§ 3901. — Findings and statement of purpose.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC3901]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 59--WETLANDS RESOURCES
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 3901. Findings and statement of purpose
(a) Findings
The Congress finds that--
(1) wetlands play an integral role in maintaining the quality of
life through material contributions to our national economy, food
supply, water supply and quality, flood control, and fish, wildlife,
and plant resources, and thus to the health, safety, recreation, and
economic well-being of all our citizens of the Nation;
(2) wetlands provide habitat essential for the breeding,
spawning, nesting, migration, wintering and ultimate survival of a
major portion of the migratory and resident fish and wildlife of the
Nation; including migratory birds, endangered species, commercially
and recreationally important finfish, shellfish and other aquatic
organisms, and contain many unique species and communities of wild
plants;
(3) the migratory bird treaty obligations of the Nation with
Canada, Mexico, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and
with various countries in the Western Hemisphere require Federal
protection of wetlands that are used by migratory birds for
breeding, wintering or migration and needed to achieve and to
maintain optimum population levels, distributions, and patterns of
migration;
(4) wetlands, and the fish, wildlife, and plants dependent on
wetlands, provide significant recreational and commercial benefits,
including--
(A) contributions to a commercial marine harvest valued at
over $10,000,000,000 annually;
(B) support for a major portion of the Nation's multimillion
dollar annual fur and hide harvest; and
(C) fishing, hunting, birdwatching, nature observation and
other wetland-related recreational activities that generate
billions of dollars annually;
(5) wetlands enhance the water quality and water supply of the
Nation by serving as groundwater recharge areas, nutrient traps, and
chemical sinks;
(6) wetlands provide a natural means of flood and erosion
control by retaining water during periods of high runoff, thereby
protecting against loss of life and property;
(7) wetlands constitute only a small percentage of the land area
of the United States, are estimated to have been reduced by half in
the contiguous States since the founding of our Nation, and continue
to disappear by hundreds of thousands of acres each year;
(8) certain activities of the Federal Government have
inappropriately altered or assisted in the alteration of wetlands,
thereby unnecessarily stimulating and accelerating the loss of these
valuable resources and the environmental and economic benefits that
they provide; and
(9) the existing Federal, State, and private cooperation in
wetlands conservation should be strengthened in order to minimize
further losses of these valuable areas and to assure their
management in the public interest for this and future generations.
(b) Purpose
It is the purpose of this chapter to promote, in concert with other
Federal and State statutes and programs, the conservation of the
wetlands of the Nation in order to maintain the public benefits they
provide and to help fulfill international obligations contained in
various migratory bird treaties and conventions with Canada, Mexico,
Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and with various
countries in the Western Hemisphere by--
(1) intensifying cooperative efforts among private interests and
local, State, and Federal governments for the management and
conservation of wetlands; and
(2) intensifying efforts to protect the wetlands of the Nation
through acquisition in fee, easements or other interests and methods
by local, State, and Federal governments and the private sector.
(Pub. L. 99-645, Sec. 2, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3582.)
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original ``this
Act'', meaning Pub. L. 99-645, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3582, known as
the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note below and
Tables.
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 99-645 provided that: ``This Act [enacting this
chapter, amending sections 460l-8, 460l-9, 707, 715k-3, 715k-5, and 718b
of this title, and enacting a provision set out in the table under
section 668dd of this title] may be cited as the `Emergency Wetlands
Resources Act of 1986'.''
