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We appreciate this opportunity to testify before the House Committee on Resources 

 regarding the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and its enforcement. The National Wildlife 

 Federation (NWF) is the nation's largest conservation education organization. Founded in 

 1936, NWF works to educate, inspire and assist individuals and organizations of diverse 

 cultures to conserve wildlife and other natural resources and to protect the Earth's 

 environment in order to achieve a peaceful, equitable, and sustainable future. 



The conservation of this nation's migratory bird resources has long been of interest to 

 NWF. We have worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to prohibit the 

 use of toxic shot in waterfowl hunting, and we annually provide comments to the Service in 

 the setting of the Federal Migratory Bird Frameworks for late season waterfowl hunting. 

 Furthermore, we have taken a lead role in the conservation of this nation's precious but 

 dwindling wetlands - a resource critical to the well-being of migratory waterfowl populations. 



NWF is here today not only because of our interest in the migratory bird resource, 

 but also because of our support for properly regulated hunting, trapping and fishing. In 

 1991, NWF supported a resolution entitled "Fish and Wildlife Management" (copy attached). 

 In that resolution, we recognized hunting, fishing and trapping as "legitimate recreational 

 pursuits, and important to the conservation and management of our nation's fish and wildlife 

 resources." 



In this testimony, we briefly review the importance of the migratory bird resource, 

 and then comment on enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - the principal means by 

 which this precious resource is protected and managed. 



THE MIGRATORY BIRD RESOURCE 



This nation has a rich diversity of birds including over 600 native species, ranging 

 from hummingbirds and warblers, to ducks and geese, to our national symbol, the 

 magnificent bald eagle. Rich in species number, some species are common. The Service 

 estimated the fall flight of ducks alone to be about 80 million birds. 



The migratory bird resource has tremendous historic, aesthetic, recreational and 

 economic importance to the United States and its citizens. Essential to settlers of North 

 America, birds provided food, fuel (oil from Great Auks) and comfort (down clothing and 

 pillows). According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated 

 Recreation conducted by the Service, over three million people hunted for migratory birds, 

 over 51 million people participated in bird watching, and over 63 million people fed wild 

 birds in 1991. The importance of these activities to our economy is tremendous. In 1991 

 alone over $686 million was expended on trips and equipment for migratory bird hunting, 

 and over $2 billion on the feeding of wild birds. Birds are an important part of our cultural 

 heritage as well. 



The migratory bird resource must be properly protected to provide a continuing rich 

 and diverse avian heritage for future generations. It is imperative that we succeed in 



