overturning the Clinton rules, which would ban roadbuilding and logging across some 60 million acres of national forest." Members of the timber industry, as well as mining, oil and gas industries were strongly opposed to Clinton's plan. (New York Times, 3/17/01)

Bush Issued Moratorium on Expanding National Park System; Broke Campaign Promise. Ignoring a requirement that the White House annually submit a list of proposed new park land to be studied, the Bush Administration declared a moratorium on new proposals for expanding the national park system, a move criticized by many Republican members of Congress. The moratorium was issued to clear up a $4.9 billion backlog of park maintenance before the Interior Department approves new park projects. During the presidential campaign, Bush pledged to commit nearly $5 billion over the next five years to restore the nation's national park system; however, Bush's budget provided only $439.6 million for the first fiscal year. Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado, chairman of the House Resources subcommittee on national parks, said, "I applaud your trying to eliminate the backlog, but having only appropriated $500 million for fiscal 2002, it's going to take an awfully long time to eliminate that backlog." (Washington Post, 5/10/01)

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Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.

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