Kerry Conservation Plan Would Strengthen Communities and the Economy

4/21/2004

From: Anthony Coley of John Kerry for President, 202-712-3000, Web site: http://www.johnkerry.com

NEW ORLEANS, April 21 -- Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry today called for a new commitment to conservation in order to strengthen the local communities and economies that depend on America's precious natural resources. Following a tour where he witnessed firsthand the deterioration of Louisiana's coast, Kerry specifically focused in on a new series of steps he will take to protect America's coastlines and the economies that depend on them.

"Under my conservation plan, we will make the protection of our coastlines a national priority," Kerry said. "A secure coastline means security for the families who live here, the business owners who make a living here and the sportsmen who hunt and fish here. I believe that a good economy, strong communities and a healthy environment go hand-in-hand. When I'm President, that is exactly where I will lead this country."

Thousands of square miles of America's coast have disappeared, resulting in serious consequences for communities and sportsmen who depend on them. Despite this growing problem, George Bush has yet to offer any solutions. The Bush administration has cut funding for coastal programs, and in Louisiana, refused to release the results of a study that was to outline a comprehensive plan to address the rapidly depleting coastline.

"When it comes to protecting our coasts, we don't have a moment to lose," Kerry said. "Today in Louisiana, a piece of land the size of a football field sinks into the Gulf of Mexico an average of every half hour. And coastal erosion isn't just swallowing your beaches, it's drowning your economy. Fishermen risk seeing their nets come up empty, sportsmen are watching entire habitats disappear, and people living on the coast fear that their homes or their businesses may literally slip into the ocean."

Kerry today pledged a different direction and outlined his plan for coastal conservation. Where George Bush has provided an absence of leadership, Kerry said he will work to bring together state and local government with business and environmental leaders to find a fair and effective solution to protect our coastline for the future.

"We will conserve and protect natural resources all over America because we all have a stake in acting as stewards of our environment," Kerry said. "Protecting the environment is about protecting our economy, our health and the places we live. It's about the legacy we leave our children and the America we give them to grow up in. That is why I will fight for strong protections for natural resources like Louisiana's coast."

John Kerry has been a leader in the fight for basic protections that strengthen our economy and protect our environment, fighting to clean up toxic waste sites, to keep our air and water clean, and to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other pristine wilderness areas. Unlike the Bush-Cheney administration, where special interests rule and the environment suffers, a Kerry administration will protect our environment by balancing strong protections with smart strategies for economic growth.

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FACT SHEET:

JOHN KERRY: PROTECTING LOUISIANA'S COASTLINE

A Natural, Cultural and Economic Treasure For Future Generations

Our coastline is an oft-neglected national treasure. Sadly, thousands of square miles of our coastline have vanished, threatening marine habitats and the fishing industry as well as the coastline's industrial economy. Though many communities are threatened, George Bush has neglected the problem of coastline erosion. This absence of leadership must be addressed. John Kerry will work to bring together state and local government with business and environmental leaders to find a fair and effective solution to protect our coastline for the future.

IGNORING OUR COASTLINE:

Louisiana's Coastline is Rapidly Depleting. Louisiana is losing its coastline. This depletion is turning into a crisis situation for Louisiana's coastal economy. The Washington Post reported, "Largely unnoticed until recently, nearly 2,000 square miles of southern Louisiana coastland simply vanished in the last two- thirds of the 20th century -- the equivalent of losing Delaware, Baltimore and Washington combined. Each year, 25 to 30 square miles of marsh and dry ground sink into the gulf -- in effect, a football field every half-hour. And according to recent projections, an additional 700 to 900 square miles will be swamped by 2050 unless a major drive is mounted to contain the loss." (Washington Post, 7/13/03)

Louisiana's Coastal Economy at Risk. Much of Louisiana's economy depends on a stable coast line. The oil and gas industry, the fishing industry and the city of New Orleans are all threatened by this environmental crisis. The Washington Post reported, "Most of Louisiana's industrial economy is on the coast, and much of it is at risk. Over the last several years, as satellite imagery and computer projections have driven home the point, the state's bankers, oil executives, engineers and governor have awakened to the possibility of an economic disaster of epic proportions. Louisiana's sinking coast has endangered not only the single greatest source of shrimp, oysters and other seafood outside Alaska but also major supplies of oil and natural gas and the only deep-sea offloading terminal for supertankers in the continental United States. Water supplies are in peril; oil and gas lines are exposed. Entire coastal towns are sinking, and New Orleans is threatened as never before." (Washington Post, 7/13/03)

Bush Refused to Release the Louisiana Coastal Area Study. The Bush Administration has refused to release the results of the Louisiana Coastal Area Comprehensive Study. The report was to outline a comprehensive plan to address the rapidly depleting Louisiana coastline. Instead, the Army Corp of Engineers was ordered to do a short-term plan that is not comprehensive enough to adequately address the problem. (Associated Press, 4/9/04)

Bush Cut Funding for Coastal Activities. Bush has proposed major cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provides funding for key coastal programs. Bush's Fiscal Year 2003 budget underfunded NOAA by $45.5 million -- calling for a 17 percent cut in ocean and coastal activities and an 18 percent cut in ocean and atmospheric research activities. Bush also wanted to cut the National Estuarine Research Reserves program by 64 percent, which amounted to an overall reduction of $17.9 million in funding for construction and land acquisition. Bush wanted to cut the National Marine Sanctuaries by 32 percent, an overall decrease of $4.8 million. (League of Conservation Voters, Eye on the Administration, "President Bush's Fiscal Year 2003 Budget -- No Good News for the Environment.")

JOHN KERRY: Committed to CONSERVATION

-- Protecting Coastal Louisiana, The World's Seventh-Largest Delta. As President, John Kerry will work with Louisiana leaders and others to pass important legislation to redirect a portion of offshore oil and gas revenues to a coastal conservation fund for coastal states in their fight to conserve and protect coastal regions from the impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. Louisiana's coast is extremely important to the state and the nation. Coastal Louisiana and the nearby Gulf of Mexico yield 18 percent of U.S. oil production, 24 percent of U.S. natural gas production and 30 percent of the total commercial fisheries harvested in the lower 48 states. It is also home to nearly two million residents and a highly productive ecosystem. If President, John Kerry will make protection of this habitat a top priority of his Administration before it is lost forever.

-- Conservation Program Funding. Sound stewardship of the nation's fish and wildlife, and the habitat on which it depends, relies on a consistent commitment of resources to federal and state natural resource agencies. Federal tax policy also can contribute to conservation by encouraging the donation of easements on private lands to ensure that they will remain free of destructive development in perpetuity. John Kerry strongly supports guaranteed and increased funding for federal and state fish and wildlife programs and for land acquisition, as well as enhanced tax incentives for the donation of private land conservation easements.

-- Expand Public Access. One of the greatest challenges facing hunters today, and to some extent anglers, is the dwindling access to nearby places to hunt and fish because of urban sprawl, leasing of private lands for pay hunting, or simply an unwillingness of private landowners to the risk liability associated with the public hunting or fishing on their lands. As President, John Kerry will work to open millions of new acres of land to public hunting and fishing by better funding state walk-in access programs. A number of states currently pay private landowners, on a voluntary basis, to open their lands to the public. This has resulted in millions of acres being made available in the West and Midwest to hunting and fishing. Kerry will work to enact the "Open Fields" bill to provide $50 million each year to state agencies to beef up existing walk-in access programs and to encourage states that do not currently have walk-in programs to establish them.

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Paid for by John Kerry for President, Inc.