Hello All –
On April 22, 2009, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the Marine Mammal
Rescue Assistance Amendments Act (S. 859), a bill to amend section 403 of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act. This bill would:
-
Define
the term “entanglement” and add authorization for entanglement
response as eligible for funding under the program;
-
Require
the Secretary of Commerce to collect and update existing practices and
procedures for rescuing and rehabilitating entangled marine mammals;
-
Establish
an interest bearing fund in the Treasury for emergency response to marine
mammal entanglement and stranding, and allow the program to solicit and accept
gifts and other donations to increase the impact of the program;
-
Increase
authorization for the program to $7 million for fiscal years 2009 to 2013; and
-
Increase
the maximum grant for projects from $100,000 to $200,000.
A copy of the bill can be found at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s859is.txt.pdf
The U.S. Marine Mammal Stranding Network performs a critical science
and conservation function by responding to live and dead stranded marine mammals,
collecting biological samples, and rehabilitating injured or sick animals. Data
collected from stranding events also help identify and protect against increasing
threats to marine mammal populations. However, funds to support and expand stranding
response efforts throughout the U.S. are limited.
Please take a moment to send in letters of support for this
legislation, addressed to Senator Cantwell, the lead sponsor of this
legislation, Senator Rockefeller, the Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science
and Transportation, and Senator Hutchinson, the Ranking Member of the Committee.
Your letter doesn’t have to be very long, it just needs to say why marine
mammal stranding and entanglement response is important and to convey your
support for quick passage of this important legislation. I have included addresses
to send the letters to, as well as a copy of Ocean Conservancy’s letter to
the Committee as an example.
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Please send your letters of support to:
The Honorable Maria Cantwell
Chairwoman, Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard
Subcommittee
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable John D. Rockefeller, IV
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510
The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison
Ranking Member, Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation
United States Senate
Washington DC 20510
Sample Letter, from Ocean Conservancy to the Committee
on Commerce Science and Transportation:
On behalf of Ocean Conservancy and our more than 500,000 members,
volunteers and activists, I write to express our strong support for S.859
– the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments Act of 2009 – and
to urge your committee to move forward with consideration of this important
piece of legislation.
This bill would expand the capabilities of the nation’s
marine mammal stranding network by providing additional authorizations for
response to both stranded and entangled marine mammals, and by allowing
necessary funding to be provided to marine mammal rescuers more expeditiously.
When Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, it
recognized the importance of marine mammals as a resource of great
international significance, and determined that marine mammals should be
protected and populations developed to the greatest extent feasible to maintain
the health and stability of the marine ecosystem. While many marine mammals
have benefited from these protections, others continue to be impacted by human
activities such as commercial and recreational fishing, shipping and other
vessel operations, coastal and nearshore construction, military sonar, oil and
gas exploration and development, and increasingly, global climate change.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Network is a largely volunteer network
of marine mammal biologists and researchers that respond to strandings and
entanglements of live and dead marine mammals. Throughout the United States,
network members collect and share information from these events that help us
better manage human activities so as to minimize impacts on marine mammals and
other ocean wildlife.
By including entanglement events as an activity that would fall
under the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, this legislation would
greatly enhance information collected from entangled marine mammals. Just this
past winter, there were five entangled North Atlantic right whales off Florida
and Georgia – highly detrimental to a critically endangered population of
only about 400 whales. Efforts by local responders helped to disentangle these
whales from their constricting lines, greatly increasing their chance for
survival. Rescuers were also able to retrieve the gear entangling these whales
and, in one instance, determine the source as Canadian lobster gear.
Information on the source of gear recovered from entangled whales will direct
management efforts more effectively to help prevent entanglements from
occurring in the future.
Ocean Conservancy strongly urges the passage of S. 859 by the
Committee, and we look forward to working with you to continue to enhance
protections for marine mammals and other ocean wildlife.
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Thank you for your help to highlight and promote the important
work being done by U.S. marine mammal stranding network members. My apologies if
you have already received this request from another posting.
Vicki Cornish
Vice President, Marine Wildlife Conservation
Ocean Conservancy
1300 19th Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202.351.0452
E-mail: vcornish@oceanconservancy.org