29 



Mr. Taylor. Mr. Chairman, the Fish and WildHfe Service back a 

 few years ago in my State excavated 99 acres of wetlands without a 

 permit. Surely they knew it was a wetland and that they were in 

 violation of the law. I presume they have committed a criminal of- 

 fense that would require jail punishment. Can we call in the 

 police? 



Mr. Studds. We will decide whether they should be hung or be 

 sentenced to watch C-SPAN for a week. 



Mr. Taylor. I have now concluded by saying there should be 

 strong Federal leadership and the Federal Government should lead 

 by example. The above example is one of the numerous times the 

 Federal Government has engaged in draining what was clearly 

 wetlands. 



In one case, they got a permit, and in the other, they got a 

 permit to drain where no one else would be draining. If you are 

 going to wink at those sorts of things and then penalize farmers, 

 we clearly have a double standard that it will be hard to under- 

 stand in my area. 



Mr. Studds. Thank you gentlemen for your presence. Now you 

 have a better understanding of the lay of the land up here and the 

 challenges we face. Those are the challenges that make our job as 

 interesting as it is. 



[Whereupon, at 11:53 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned, and 

 the following was submitted for the record: 



74-733 - 94 - 2 



