Number: 1979-21
WHEREAS, Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin wetlands contribute significantly to the total waterfowl production of the Central Flyway; and
WHEREAS, these basins and the Platte River are the principal spring staging areas for about 70% of the mid-continent population of white-fronted geese; and
WHEREAS, agricultural development already has destroyed all but approximately 685 of the original 3,907 permanent Rainwater Basins; and
WHEREAS, many of the remaining areas are frequently dry and unable to support waterfowl populations because of adjacent land use practices and watershed alterations; and
WHEREAS, recent waterfowl disease outbreaks in south-central Nebraska have threatened substantial numbers of migratory birds, including the endangered Whooping Crane; and
WHEREAS, pumping is the only immediate answer to restore part of the area to a condition for waterfowl use; and
WHEREAS, the amount of water pumped for wildlife is minimal, representing less than two one-thousandths of the total ground water use in the area;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 22-25, 1979, in Toronto, Ontario, hereby expresses its support for a pumping program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to partially restore waterfowl habitat for spring migration, disease control, brood production, fall migration, and waterfowl hunting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urges landowners and Natural Resource Districts to recognize that a pumping program for wildlife represents a much-needed benefit to a greatly diminished wetlands resource, a benefit that will have no appreciable impact on groundwater supplies.