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16 USC Sec. 4401 01/05/99

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TITLE 16 - CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 64 - NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION

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Sec. 4401. Findings and statement of purpose

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(a) Findings
The Congress finds and declares that -
(1) the maintenance of healthy populations of migratory birds
in North America is dependent on the protection, restoration, and
management of wetland ecosystems and other habitats in Canada, as
well as in the United States and Mexico;
(2) wetland ecosystems provide essential and significant
habitat for fish, shellfish, and other wildlife of commercial,
recreational, scientific, and aesthetic values;
(3) almost 35 per centum of all rare, threatened, and
endangered species of animals are dependent on wetland
ecosystems;
(4) wetland ecosystems provide substantial flood and storm
control values and can obviate the need for expensive manmade
control measures;
(5) wetland ecosystems make a significant contribution to water
availability and quality, recharging ground water, filtering
surface runoff, and providing waste treatment;
(6) wetland ecosystems provide aquatic areas important for
recreational and aesthetic purposes;
(7) more than 50 per centum of the original wetlands in the
United States alone have been lost;
(8) wetlands destruction, loss of nesting cover, and
degradation of migration and wintering habitat have contributed
to long-term downward trends in populations of migratory bird
species such as pintails, American bitterns, and black ducks;
(9) the migratory bird treaty obligations of the United States
with Canada, Mexico, and other countries require protection of
wetlands that are used by migratory birds for breeding,
wintering, or migration and are needed to achieve and to maintain
optimum population levels, distributions, and patterns of
migration;
(10) the 1988 amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Act of 1980 require the Secretary of the Interior to identify
conservation measures to assure that nongame migratory bird
species do not reach the point at which measures of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) are necessary;
(11) protection of migratory birds and their habitats requires
long-term planning and the close cooperation and coordination of
management activities by Canada, Mexico, and the United States
within the framework of the 1916 and 1936 Migratory Bird
Conventions and the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife
Preservation in the Western Hemisphere;
(12) the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, signed in
1986 by the Minister of Environment for Canada and the Secretary
of the Interior for the United States, provides a framework for
maintaining and restoring an adequate habitat base to ensure
perpetuation of populations of North American waterfowl and other
migratory bird species;
(13) a tripartite agreement signed in March 1988, by the
Director General for Ecological Conservation of Natural Resources
of Mexico, the Director of the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, provides
for expanded cooperative efforts in Mexico to conserve wetlands
for migratory birds that spend the winter there;
(14) the long-term conservation of migratory birds and habitat
for these species will require the coordinated action of
governments, private organizations, landowners, and other
citizens; and
(15) the treaty obligations of the United States under the
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as
waterfowl habitat requires promotion of conservation and wise use
of wetlands.
(b) Purpose
The purposes of this chapter are to encourage partnership among
public agencies and other interests -
(1) to protect, enhance, restore, and manage an appropriate
distribution and diversity of wetland ecosystems and other
habitats for migratory birds and other fish and wildlife in North
America;
(2) to maintain current or improved distributions of migratory
bird populations; and
(3) to sustain an abundance of waterfowl and other migratory
birds consistent with the goals of the North American Waterfowl
Management Plan and the international obligations contained in
the migratory bird treaties and conventions and other agreements
with Canada, Mexico, and other countries.

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(Pub. L. 101-233, Sec. 2, Dec. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 1968.)

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REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980, referred to in
subsec. (a)(10), is Pub. L. 96-366, Sept. 29, 1980, 94 Stat. 1322,
as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 49 (Sec. 2901
et seq.) of this title. In 1988, section 2912 of that chapter was
enacted and section 2910 of that chapter was amended by Pub. L.
100-653, title VIII, Nov. 14, 1988, 102 Stat. 3833. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set
out under section 2901 of this title and Tables.
The Endangered Species Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(10),
probably means the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-205,
Dec. 28, 1973, 87 Stat. 884, as amended, which is classified
generally to chapter 35 (Sec. 1531 et seq.) of this title. For
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title
note set out under section 1531 of this title and Tables.
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original
''this Act'', meaning Pub. L. 101-233, Dec. 13, 1989, 103 Stat.
1968, as amended, which is classified principally to this chapter.
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short
Title note set out below and Tables.

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SHORT TITLE OF 1998 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 105-312, title III, Sec. 301, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat.
2958, provided that: ''This title (amending sections 3744 and 4406
of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under
section 4403 of this title) may be cited as the 'Wetlands and
Wildlife Enhancement Act of 1998'.''
SHORT TITLE OF 1994 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 103-375, Sec. 1, Oct. 19, 1994, 108 Stat. 3494, provided
that: ''This Act (enacting section 4414 of this title and amending
sections 3742 to 3744, 3955, 4406, 4407, 4409, and 4410 of this
title) may be cited as the 'North American Wetlands Conservation
Act Amendments of 1994'.''
SHORT TITLE
Section 1 of Pub. L. 101-233 provided that: ''This Act (enacting
this chapter, amending sections 669b, 669c, 703, 715a, 2912, and
3931 of this title, enacting provisions set out as a note under
section 669b of this title, and amending provisions set out as a
note under section 668dd of this title) may be cited as the 'North
American Wetlands Conservation Act'.''