some thoughts from the other side of the coin: 
http://www.refugewatch.org/2007/10/22/president-bush-visits-patuxent-refuge




>Last week, President Bush spoke at Patuxent about migratory birds.  Full
>transcript below.
>
>
>
>Mary Pfaffko
>
>Wildlife Biologist
>
>DC Fisheries & Wildlife
>
>District Department of the Environment
>
>51 N Street, NE 5th floor
>
>Washington, DC 20002
>
>202-535-1739 (phone)
>
>202-535-1373 (fax)
>
>9:01 A.M. EDT
>
>THE PRESIDENT: Listen, thank you all for coming. I appreciate the
>hospitality you've shown us here at Patuxent Research Refuge. I want to
>thank all the good folks who work here from the Fish and Wildlife Service,
>as well as the U.S. Geological Survey.
>
>One of the things we've discussed here is a significant environmental
>challenge we face here in America, and that is birds are losing the stopover
>habitats they need and depend on for their annual migrations. And therefore
>I've come to discuss a strategy to enhance those habitats, without which
>many birds could become severely challenged.
>
>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0122-1-
>637v.html>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0122-1-
>637v.html>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0122-1-
>637v.html> To me, this is a national issue that requires national focus. And
>so I appreciate very much you all giving me a chance to describe our
>strategy and thanks for your -- thanks for working for the country.
>
>I am proud to be here with Laura, bird-watcher extraordinaire. I appreciate
>Secretary Dirk Kempthorne running our Interior Department. I do thank Wendy
>Paulson, who's joined us. She's on the board of the Cornell Lab of
>Ornithology. Some of the recommendations -- or all the recommendations that
>I'm describing today were brought to our attention by Wendy and a friend of
>mine from Texas named Rusty Rose, both of whom serve on this important
>university lab -- the board of the lab. I appreciate Judd Howell, the
>director, who gave us a tour. And Brad, thank you very much for joining us.
>
>I also want to thank George Fenwick, he's the President of the American Bird
>Conservancy, for joining us as well. Appreciate the staff members here who
>worked on this initiative. Thanks for your hard work and your -- and
>bringing what I believe the American people will find is a commonsense
>policy that makes sense for our future.
>
>I don't know if you know this or not, but each year more than 800 species of
>migratory birds brave stiff winds, harsh weather and numerous predators to
>fly thousands of miles. Their final destination is the warm climate of the
>American south, or the Caribbean or Mexico, where they stay for the winter.
>These amazing travelers will then return to their breeding grounds in the
>north. And as they span these distances, they fascinate and bring joy to
>millions of our citizens. A lot of folks across the country love to watch
>birds.
>
>For these migratory birds, surviving their long journey depends on a
>stopover habitat. That basically means they got to find a place to rest, a
>safe place to prepare to continue their journey. Unfortunately, expanding
>civilization has made it harder for these birds to find places to stop and
>to rest.
>
>And so that's the challenge we face and, you know, one area that -- one
>reason we came here is because the National Wildlife Refuges like this one
>provide stopover habitat, and they play a really important role in our
>conservation efforts. My administration has supported the National Wildlife
>Refuge system. We've expanded some of the existing sites, we created 10 new
>ones, and we restored and improved hundreds of thousands of acres of habitat
>for migratory birds. In other words, we recognize the refuge system is an
>important part of preserving our bird populations.
>
>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0124-3-
>515h.html>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0124-3-
>515h.html>
><http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/images/20071020-2_d-0124-3-
>515h.html> And we've set a goal that by the time I leave office we will
>improve another 200,000 acres. And I appreciate, Mr. Secretary, you joining
>us and committing your Department to achieving that goal.
>
>In addition to the wildlife refuges, we're also working to improve habitat
>for migratory birds in our national parks. We've increased funding. But
>we've got a new initiative that I want to -- want the American people to be
>aware of, and it's called the National Parks Centennial Initiative. And the
>idea is to match taxpayers' money with private donations to the tune of $3
>billion, so that we can improve our national parks. And some of that money
>is going to go to restoration, to the restoration of a variety of wildlife
>habitats, including some that directly benefit birds.
>
>Improving our nation's long-term protections for migratory birds requires
>conservation beyond the boundaries of our national parks and refuges. And so
>one of the things this administration has done is to bring together citizens
>and private groups and officials from every level of government in the
>spirit of cooperation. In other words, we recognize that the federal
>government alone cannot provide the habitat necessary for migratory birds.
>We call this program cooperative conservation, and part of the emphasis is
>to restore critical habitat.
>
>One of the most important cooperative conservation efforts has been what
>they call joint venture programs for water fowl. This program has brought
>together federal, state and tribal agencies with private groups and
>corporations to improve habitat on private lands. It's worked so well for
>water fowl that we're now using it for other migratory birds. We've had --
>we have 18 joint ventures now underway, and next year we're going to add
>three more to help conserve birds along the Rio Grande corridor, the
>Appalachian Mountains and on the Northern Great Plains.
>
>Here's the way they work. Each venture, joint venture brings together a team
>of biologists and land managers -- these are the experts -- and they make --
>and then they work with the bird conservationists in a particular region to
>design and carry out critical habitat improvement. To enhance habitat
>conservation we're going to put forth next week an innovative policy called
>recovery credit trading. This policy will provide incentives for landowners
>to improve habitat for migratory birds and other species. Landowners can
>earn recovery credits for the habitat they improve and then they can sell
>those credits. The idea is to provide incentive for our private landowners
>to help deal with the concern that I started the speech with, and that is to
>make sure there's critical habitat available for migratory birds.
>
>There's something else we can do. I asked Congress to provide tax incentive
>to reward landowners who donate conservation easements. Conservation
>easements are a good way to ensure the long-term preservation of habitat.
>They allow people to give up the right to develop parts of their land and
>then count the value of that right as a charitable contribution. The
>proposal would allow good citizens who give these conservation easements --
>allow them to deduct a higher portion of the donation from their income
>taxes, both in the year they donated and the years that follow. In other
>words, this is additional incentives for landowners to become a part of this
>comprehensive national strategy and Congress needs to pass this piece of tax
>legislation.
>
>You know, another important measure we've taken is in the conservation title
>of the farm bill. This title encourages farmers and ranchers to set aside
>critical habitat through a program called Conservation Reserve Program, or
>the CRP. And our proposal to Congress as they rewrite the farm bill, we're
>asking them to dedicate $50 billion over five years to make sure that this
>program continues in effect. The program has been effective for our farmers
>and ranchers and, equally importantly, for our bird populations. And my hope
>is that Congress recognizes its effectiveness and will continue to fund this
>program.
>
>We're making progress in rural areas, but there needs to be some work in
>urban areas. And so we've got an interesting program underway to help five
>cities turn parks and local backyards into stopover bird habitats over the
>next two years. In other words, what we're trying to do is to make sure that
>we have a successful strategy in five cities that could become the blueprint
>for cities all around the country.
>
>Many species of birds live part of their lives here in the United States and
>part in Mexico. So we have a strategy to work with Mexico to enhance bird
>habitats in their country. I've talked about -- I've talked about this issue
>with President Calder n. He shares my concern about making sure there's
>critical habitat available for our migratory birds. The Secretaries of
>State, Interior and Commerce are working with their counterparts in the
>Mexican government. Non-governmental partners are working to undertake
>important habitat projects in Mexico as well.
>
>One of the things we have done is we've identified five priority habitats in
>Mexico. We listened to the experts who pointed us to five important areas
>and we have provided $4 million to support conservation initiatives there. I
>also directed federal agencies to increase our nation's participation in an
>international effort to protect coastal and marine migratory birds such as
>albatrosses and petrels. Restoring habitats at home and abroad is going to
>help us achieve the objectives and goals I have set out, which is providing
>critical habitat for migratory birds.
>
>Our efforts to restore habitats are strengthening bird populations. Since
>2004, the Department of Interior has improved the status of five migratory
>bird species, and the Department is helping ensure that more than 62 percent
>of our nation's migratory bird species are healthy and at sustainable
>levels. But that's not good enough -- 62 percent is good, but we can do
>better. And so I've asked the Secretary to -- Secretary Kempthorne to focus
>on the status of five more species over the next five years. And to achieve
>this goal we need good data. I mean, we just don't want to be guessing about
>bird populations, we want to measure. And so I've asked the Secretary to
>produce a State of the Birds Report by 2009. This report will chart our
>progress, it'll identify species that need additional protections, and help
>us bring more of America's bird species into a healthy and sustainable
>status.
>
>And Mr. Secretary, I appreciate your commitment. I appreciate the fact that
>you understand America's greatness is not measured by material wealth alone;
>it's measured by how we manage and care for all that we have been given.
>We're people united by our belief that we must be good stewards of our
>environment. The cooperative conservation policies that we have put in place
>show our commitment to protecting America's migratory birds, conserving the
>habitat they depend on and ensuring that generations of Americans will enjoy
>the beauty of birds for decades to come.
>
>I appreciate you all joining me. I want to thank you for your interest. God
>bless our country.
>
>END 9:13 A.M. EDT
>
>
>
>


-- 
Melanie