Wetlands are Making Gains!

Thank you, Mike (Maller). It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon for the Cascade Brook Salt Marsh Restoration Dedication Ceremony.

I know much of the damage done to this marsh happened in the flooding of 1996 – an event that went beyond damaging this marsh to take its toll in human life. I especially want to offer my condolences to the Snow family for the loss of their son, brother and father, Robert Snow. This restoration project is a fitting legacy of his life.

The partners in the Cascade Brook Salt Marsh Restoration have done great things to increase tidal flow and control invasive plant species to improve this important habitat. Together, you have helped undo the ill effects of both natural disaster and outdated land management decisions.

Restoring this marsh has taken hard work and cooperation, and I congratulate all of the partners, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, the Conservation Law Foundation, Restore America’s Estuaries, the Friends of Scarborough Marsh, Maine Corporate Wetland Restoration Partnership, S.W.A.M.P., Inc., Great Meadow Farm, Reed and Reed, Normandeau and Associates, Northern Ecological Services, and the NRCS staff here in Maine

I am pleased that so many of the partners could be here today.


National Wetlands Goal

This has been a very good year for wetlands nationally. On Earth Day, President Bush came up here to Maine and announced a new national goal for wetlands. The President said, “Instead of just limiting our losses, we will expand the wetlands of America.” He said that over the next five years our nation will restore at least one million acres of new wetlands through incentive and partnership measures such as our own Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), improve the quality of a million acres of existing wetlands through expanded public-private efforts, and protect a million acres of wetlands by increasing grants for land protection programs. I believe that this was not an idle commitment.

The President’s announcement wasn’t the only good news for America’s wetlands. Also on Earth Day, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman was in Pennsylvania making her own announcement: that farmers and ranchers produced a net increase of 131,400 acres of wetlands from 1997 through 2002.

These figures came from the 2002 National Resources Inventory – NRI -- released by my agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The NRI tracks changes in use of our nation’s nonfederal lands. Secretary Veneman said, “The resource inventory shows we have not only slowed wetland losses due to agriculture, but we have gained wetland acreage, thanks to the stewardship ethic of the nation’s farmers and ranchers.”

Agriculture’s NET GAIN in wetlands includes gains of nearly 183,000 acres of wetlands partially offset by losses of only 51,000 acres. The net gain is a tribute to the hard work of America’s farmers and ranchers. The most gains occurred in the Corn Belt and Mississippi Delta States where many farmers enroll land in the Wetlands Reserve Program and the Conservation Reserve Program.

As Secretary Veneman said, “USDA is doing its part to increase the overall functions and values of wetlands on agricultural lands.”

I believe we can look forward to greater cooperation between Federal agencies on wetlands and other natural resource issues. President Bush signed an Executive Order on Cooperative Conservation less than two months ago, asking federal agencies to work in partnership with the American people to protect this Nation's environment.

Cooperation and entrepreneurship -- in the workplace, on the lands, and in our forests -- lie at the heart of environmental progress. Some of the best conservation and environmental protections result when landowners and communities work together. The President wants our federal agencies to support this culture of responsibility and to respect private landowners by being good neighbors and good environmental partners. Under the leadership of President Bush, federal agencies are advancing cooperative conservation and environmental partnerships to achieve significant results.


Benefits of Wetlands

Wetlands have many benefits. They are biologically diverse and dynamic ecosystems that support diverse populations of wildlife, plants and fish. They provide habitat for many of the nation’s endangered and threatened species. They help protect water quality by filtering out pollutants. They provide natural flood control by absorbing excess water. They buffer coastal areas from erosion. And they offer aesthetic and recreational opportunities.

Wetland losses due to agriculture dramatically declined over the past 50 years. About 400,000 acres of wetlands were lost annually due to agriculture from 1954 to 1974. Only about 150,000 acres were lost annually from 1974 to 1983. By the 1992-1997 time period, wetland losses due to agriculture slowed dramatically to about 27,000 acres annually.

Information from the 2002 Annual NRI showed annual losses have dropped to only 10,000 acres a year. We now know that gains in wetlands attributable to agriculture are an important part of the wetlands picture. The 2002 Inventory is the first one to keep track of gains in wetlands by source – as in wetlands attributable to agriculture. The figures show a gain of nearly 37,000 acres a year from 1997 to 2002. That is about half of the overall gain in wetlands over that period!

These gains in wetlands are the result of years of wetland conservation by landowners, conservation groups, States and Federal agencies. Working with these partners, Federal agencies adopted policies that focused on fair, flexible approaches to wetlands conservation and stewardship for more than a decade. These agencies also invested much time in educating the public about wetland values, benefits and the sustainable use of wetland resources. These polices have helped slow down wetland losses while increasing wetland protection and enhancement.

Additional results and information on the 2002 Annual NRI are available on the NRCS Web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/NRI.


The Federal Role in Conserving our Natural Resources
The Federal government also has an important role to play in conserving our natural resources. Today our nation’s air is cleaner, our water is purer, and our lands and natural resources are in much better shape than they were 25 or 30 years ago, thanks in part to Federal conservation and environmental programs. Today, the Federal government – including the USDA and its two agencies devoted to natural resource and environment (the NRCS and the Forest Service) – is building on these accomplishments through new and innovative policies.
Our focus under the leadership of President Bush – is on results. Our initiatives are designed to make our air, water, and land cleaner. We are using the best science and data in making our environmental decisions. We are encouraging innovation and development of new, cleaner technologies. We continue to build on America’s conservation ethic and sense of personal responsibility through education and volunteer opportunities, and in our daily lives. That means that we in the Federal government are working closely with you – our States, tribes, local communities, and individuals – as it says in the NRCS mission – to conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.


Farm and Ranch Accomplishments
America's farmers and ranchers have made much of this conservation progress possible. They have collaborated with government and other private groups to make great strides in helping to improve our Nation’s environment. They have reduced soil erosion on cropland and pasture by 1.2 billion tons from 1982 to 1997. They have protected more than 900 farms and ranches through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program. They have reduced the loss of wetlands caused by agriculture to only 10,000 acres per year, down from 400,000 acres per year in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. They have restored nearly one million acres of wetlands since 1991 under the Wetlands Reserve Program. They have planted millions of trees and shrubs – 261 million last year alone. And they have applied nutrient management on more than five million acres of land used in animal feeding operations since 1999.
The President continues to build on our Nation’s overall environmental success. His 2005 budget request includes record funding for environment and natural resources programs across government, and it will have a continued improved emphasis on measuring performance and effectiveness. Across the departments of Agriculture and Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, the President’s 2005 budget proposal provides $46.9 billion, which is a $1.4 billion increase over what the President put forward in the 2004 budget.
This is and unprecedented investment in the nation’s natural resources.

2002 Farm Bill

President Bush supported and signed into law the 2002 Farm Bill. The bill enhances conservation and environmental stewardship. Under this Administration, funding has nearly doubled for these effective conservation programs. The Farm Bill conservation programs are providing up to $38 billion over a decade to restore millions of acres of wetlands, protect habitats, conserve water, and improve streams and rivers near working farms and ranches.


18 Percent Cut in Greenhouse Gas Intensity

President Bush has committed America to meeting the challenge of long-term global climate change by reducing the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output by 18 percent. USDA is helping farmers and ranchers do their part through programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.


Healthy Forests Initiative

Late last year, the President signed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, which implements key provisions of his Healthy Forests Initiative. This initiative helps restore the health and vitality of forests and rangelands, and helping reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires and benefits communities and wildlife habitats. In March, the departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce announced they have signed agreements to implement new regulations that will expedite fuels reduction and other forest health projects while ensuring the protection of threatened and endangered species. The regulations themselves were announced in December of 2003.


Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy

The President has called for tax incentives totaling $4.1 billion through 2009 to spur the use of clean, renewable energy, and energy-efficient technologies, including biofuels.

Executive Order on Cooperative Conservation,
Last month, President Bush signed an Executive Order on Cooperative Conservation, asking Federal agencies to work in partnership with the American people to protect this Nation's environment. Some of the best conservation and environmental protections result when landowners and communities work together. The President wants our Federal agencies to support this culture of responsibility and to respect private landowners by being good neighbors and good environmental partners.


Conclusion

President Bush has set an ambitious goal for our nation with regard to the restoration of wetlands. Reaching that goal will require hard work on the part of everyone who feels that America’s wetlands are a valuable resource.

Secretary Veneman’s announcement shows America’s agricultural land owners – our farmers and ranchers – can, indeed, produce gains in wetlands. The National Resource Inventory demonstrates that point quite clearly.

It is great news that farmers and ranchers have produced a net increase of well over 100,000 acres of wetlands in just five years. Working together, landowners, conservation groups, States, and Federal agencies will continue to improve on these figures and work toward meeting the President’s goal. Conservation funding under the 2002 farm bill provides a sound foundation for this effort, but we need to bring in all the partners we can and continue to put the widest possible array of resources to work to restore, improve, and conserve America’s wetlands.

As Secretary Veneman said on Earth Day 2003, “. . . we all have a common interest in conservation, and it demonstrates that individual actions can make a real difference, thus preserving land, air, and water for the future generations.”

The Cascade Brook Salt Marsh Restoration Project is a prime example of what we can accomplish working together. There are about a half dozen projects that need to be done here on the Scarborough Marsh, and this project on Cascade Brook is only the second to be completed. I look forward to seeing the results of the complete set of projects.

Thank you.