CONGRESSMAN
COLLIN
C. PETERSON
Minnesota
- 7th District http://www.house.gov/collinpeterson/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 20, 2000
CONTACT: Steve Bekkerus/202-225-2165
Peterson’s
Cormorant Bill Passes Committee
Legislation
Heads to House Floor
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congressman Collin C.
Peterson (DFL-7th District) announced today that his cormorant
hunting bill, H.R. 3118, passed the House Committee on Resources. “With this committee vote, we are one step closer to
forcing the Fish and Wildlife Service to take action on the cormorant
problem,” Peterson said.
According to Peterson, the bill passed the
committee by a voice vote and now heads to the full House.
Protected under the North American Migratory Bird Treaty, cormorant
populations have exploded in recent years, devastating open water game fish
numbers and requiring lower fishing catch limits.
The legislation would allow states to establish hunting seasons for
cormorants to begin to contain the size of the populations.
“People are finally paying attention to
the problem we have in northern Minnesota,” Peterson said.
“But our work is not finished.
We still face strong opposition from bureaucrats and the anti-hunting
lobby.”
At the invitation of Peterson, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service recently held a meeting in the Northwest Angle to
discuss the cormorant problem. The
public meeting included citizen input and a tour of islands decimated by the
enormous cormorant populations.
Peterson is unsure whether Congress will
be able to hold a floor vote on the bill before the House adjourns.
“I am talking with the House leadership to see if we can get a
vote. This legislation has
already gone further in the process this year than ever before.
It is unfortunate we even need this legislation, when the Fish and
Wildlife Service has the authority to manage cormorants right now, today.”
-30-