68 



STATEMENT OF GARY TAYLOR, LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, 

 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE 

 AGENCIES, WASHINGTON, DC 



Mr. Taylor. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Gary Taylor, legis- 

 lative director of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife 

 Agencies, and I appreciate the opportunity to share with you our 

 perspectives on the baiting regulations under the Migratory Bird 

 Treaty Act. 



As you are aware, Mr. Chairman, the association represents the 

 public agencies charged with the conservation of fish and wildlife 

 resources in North America. All 50 of our State fish and wildlife 

 agencies are members. Also, as you are aware, Mr. Chairman, the 

 State fish and wildlife agencies are public trustees of the fish and 

 wildlife resource within their borders and have statutory authority 

 to ensure their vitality and stewardship of these resources for the 

 use and enjoyment of their citizens. 



State jurisdiction for migratory birds is thus concurrent with 

 that of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And as you are also 

 aware, Mr. Chairman — and it is in my written statement — our as- 

 sociation, which dates back to 1902, has long been interested and 

 involved in the conservation of migratory birds. We were active in 

 pushing for the Migratory Bird Treaty; we were involved in its rati- 

 fication, the subsequent passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; 

 Duck Stamp Act; Pittman-Robertson Act; North American Wet- 

 lands Conservation Act, et cetera. So, we do have a long history of 

 interest and involvement in migratory bird resources. 



At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the presi- 

 dent of our association is in the process of appointing a special 

 committee to facilitate review of the baiting regulations. Mr. Man- 

 ning, on my right, will chair this Committee, on which will sit 

 other State directors, biologists and law enforcement officers with 

 recent, on-the-ground experience. Without preordaining the work of 

 our committee, we do believe that there could be some moderniza- 

 tion of our baiting regulations to improve their clarity, understand- 

 ing and consistency of enforcement while at the same time ensur- 

 ing that they continue to address migratory bird conservation 

 goals. We look forward to the work of this committee. 



The association does support the need for baiting regulations to 

 ensure the sustainability of the migratory bird resource but also to 

 ensure equity for sportsmen in the pursuit of their sport. Practices 

 that diminish the element of fair chase in hunting should be appro- 

 priately regulated. We do not believe that the application of season 

 and bag limits alone is sufficient to ensure wise use of this sustain- 

 able resource. 



I would just like to quickly summarize five standards or consid- 

 erations that we believe our review of the regulations should take 

 into account, and most of these are pretty self-evident, Mr. Chair- 

 man, but let me quickly go through them. First, the regulations 

 should clearly contribute to the sustainability of the resource. This 

 is particularly important in times of diminished migratory bird 

 populations. As you are aware, recently over the past 2 to 3 years, 

 because of the restoration of water on the breeding grounds, we 

 have fiourishing waterfowl populations, particularly ducks. Many 

 species are above long-term averages. But, as you are aware, for 



