U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2014 Annual Report Migratory Bird Conservation Commission On the Cover: Pair of canvasbacks. Painting by Adam Grimm for the 2014–2015 Federal Duck Stamp. Illustrations: Bob Hines Table of Contents The Service’s Legacy of Conserving Migratory Waterfowl Habitat ...........2 The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission ................................3 The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund ........................................4 MBCF Approvals for Fiscal Year 2014 .............................................5 MBCF Land Acquisitions for Fiscal Year 2014 ..................................................................6 National Wildlife Refuge System: New Boundary Addition Approvals for Fiscal Year 2014 .............................................................9 Boundary Addition Approvals and Maps ..........................................10 National Migratory Bird Refuges and Waterfowl Production Areas ........ 18 Notes on Tables 1 and 2 ..........................................................18 National Migratory Bird Refuge Areas Map ......................................19 Table 1. National Migratory Bird Refuges ........................................20 Wetland Management Districts Map .............................................29 Table 2. Waterfowl Production Area by State .....................................30 North American Wetlands Conservation Fund: Summary of MBCC Approvals for Fiscal Year 2014 ........................................ 36 Table 3. U.S. Wetlands Conservation Standard Grants Proposals ..................37 Table 4. U.S. Wetlands Conservation Small Grant Proposals .......................39 Table 5. Canadian Wetlands Conservation Proposals ..............................40 Table 6. Mexican Wetlands Conservation Proposals ...............................41 Membership of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission .............. 42 Migratory Bird Conservation Commission Report Fiscal Year 2014 1 The Service’s Legacy of Conserving Migratory Waterfowl Habitat For more than 80 years, the Federal Duck Stamp Program and the Migratory Bird Conservation Program have helped secure key habitats to sustain migratory bird populations. They protect wetlands, help dissipate storm water runoff, purify water supplies, and store flood water. As we look forward to the continuing conservation of these critical resources, we can find inspiration in these programs’ extraordinary history of success. At the turn of the 20th century, any appropriations from the Wetlands overeager hunters and the commercial Loan Act, which Congress authorized demand for meat and feathers had in 1961 as an advance of funds against decimated waterfowl populations. future revenues from the sale of Duck At the same time, periodic droughts Stamps. caused wetlands and other valuable waterfowl habitat to disappear. In the Since 1934, the Service has spent late 1920s, conservationists, hunters, more than one billion Migratory and government officials worked Bird Conservation Fund dollars to together to create the Migratory Bird permanently protect more than five Conservation Act, which Congress million acres of important waterfowl passed in 1929. This landmark legislation habitat, including more than three million authorized the Federal government acres of waterfowl production areas to acquire and permanently protect in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. In wetlands for waterfowl. It also created 2014 alone, the Service used close to $59 the Migratory Bird Conservation million in funds from the Migratory Bird Commission—composed of Federal and Conservation Fund to purchase, lease, or State officials—to consider and approve protect via easement more than 10,000 proposals for land acquisition. acres of waterfowl habitat at migratory bird refuges and nearly 44,000 acres in Although the Act gave the Federal the Prairie Pothole Region. Government authority to create migratory bird refuges, it did not provide Today, as in the past, the Federal Duck a permanent source of acquisition Stamp Program and Migratory Bird funding. This problem was addressed Conservation Program depend on the in the 1930s when President Franklin support of people who understand and D. Roosevelt appointed Jay N. “Ding” connect with our natural world—people Darling, a nationally known wildlife who understand the importance of our conservationist and political cartoonist, wildlife resources and take action. What to serve as the Chief of the Bureau can you do? Buy a Federal Duck Stamp. of Biological Survey. Darling was Tell people how important Federal instrumental in the creation of a stamp, Duck Stamps are to ensuring healthy to be purchased by all waterfowl hunters, populations of all migratory birds and that would generate funds to pay for the other wildlife. For more information, visit acquisition of waterfowl habitat. In 1934, our Federal Duck Stamp Web site <www. Congress passed the Migratory Bird fws.gov/duckstamps/> or our Division of Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, Realty Web site <www.fws.gov/refuges/ which requires all hunters older than realty>. 16 to purchase and possess a Federal Duck Stamp while hunting waterfowl. Revenues from Duck Stamp sales are now deposited in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund. The fund also includes import duties collected on arms and ammunition, receipts from permits for rights-of-way across refuge lands, and 2 Migratory Bird Conservation Commission Report Fiscal Year 2014 The Migratory Bird Conservation Commission Section 2 of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 established the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission. It reads as follows: Section 2, as amended. A commission member of the commission, if reelected to be known as the Migratory Bird to the succeeding Congress, may serve Conservation Commission, consisting on the commission notwithstanding the of the Secretary of the Interior, as expiration of a Congress. Any vacancy on chairman, the Administrator of the the commission shall be filled in the same Environmental Protection Agency, manner as the original appointment. the Secretary of Agriculture, and The ranking officer of the branch two Members of the Senate, to be or department of a State to which is selected by the President of the Senate, committed the administration of its game and two Members of the House of laws, or his authorized representative, Representatives to be selected by the and in a State having no such branch or Speaker, is created and authorized to department, the governor thereof, or consider and pass upon any area of land, his authorized representative, shall be a water, or land and water that may be member ex officio of said commission for recommended by the Secretary of the the purpose of considering and voting on Interior for purchase or rental under this all questions relating to the acquisition, subchapter, and to fix the price or prices under this subchapter, of areas in his at which such area may be purchased or State. For purposes of this subchapter, rented; and no purchase or rental shall the purchase or rental of any area of be made of any such area until it has been land, water, or land and water includes duly approved for purchase or rental the purchase or rental of any interest in by said commission. Any Member of any such area of land, water, or land and the House of Representatives who is a water. Additional Act: In 1989, the Commission manage wetlands and other habitats acquired the additional responsibility for migratory birds and other fish and of approving project funding under the wildlife. The North American Wetlands North American Wetlands Conservation Conservation Council, which was created Act. This Act provides Federal by the legislation, submits project funding to encourage partnerships recommendations to the Commission for to protect, enhance, restore, and funding approval. 2014 Membership Hon. Sally Jewell Hon. Mark Pryor Secretary of the Interior, Chairman Senator from Arkansas Hon. Tom Vilsack Hon. John D. Dingell Secretary of Agriculture Representative from Michigan Hon. Gina McCarthy Hon. Robert J. Wittman Administrator, Environmental Representative from Virginia Protection Agency A Eric Alvarez Hon. Thad Cochran Secretary to the Commission Senator from Mississippi Telephone: 703/358-1716 Migratory Bird Conservation Commission Report Fiscal Year 2014 3 The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act of March 18, 1934 (Duck Stamp Act), created the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF) to provide the Department of the Interior with monies to acquire migratory bird habitat. There are three major sources of funds A total of $66,502,810 was available deposited into the MBCF account. The for obligation from the MBCF during most well-known source is the revenue fiscal year 2014. Collections included an received from the sale of Migratory additional $3,405,108 in reverted Federal Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, Aid Wildlife Restoration grant money. commonly known as Duck Stamps, as Sequestration claimed $4,956,526 from provided for under the Duck Stamp Act. MBCF collections. The other two major sources include appropriations authorized by the Disbursements for all MBCF land Wetlands Loan Act of October 4, 1961, acquisition functions during the fiscal as amended, and import duties collected year totaled $76,267,913, which included on arms and ammunition, as provided $69,119 in disbursements from prior for under the Emergency Wetlands year obligations. The disbursement total Resources Act of 1986.