CRS-97 



can be reviewed after 5 years and at the time of renewal, to bring it in line 

 with changing market conditions. 



By 1979 the program, operating since 1972, had resulted in 5,205 agreements 

 that designated more than 585,000 acres for wetland protection. In FY 1981, 

 an additional 80 agreements and 11,000 acres were expected to come into the 

 the program. Participation is concentrated in the prairie pothole region of 

 the upper Great Plains. States with the largest areas participating in this 

 program are North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. 134 / 



Wetland Acquisition Programs of the Fish and Wildlife Service 



In 1977, the Service managed approximately 12 million acres of wetlands. 135 / 

 Most of these wetlands have been acquired under provisions of the migratory 

 bird land acquisition program. A representative of the Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice stated that this program, funded mainly through the sale of "duck stamps," 

 has been used to acquire over 2.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the 

 lower 48 States between 1935 and 1976. In 1977 alone, revenues from the sale 

 of duck stamps totaled $12 million. The goal of the program, in 1975, was to 

 preserve an additional 1.9 acres through fee acquisition and easements. 136 / 

 This goal is also supported by funds from the Wetlands Loans Act of 1961, which 

 authorizes funds to accelerate wetland purchases (ultimately to be repaid from 

 future "duck stamp" revenues). 



134 / U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1982 Budget Explanatory Notes, v. 2. 

 Washington, 1981. p. 306-311. 



135 / Holmes, Federal Participation in Land Use Decision Making, p. 383. Ap- 

 proximately 8.8 million acres are in Alaska and the remainder are in the lower 48. 



136 / Hirsch, Wetland Protection Programs, p. 110-111. 



