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Water: Bush Administration Halts Protection of Important Wetlands Avid Hunters Urge Administration to Protect Habitat
There is one thing Judy Helgen, a Roseville resident and retired research scientist, and Ken Little, a psychologist and avid duck hunter from Detroit Lakes, have in common: they know the value of protecting Minnesota's wetlands. Besides providing vital nutrients for many species, wetlands also protect our communities from flooding, purify our water, create habitat for a wide range of plants and animals, and help maintain our clean water supply. Judy and Ken also know that our remaining wetlands continue to be endangered by drainage, pollution, and filling. While many of us may believe all is well because we can still see wetlands scattered across our landscape, Judy and Ken know that the health of those wetlands is often poor, and that the potential for further loss and degradation is real. Many of Minnesota's wetlands fall into a category that the Bush administration says no longer need to be protected by federal clean water laws: so-called "isolated" wetlands, which are supposedly unconnected to larger rivers and lakes. The attack by the Bush administration on the Clean Water Act began in January 2003, when the administration issued a policy "guidance" to remove protections from many of our small streams, ponds, and wetlands that appear to be disconnected from major rivers and lakes. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this would place at risk fully 20 percent of the continental United States' remaining wetlands-some 20 million acres. The Bush administration directive instructs EPA and Army Corps of Engineers field staff to immediately stop extending Clean Water Act protections to these wetlands, putting millions of acres of waterfowl habitat at risk and potentially harming businesses that depend upon bird-watchers, hunters, and other outdoor enthusiasts for economic survival. The guidance gives EPA and the Corps field staff carte blanche to classify a stream, wetland, or other water as "isolated," and based upon this decision, decline to apply Clean Water Act protections to it. However, should they seek to protect any such "isolated" waters, they must first get approval from headquarters in Washington, D.C. Moreover, there is no requirement that they report or document the number of waters they are removing from Clean Water Act protections. The individual and cumulative impacts of this destructive policy are largely occurring without any notice being given to the public. Hunters like Ken have seen the number of wetlands decrease over the years-so much so, in fact, that many duck hunters are leaving Minnesota and heading to the Dakotas to hunt. In most parts of our state, agricultural drainage is a prime source of wetland loss. Years ago, Ken bought a cabin near Litchfield, and a big part of the allure was the beautiful slough nearby. He describes how he used to take his canoe and slip into a "wonderland of channels, close to a mile long, a significant wetland... and full of ducks. If you came near, they would just fly up, and then land somewhere further off...There were beaver...it was a beautiful wetland." But the bordering land was primarily farmland, and Ken's beloved wetland was drained. Loss of habitat for ducks and other migratory birds not only means less enjoyment for hunters, it would also hurt Minnesota's economy. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 184,000 migratory bird hunters spent $99 million on hunting-related expenses in Minnesota in 2001.1 Judy Helgen says that in her work assessing the quality of wetlands for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency it is increasingly difficult to find high-quality wetlands because so few remain undisturbed by human activity. Judy has a special liking for small, isolated wetlands, and it is painful for her to see them considered "nuisances." She says emphatically that they are important parts of nature; many of them are thousands of years old, even though they disappear during the summer months. Judy has done workshops with teachers, exposing them to small wetlands and teaching them about their value. "People need to know how diverse these wetlands are-they have to care," she says. "Wetlands are extremely important for biodiversity. The saying is, ‘they feed the forest,' because they provide food for other creatures." The Clean Water Act is one of our most successful environmental laws. But the Bush administration's actions to weaken the Clean Water Act increase the risks to our wetlands. Once again, the Bush administration is allowing polluters to profit at the expense of our natural resources and environment. Judy and Ken, as well as many other duck hunters and lovers of nature, know there is a better way. We must convince the Bush administration to strengthen our clean water laws and improve the enforcement of those laws. We also need to demand that polluters be held accountable for the damage they do. By putting our health and environment before corporate profits the Bush administration could protect Minnesota's wetlands and keep the Land of 10,000 lakes healthy and clean for future generations. For more information contact: Department of Natural Resources US Fish and Wildlife Service
Photo courtesy Andy Hyser Up to Top |
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