we are now looking at some significant advances in the accomplish- 

 ment. 



Just to look at a couple of these. Quill Lakes Restoration and En- 

 hancement Project was once a dry, agricultural area in Saskatche- 

 wan. It now supports some 500,000 shorebirds in addition to a 

 large number of waterfowl species, which provide not only the joy 

 of seeing these wonderful species but also the happiness it has 

 given to hunters like myself and some of the others in this room 

 of actually knowing that the resources upon which our sport de- 

 pends is being protected. 



Projects can be large and they can be small. The successful Llano 

 Seco Rancho acquisition project in the Central Valley of California 

 required $3 million, but a 3-acre site, a wetlands site in Illinois, 

 was developed and preserved as a result of a Boy Scout's initiative 

 in working toward his Eagle Scout rank with an expenditure of 

 $600. 



These conservation projects have affected a major area for habi- 

 tat, for migratory and other waterfowl that would include some 1.3 

 million acres of wetlands and associated upland habitat in Canada 

 and the United States. Conservation education and wetlands man- 

 agement plan projects in Mexico also affect large biosphere re- 

 serves. 



This has been a program which has already established its suc- 

 cess, and this Committee does not need to have any apprehensions 

 about carrying this bill to the Floor or waiting around to see 

 whether or not there has been success. In fact, there has been suc- 

 cess and a great deal of it. 



Now, I do not recommend any significant changes in the statute. 

 However, I believe the Subcommittee should consider some clarify- 

 ing language, either in the statute or again in the Committee re- 

 port, which would assure that the protection which we are going 

 to apply to these projects, which will be approved by both the 

 Council and by the Migratory Bird Commission on which Mr. 

 Weldon and I sit, and the reason for that is, of course, if we are 

 to get anything for the money, we have to get the maximum lever- 

 age possible. In other words, to get the longest possible term on the 

 leases, and that is something which I think is very important. 



All of us know that wetlands are fragile areas. They are not 

 something easily created nor easily fixed once they have been 

 abused or degraded, and it is not something that can be protected 

 for 10 years and then plowed under. It is a system or an ecosystem 

 to which we must commit not only money but time, and expect that 

 in the leveraging process we are trying to get, that the money goes 

 over the longest period possible so that as each year goes by we are 

 not just paying rent on a single tract of land but we can actually 

 develop a rapidly expanding area of habitat for our migratory birds 

 and other species. 



Now, the money we spend on this should then be done on leases 

 and other easements which will be of long term. I would hope at 

 the very least 25 years, and I think that that should require both 

 a commitment not only by the Federal Government but our State, 

 local, and private partners. 



Now, in my formal statement, Mr. Chairman, I have included 

 language from the House and Senate report which I believe estab- 



