44 



The Nature Conservancy is very supportive of the Act and its 

 goals. One of the primary purposes of the Act -- "to protect, 

 enhance, restore, and manage an appropriate distribution and 

 diversity of wetland ecosystems and other habitats for migratory 

 birds and other fish and wildlife in North America" --is very 

 much in harmony with the mission of The Nature Conservancy. 



The strong emphasis placed on partnerships between public 

 agencies and the private sector in the Act is extremely 

 important . These partnerships have acted as the catalyst for 

 significant conservation of wetlands and wetlands ecosystems. 

 The Conservancy believes strongly in the importance of working in 

 partnership with a broad range of entities and individuals to 

 achieve conservation goals, and strongly supports this provision 

 in the Act. At the Conservancy we feel that a good partner 

 brings money to the table; a great partner brings money to the 

 table and demands that others match it. By this standard, the 

 Act is the greatest partner going. 



To give you an example of what these partnerships have 

 meant, I would like briefly to highlight some of the conservation 

 work The Nature Conservancy and its partners have achieved under 

 the Act. Since the inception of the Act, the Conservancy has 

 participated as grantee in a total of seventeen projects in 

 twelve different states. These seventeen projects have received 

 slightly more than $10 million in Act funds and have been matched 

 by more than $24 million in partnership dollars. The amount of 

 money contributed by the many partners in these projects 

 illustrates not only the depth of commitment of these partners 

 but also highlights the ability of federal dollars to leverage 

 private dollars for conservation.'' 



The amount of partnership dollars and the commitment of the 

 various partners to these projects are indicative of the caliber 

 of these projects as well. To illustrate, I would like briefly 

 to mention two projects that I believe highlight what this Act is 

 all about . 



The Mad Island Marsh Project is located in Matagorda County, 

 Texas and is a conservation partnership of The Nature 

 Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ducks 

 Unlimited, the Council, private landowners, Dow Chemical, the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

 and other government agencies. A comprehensive five-year program 

 of habitat protection, restoration, and ecological management has 

 already begun in an effort to return the 9, 262 -acre Mad Island 

 Marsh ecosystem to its formerly productive state. 



^The Nature Conservancy has also been a partner in an 

 additional 25 proposals in which over $24 million in Act dollars 

 was matched by more than $42 million. 



