
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 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'.''
