Groups to President Obama: “White House Has Failed” Its Duty to Protect Wetlands

March 05, 2013

By Bob Marshall

Sportsmen conservation groups concerned about 20 million acres of the nation’s most important wetlands—and thousands of miles of threatened trout streams—have a message for President Obama: It’s time to walk the talk.

This involves the longest running run-around conservationists may ever have gotten. It involves two presidents and at least four congresses.

The story began in 2006 when the Supreme Court ruled that Congress never intended for the Clean Water Act to protect isolated and temporary wetlands. The ruling stunned fish and wildlife advocates because those types of wetlands are among the most critical for a wide range of wildlife especially waterfowl, as well as protecting streamsides that are essential to healthy trout populations.

The fix was obvious: Congress need only pass a law saying that it specifically wanted those wetlands included in the CWA.

Unfortunately, opposition became equally obvious: Developers and some powerful agricultural interests. And they were successful in getting the House to block repeated attempts to restore the protections. Meanwhile, as drought set in across much of the Midwest and prices for corn soared, millions of acres vulnerable to the drain and the plow were lost forever to fish and wildlife – and hunting and fishing.

When President Obama was elected, sportsmen thought they finally had a savior. Republican forces in the House and Senate had largely been responsible for bottling up the wetlands fix. But this Democrat promised a return to healthy environmental policies – including wetland protections. And when Congress once again failed to act, the President had his administration try to limit the damage by issuing new wetlands guidance that could cover some of these threatened habitats.

But the courage the president showed seemed to vanish as the election neared and the GOP opposition hammered him as anti- business and jobs – and his administration never released that guidance.

Conservation groups looked at the political reality and bided their time.

But now, months after the election, they are tired of waiting.

So recently Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (which includes Ducks Unlimited), the National Wildlife Federation and the Izaak Walton league issued a joint message to President Obama, pointing out that “the White House has failed so far to do its duty in approving the EPA and Corps guidelines.”

Sportsmen are urged to contact their congressional delegations to echo their call to the president to release the guidance. They should also urge those same lawmakers to pass the next Clean Water Restoration Act that comes their way. It’s time to end this endless bi-partisan runaround.

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from Dcast wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Interesting facts you forgot to mention but thats what I'm here for!

2006-2010 Democrats ran both House & Senate

2008-2010 Democrats had a super majority and the Presidency

We all know you're full tihs! But did you really think your messiah in the empty suit was about to do anything that doesn't benefit him or his? Come on he hasn't done anything he said he would from day one except health care his one and only victory other than making the RINO's look like idiots which he does well.

Hi! Sweetpea! Lets hear it!

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from Gsquare wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Some of us conservationist are not in favor of the govt telling us or other US citizens how our lives need to be lived and what we can or can't do with our property, just so Mr. Marshall and his sportsman friends can hunt and fish at our expense. Conservationist and conservatives are quite happy when the congress and the communist president are at loggerheads, nothing bad gets done as it was in the Mr. Marshall's heyday of 60's and 70's and 80's.
I remind my congressman every week to oppose anymore govt encroachment into my or my fellow americans lives.

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from Bob81 wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

GSquare,
"Nothing bad gets done like in the 60's and 70's"?

You mean like the formation of the EPA and Clean Water Act? Yeah, those terrible, terrible organizations, that brought the bald eagle back from the brink of extinction and enacted safe drinking water standards.

How I long for the days when we could exercise our god-given right to pollute public waterways at will, and roast weenies over those same waterways after they caught fire...

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from redfishunter wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Hey look, a lying politician! Who would have ever thought.

"When President Obama was elected, sportsmen thought they finally had a savior." Have you just plain gone crazy?

Whether or not I agree that Obama is a savior, I do agree that the parties need to work together on the wetlands issue. And the EPA and Corps guidelines should be re-written. The Corps has done more harm than good for a very long time. The EPA has become so full of senseless regulation that our idiot leaders on both sides have come up with that it can't operate the way it was originally intended.

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from hhack wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Wow Bob81 you missed the Boat on what Gsquare was saying. He was saying that the 60s, 70s, and 80s were the hay day for pollution. He did not say that the Clean Water Act or the formation of the EPA were bad. I do believe that the Clean Water Act and the formation of the EPA were good things for this country, but I believe the structure of the EPA lends itself to corruption through our broken political system.

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from Bob81 wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

hhack,
Read his(her?) comment again. Pretty sure he is complaining about what he sees as "erosion of private rights" that begin in the 60's.

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from hhack wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Bob81, I think he is complaining about the erosion of private rights today, my opinion. Hard to tell with the medium we are using, but I am sure someone will come along and set us straight. I do tend to disagree with you often, but I also respect the work that you have done for conservation. Thanks,

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from RealGoodMan wrote 14 weeks 4 days ago

Wishful thinking that we'll pass anything in this congress. John Boehner will continue to oppose anything Obama or the democrats propose. A bill wouldn't even come to a vote or would face a filibuster. Boehner's sights are purely set on the mid-term elections while aiming to make Obama look bad by any means necessary. Dcast, I think we could use more RINOs. Atleast they're willing to work together as we elected them to do. I'd take any given RINO like Senators McCain or Snowe over the Boehners, McConnels and Cantors out there.

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from Dcast wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

RealGoodman, If you think Boehner,McConnel, and Cantor are conservatives you're nuts! They'd sell their 1st born to the devil himself not to look bad! I wouldn't mind more RINOs if it wasn't for the political parties being polar opposite. If the dems weren't so damn hellbent on spending our kids futures now for nonsense we could meet in the middle, and wouldn't have to be so polarized between conservatives and marxists, but that is just the way it's going to be far into the future until the USA comes crashing down. Then everyone gets their way we will tax the he!! out of everyone while taking away entitlements! A real win win situation!

At what time would you or any liberal admit that we have a spending problem and $17 trillion dollar defecit is unexceptable? When answering this question don't go into the liberal spin and propaganda just answer what does the defecit have to be before we worry?

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from Dcast wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

Bob81,

What Gsquare is implying is MR. Marshall or you I'm not sure that your not BM was a communist hippie in the 60's & 70's, in which I would agree. Also he is saying what is his land is his land and he doesn't need you or any other political hack coming in telling him he can't do "X" on his land because they deemed it whatever they choose. Also know as Private Property!

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from RealGoodMan wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

I agree, DCast. We do need to cut spending, wisely. I think everyone would agree with that. I think entitlements need cuts and reform, but I also think we should close tax loopholes and tax the wealthier Americans just a bit more. This way, both the wealthy and lower to middle class Americans are contributing (more than they already are) to fix this problem. The wealthy are doing just fine, just as they always have and good for them. The stock market has been giving us plenty to feel good about and the economy is looking brighter. People that depend on these programs and safety nets will feel the pinch more with these entitlement reforms/cuts than wealthier Americans with increased tax revenue.

Now for my taxpayer's rant on reform. I think we need to think both big and small. The Institute of Medicine estimates that 30% of healthcare spending in the US is total waste. It's disgusting that these slick doctors and hospitals do all they can to stuff unnecessary prescriptions, tests and procedures down the throats of their patients. They're stealing taxpayer money. What the solution is, I don't know. But we need to fix this problem.

For wealthy seniors, increase the income ceiling and means-testing benefits. For the obese Americans on medicare/medicaid that are solely to blame for their own weight (not a health condition). they should pay for it by losing pounds and hitting the gym. If they don't hit the gym instead of watching Family Fued and lose weight, cut em' off. Don't belong to a gym? Then get walking. If they want to get a little, they need to give a little.

If a 90 year old falls and is suspected to have a minor tear of the meniscus, but can still walk just fine with no pain- no MRI and no bogus orthopedic surgery. Make healthcare companies focus on preventative care and cut rising costs. I'd like to know how much money is wasted during the billing/documentation process between hospitals and insurers.

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from RealGoodMan wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

(continued) While the people who commit food stamp fraud, exploit the program or use the money to buy the latest Apple gadget, they're a minority, as most people that get food stamps (SNAP) use them as intended. I'd honestly rather see Government cheese. Give them the stinking cheese, bread and toilet paper and that's it - no food stamp gift certificate garbage. Get Home Depot to sponsor a community garden and there's their veggies. It's b/s that someone can go into a bodega with a $100 food stamp voucher, get $70 cash from the cashier and walk out, while the cashier charges the gov't $100. Again, this isn't the norm- but I still don't want to see dirtbags getting away with this sort of thing. Food stamps should only be redeemed at supermarkets, legit grocery stores or farmer's markets. If our country can save money by implementing gov't cheese, then lets do it. Hold the stamp, give em the food.

For the households (privately owned or subsidized) receiving subsidized heating assistance in the winter, they should be forced to install a secured thermostat (like at a hotel) keeping the temperature at 60 degrees. They also have to make the necessary energy-efficient home improvements to ensure that the heat we're paying for isn't flying out the window. The money saved from this efficiency will pay for the improvements. If closing the border will save us money now and in the future, I'm all for it. With a booming population, our natural resources will thank us as well. Give Puerto Rico back to Puerto Rico. That place is a money pit. End corporate socialism/welfare also. If corporations want a hand out or a tax break, they'll need to earn it. One example, for a manufacturer that shipped jobs overseas, insource and bring the jobs back home.

I mean, I could go on and on here. I think a little creativity and common sense can save the taxpayers plenty.

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from Bob81 wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

DCast,
I can assure you I am not Bob Marshall, although I am flattered anyone would confuse my blog comments with a professional writer's.

If you are correct, hhack's comment is exactly what I understood it to be.

It's all well and good to say "it's my land, I should be able to do whatever I want to it!" However, I am in a line of work that occasionally brings me in contact with heavily polluted land sites. Here are a couple problems (pulled from real life issues I have dealt with)that I think shows the over-simplicity of that attitude:

-What happenes when a private landowner decides to dump toxic materials on his land that then leach into neighboring properties?
-What happenes when a private landowner dumps into a river on his land that then degrades river quality downstream on other properties?

The quick and simple answer is : You sue them, right?

Ok, so you successfully sue the landowner. Then what? The landowner declares bankruptcy and you are SOL. Or they have no assetts and you are SOL. Or they die of old age and you are SOL.

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from Bob81 wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

Land lasts far longer than any of us will, and so does pollution. Land and pollution also last far longer than individual corporations.

What that means is that a person or company can easily rack up debts (in the form of remediation costs) that will never, ever be recoverable. Environmental restrictions attempt to limit some of that potential damage.

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from Dcast wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

Bob, seriously? I wouldn't agree to that and I doubt he/she would agree. What your saying is a clear violation of countless laws. No one saying landowners should be allowed to dump toxic chemicals where ever they choose as long as it is on their land, that's just nonsense. This article is about land rights not the unlawful act of disposing of toxic chemicals.

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from benjaminwc wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

Hey BOB! Is this "sportsman's savior" the same one that's trying to take away our guns? IMHO your a shallow, in the box, concrete thinker that has no idea how economics and conservation are related.

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from Dcast wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

Realgoodman, there isn't alot in your comment I would disagree with. Healthcare is our largest cost as a nation but where that cost comes into play isn't the doctors it is our government. Is it necessary for our gov to make it everything but impossible for drug companies to bring new drugs to the market in the USA even though they have been used in other countries for years? Same with medical equipment. As far as determining who deserves care and who doesn't is a slippery slope and one I disagree with in total. I have a daughter with two seperate heart conditions and someone like you could easily say she is going to potentially die from them someday and it isn't worth the money to continually monitor her heart. Yeah that is just stupid and if it ever came to it you'd see me on the evening news! There is alot hospitals gouge us on and trust me I know like I said my daughter has heart conditions and you can dispute them and not pay full amount it's a headache but worth the time and effort. As for illegals and free healthcare, food stamps, and multiple other assistance program they are bleeding this country dry! Take care of our own 1st and last period.

Entitlements/welfare are a major problem along with pentions. If you contribute money to SS you receive what you put in plus interest no more no less. Same as medicare and medicaid. Welfare where do we start? How about if you receive food assistance that money goes to that and only that. It pisses me off to no end seeing all the leaches on the 1st of the month with a cart full of beer, liquor, redbull, pop, and cigerettes! There should be a requirement for them to buy only nutritional products not luxury products. Also if you are on welfare for an extended time and have a baby you should be required to have your tubes tied. I know about 30 people that get more in government assistance than I make a year thanks to their v@gin@s being baby factories! Finally if your on assistance and physically ok your arse needs to be cleaning up the cities, highways, county roads, parks, etc... No excuse! As for pentions I work in the private sector and a make a meager living for my family of 4 and I have to pay for all the above and then pentions when I can barely save for my own retirement, it is time all public employees go the way of 401k no more excuses no more double retirements and increase the amount they contribute and change it to age limit not years. There are guys that get the job out of high school work for 25 yrs and take retirement go on vacation come back and get their job back collecting pension and accuring a new pension which they'll collect in another 20-25 yrs. I could go on but it serves no point other than venting frustration!

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from dighunter wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

It is no longer government for the people by the people, but rather government against the people, to rule the people.

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from ejunk wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

wetland protection is about a he** of a lot more, ecologically speaking, than just "hunting and fishing." allowing them to be mindlessly destroyed is a classic case of shi**ing where you eat.

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from Erik Jensen wrote 14 weeks 2 days ago

There's a lot I like about Obama's conservation policies, and his administration's embrace of hunting and fishing interests, but he is being a real wimp about this. Thanks for calling him out. Gotta get on to emailing my Senators on this !

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