Number: 1995-05
WHEREAS, 63%, or 175 million acres, of the nation’s remaining wetlands are in Alaska; and
WHEREAS, 38% of the nation’s total coastline is in Alaska; and
WHEREAS, Alaska’s wetlands provide essential breeding and feeding habitat for an enormous variety and abundance of migratory birds, shorebirds and waterfowl — including the endangered American Peregrine falcon and the threatened Spectacled eider — that are of national and international significance; and
WHEREAS, Alaska’s wetlands are vital to the nation’s commercial and recreational fishing industries, providing more than 70,000 jobs and generating several billions of dollars annually; and
WHEREAS, Alaska’s wetlands provide resources essential to the subsistence activities which are the basis of most Alaska native village economies; and
WHEREAS, Alaska’s wetlands, similar to those in the lower 48 states, include highly productive habitats for fish, wildlife, and freshwater/marine organisms, and important wetlands functions such as groundwater recharge to aquifers providing crucial public water supplies, the capacity to filter and purify surface waters, moderation of stream flow during flooding and low-flow events, erosion control and stability of aquatic habitat shorelines, and opportunities for numerous outdoor recreational and subsistence harvest pursuits; and
WHEREAS, approximately 56% of the nation’s wetlands in the lower 48 states have been destroyed and the losses continue at several hundred thousand acres each year; and
WHEREAS, reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, including Section 404 which is the principal federal regulatory program that protects wetlands and the many benefits they provide, is currently pending before Congress; and
WHEREAS, the Alaska congressional delegation, which now controls key environmental committees in both the House and Senate, has pledged to amend Section 404 to significantly decrease protection for Alaska’s wetlands and to significantly weaken national wetlands policies and laws; and
WHEREAS, the limited scope, absence of vigorous implementation, and inconsistent application of Section 404 by regulatory agencies, particularly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, both in Alaska and nationwide is also a major factor contributing to loss of the nation’s wetlands base and the resources it supports; and
WHEREAS, wetlands protection programs are potentially threatened by selective reductions in funding through the appropriation process;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in its Annual Meeting assembled March 18-20, 1995 in Washington, D.C., opposes any special exemptions for Alaska’s wetlands from the nation’s wetlands protection laws; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) supports thorough and consistent compliance and implementation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NWF strongly supports the continued implementation of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act along with strengthening amendments to:
- Provide for greater consideration in the Section 404 review and recommendation process for those federal and state resource agencies that have responsibilities for wetlands protection and agency expertise in water quality, fisheries, and wildlife; and
- Expand U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA jurisdiction to include all activities which alter or destroy wetlands and aquatic habitats; and
- Ensure changes to wetlands regulatory programs, regardless of state, will be undertaken with full public review and comment, both locally and nationally; and
- Retain and strengthen federal oversight of state administered programs; and
- Decrease wetlands losses throughout the nation, including greater consideration of opportunities for avoidance or other mitigation of wetlands impacts, as set out in the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines; and
- Eliminate inappropriate use of General Permits and require that all actions having more than minimal individual or cumulative impacts on fish and wildlife or their habitats be submitted for individual review; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation will oppose all efforts by Congress to amend and weaken the Section 404 program or to reduce wetlands protection through the annual appropriations process.