Sec. 2. Findings; purpose

836 words·~4 min read·/bill/113/s/2080/rs/section-2

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Congress finds that— healthy populations of fish depend on the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish habitats in the United States; fish habitats (including wetlands, streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal and marine habitats) perform numerous valuable environmental functions that sustain environmental, social, and cultural values, including recycling nutrients, purifying water, attenuating floods, augmenting and maintaining stream flows, recharging ground water, acting as primary producers in the food chain, and providing essential and significant habitat for plants, fish, wildlife, and other dependent species; the extensive and diverse fish habitat resources of the United States are of enormous significance to the economy of the United States, providing— recreation for 60,000,000 anglers; more than 828,000 jobs and approximately $115,000,000,000 in economic impact each year relating to recreational fishing; and approximately 575,000 jobs and an additional $36,000,000,000 in economic impact each year relating to commercial fishing; at least 40 percent of all threatened species and endangered species in the United States are directly dependent on fish habitats; certain fish species are considered to be ecological indicators of fish habitat quality, such that the presence of those species reflects high-quality habitat for fish species; loss and degradation of fish habitat, riparian habitat, water quality, and water volume caused by activities such as alteration of watercourses, stream blockages, water withdrawals and diversions, erosion, pollution, sedimentation, and destruction or modification of wetlands have— caused significant declines in fish populations throughout the United States, especially declines in native fish populations; and resulted in economic losses to the United States; providing for the conservation and sustainability of fish populations has not been fully realized, despite federally funded fish and wildlife restoration programs and other activities intended to conserve fish habitat; and conservation and sustainability may be significantly advanced through a renewed commitment and sustained, cooperative efforts that are complementary to existing fish and wildlife restoration programs and clean water programs; the National Fish Habitat Action Plan provides a framework for maintaining and restoring fish habitats to perpetuate populations of fish species; the United States can achieve significant progress toward providing fish habitats for the conservation and restoration of fish species through a voluntary, nonregulatory incentive program that is based on technical and financial assistance provided by the Federal Government; the creation of partnerships between local citizens, Indian tribes, Alaska Native organizations, corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and Federal, State, and tribal agencies is critical to the success of activities to restore fish habitats; the Federal Government has numerous land and water management agencies that are critical to the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, including— the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the Bureau of Land Management; the National Park Service; the Bureau of Reclamation; the Bureau of Indian Affairs; the National Marine Fisheries Service; the Forest Service; the Natural Resources Conservation Service; and the Environmental Protection Agency; the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Marine Fisheries Service each play a vital role in— the protection, restoration, and enhancement of the fish communities and fish habitats in the United States; and the development, operation, and long-term success of fish habitat partnerships and project implementation; the United States Geological Survey, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service each play a vital role in scientific evaluation, data collection, and mapping for fishery resources in the United States; the State and Territorial fish and wildlife agencies play a vital role in— the protection, restoration, and enhancement of the fish communities and fish habitats in their respective States and territories; and the development, operation, and long-term success of fish habitat partnerships and project implementation; and many of the programs for conservation on private farmland, ranchland, and forestland that are carried out by the Secretary of Agriculture, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the State and Private Forestry programs of the Forest Service, are able to significantly contribute to the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan through the engagement of private landowners.

The purpose of this Act is to encourage partnerships among public agencies and other interested parties consistent with the mission and goals of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan— to promote intact and healthy fish habitats; to improve the quality and quantity of fish habitats and overall health of fish species; to increase the quality and quantity of fish habitats that support a broad natural diversity of fish and other aquatic species; to improve fish habitats in a manner that leads to improvement of the annual economic output from recreational, subsistence, and commercial fishing; to enhance fish and wildlife-dependent recreation; to coordinate and facilitate activities carried out by Federal departments and agencies under the leadership of— the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and the Director of the United States Geological Survey; and to achieve other purposes in accordance with the mission and goals of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.