Bill to increase the price of duck stamps flies through the House

E&E News
By Corbin Hiar
November 18, 2014

After sparring briefly over restrictions on how an expected influx of revenues will be spent, lawmakers in the House passed a bill yesterday to increase the price of annual permits to hunt migratory waterfowl for the first time since 1991.

If H.R. 5069 is enacted, the cost of a duck stamp -- as the permits are called -- would go up from $15 to $25. The $5 million predicted to come from that price increase, however, would go into a new subaccount of the Fish and Wildlife Service's Migratory Bird Conservation Fund that is limited to acquiring conservation easements. These legal agreements allow landowners to maintain possession of their property, but restrict uses of the land that could impair its usefulness as bird habitat.

Despite reservations about the subaccount, the Democrat likely to take over the ranking member position on the House Natural Resources Committee expressed his support for the "Federal Duck Stamp Act of 2014."

"While I take issue with some of the requirements and restrictions this bill would place on the Fish and Wildlife Service, the opportunity to generate these additional funds for wetland conservation with the support of hunters and other nature lovers is one that we must take advantage of," Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said shortly before the voice vote. He also noted that, due to inflation, the value of duck stamp permits is currently worth $9 in 1991 dollars.

Grijalva was not, however, one of the six Democrats who co-sponsored the legislation. It also had 13 Republican co-sponsors.

In response to the Arizona Democrat, the bill's author, Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), defended its focus on funding easements instead of new federal purchases as "a much better deal."

Fleming pointed out that, in 2012, the U.S. government spent $16 million to buy 14,747 acres of conservation land and $17 million for conservation easements on 48,144 acres. "This a huge savings to the taxpayer," he said. "But also think about the maintenance costs that are now going to be unnecessary because landowners with the easements will continue to maintain the land rather than taxpayers."

The Senate is considering a related bill, S. 2621, by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).

While the legislation has similarly broad bipartisan backing -- seven Republicans and six Democrats have co-sponsored it -- the bill hasn't been taken up in committee yet.

The House last night also passed H.R. 5040. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), would require the Interior secretary to convey Bureau of Land Management land to Idaho County for use as a gun range.

A companion bill from Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), S. 2616, is stalled in committee.