§ 941. — Findings.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC941]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 15B--GREAT LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE RESTORATION
Sec. 941. Findings
The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) As the human population of the Great Lakes Basin has
expanded to over 35,000,000 people, great demands have been placed
on the lakes for use for boating and other recreation, navigation,
municipal and industrial water supply, waste disposal, power
production, and other purposes. These growing and often conflicting
demands exert pressure on the fish and wildlife resources of the
Great Lakes Basin, including in the form of contaminants, invasion
by nonindigenous species, habitat degradation and destruction, legal
and illegal fishery resource harvest levels, and sea lamprey
predation.
(2) The fishery resources of the Great Lakes support
recreational fisheries enjoyed by more than 5,000,000 people
annually and commercial fisheries providing approximately 9,000
jobs. Together, these fisheries generate economic activity worth
more than $4,400,000,000 annually to the United States.
(3) The availability of a suitable forage base is essential to
lake trout, walleye, yellow perch, and other recreational and
commercially valuable fishery resources of the Great Lakes Basin.
Protecting and restoring productive fish habitat, including by
protecting water quality, is essential to the successful recovery of
Great Lakes Basin fishery resources.
(4) The Great Lakes Basin contains important breeding and
migration habitat for all types of migratory birds. Many migratory
bird species dependent on deteriorating Great Lakes Basin habitat
have suffered serious population declines in recent years.
(5) Over 80 percent of the original wetlands in the Great Lakes
Basin have been destroyed and such losses continue at a rate of
20,000 acres annually.
(6) Contaminant burdens in the fish and wildlife resources of
the Great Lakes Basin are substantial and the impacts of those
contaminants on the life functions of important fish and wildlife
resources are poorly understood. Concern over the effects of those
contaminants on human health have resulted in numerous public health
advisories recommending restricted or no consumption of Great Lakes
fish.
(7) The lower Great Lakes are uniquely different from the upper
Great Lakes biologically, physically, and in the degree of human use
and shoreline development, and special fishery resource assessments
and management activities are necessary to respond effectively to
these special circumstances.
(Pub. L. 101-537, title I, Sec. 1002, Nov. 8, 1990, 104 Stat. 2370; Pub.
L. 101-646, title II, Sec. 2002, Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 4773; Pub. L.
104-332, Sec. 2(h)(1), Oct. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 4091; Pub. L. 105-265,
Sec. 3(b), Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2358.)
Codification
Title I of Pub. L. 101-537 and title II of Pub. L. 101-646 enacted
identical sections. Title II of Pub. L. 101-646 was repealed by Pub. L.
105-265.
Amendments
1996--Pub. L. 104-332 made technical amendment to Pub. L. 101-646,
Sec. 2002, which enacted this section.
Short Title of 1998 Amendment
Pub. L. 105-265, Sec. 1, Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2358, provided
that: ``This Act [amending this section and sections 941 to 941g of this
title and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section] may
be cited as the `Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of
1998'.''
Short Title
Section 1001 of title I of Pub. L. 101-537, and section 2001 of
title II of Pub. L. 101-646, as amended by Pub. L. 104-332,
Sec. 2(h)(1), Oct. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 4091, provided that: ``This title
[enacting this chapter] may be cited as the `Great Lakes Fish and
Wildlife Restoration Act of 1990'.'' Title II of Pub. L. 101-646 was
repealed by Pub. L. 105-265, Sec. 3(b), Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2358.
Congressional Findings
Pub. L. 105-265, Sec. 2, Oct. 19, 1998, 112 Stat. 2358, provided
that: ``Congress finds that--
``(1) the Great Lakes Fishery Resources Restoration Study, for
which a report was submitted to Congress in 1995, was a
comprehensive study of the status, and the assessment, management,
and restoration needs, of the fishery resources of the Great Lakes
Basin, and was conducted through the joint effort of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service, State fish and wildlife resource
management agencies, Indian tribes, and the Great Lakes Fishery
Commission; and
``(2) the study--
``(A) found that, although State, Provincial, Native
American Tribal, and Federal agencies have made significant
progress toward the goal of restoring a healthy fish community
to the Great Lakes Basin, additional actions and better
coordination are needed to protect and effectively manage the
fisheries and related resources in the Great Lakes Basin; and
``(B) recommended actions that are not currently funded but
are considered essential to meet goals and objectives in
managing the resources of the Great Lakes Basin.''
