DU President Discusses Wetlands Conservation With President Bush

Washington, D.C., December 12, 2003 - Ducks Unlimited President, John Tomke met with President George Bush and other leaders from the conservation community in the west wing of the White House today to discuss major issues of interest to the wildlife conservation community. Also joining the meeting, held in both the Roosevelt Room and the Oval Office, were Secretary of Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Council on Environmental Quality Chairman, Jim Connaughton.

Seated next to the President during the meeting, Tomke raised the importance of protecting isolated wetlands to ensure healthy waterfowl and other wildlife populations, and emphasized it as a critical issue to hunter-conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts across the United States. Tomke's concern arises from a 2001 Supreme Court decision that, if broadly interpreted, could eliminate long-standing protection of wetlands and small bodies of water under the Clean Water Act.

During the meeting, Tomke also remarked that in recent months more than 20,000 letters have been sent to the White House and other key decision makers in Washington D.C. by DU members and supporters on this issue. "The strong response is a true testament of the nationwide interest in the federal protection of isolated wetlands under the Clean Water Act," Tomke stated. Depending on how this decision is interpreted and acted upon, up to 96 percent of the wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, which is the primary waterfowl breeding area in the United States, could lose protection. For more information on this issue, log on to http://www.ducks.org/news/PDF/SWANCCFactSheet.pdf .

In the hour-long meeting, President Bush pointedly and repeatedly stated his support for wetlands protection, underscoring his commitment to his policy of no-net-loss of wetlands. He mentioned his own enthusiasm for hunting and fishing along the gulf coast of the U.S. Each year, the Gulf Coast can winter more than fourteen million ducks and two million geese, making it among DU's highest conservation priorities. Unfortunately, due to a combination of man-made and natural causes, the U.S. Gulf Coast is losing 25 to 35 square miles of coastal habitat each year, which is the equivalent of losing an area the size of a football field every 30 minutes.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and its success, wise energy development on federal lands, and hunter/angler access to National Wildlife Refuge lands were among the other issues discussed during the meeting.

This is the second time John Tomke has met with President Bush during his term as DU President.

With more than a million supporters, Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl conservation organization. The United States alone has lost more than half of its original wetlands - nature's most productive ecosystems - and continues to lose more than 100,000 wetland acres each year.

Contact: Laura Houseal (901) 758-3764 lhouseal@ducks.org

or Scott Sutherland (202) 347-1530 ssutherland@ducks.org