TO: United States Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
FROM: Michael W. Hauser, Aquatic Nuisance Species Specialist
RE: Testimony on S.525, the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003
DATE: June 17, 2003
Thank you Mr. Chairman and Committee members for the opportunity to
provide testimony on Senate Bill 525. I consider myself fortunate to live and work
in Vermont, a small state, but with a tremendous reputation for its natural
beauty, environmental integrity, and recreational opportunities. Unfortunately,
these qualities are threatened by a large and very real threat - the
introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. Nearly sixty species of
aquatic non-native plants and animals are known to have taken up residence in
Vermont. While not all of these species have become invasive, those that have,
such as zebra mussels, water chestnut, Eurasian watermilfoil and purple
loosestrife, have significant negative economic and ecological impacts. More
than $2 million of local, state and federal funds are spent annually in Vermont
to manage and prevent the spread of these species. Approximately one quarter of
this goes to managing water chestnut in southern Lake Champlain alone. These
totals do not include the costs associated with the degradation of the
environment; reduction of lakeshore property values; or the protection of
boats, water intake systems and other infrastructure. Currently within the
Department of Environmental Conservation there are four staff positions
dedicated to the management of aquatic invasive species, and it is fair to say
we can not keep up. These invaders continue to displace native species; impede
boating, fishing and swimming; and strain state and local budgets.
Despite these problems, Vermont, and the
other northeastern states, are relatively fortunate to have had only a fraction
of the nonnative species introductions experienced in other parts of the
country. This is not to say Vermont doesn’t have major problems from invasive
species, we do, but these problems are likely to increase significantly if we
do not seize this opportunity to prevent more invasive aquatic species from
coming our way. And they are coming, the round goby, the Asian carp, the
Eurasian ruffe, the quagga mussel, the spiny water flea. Nonnative species that
have all proven to be extremely invasive in other regions of this country are poised to enter water systems
of the Northeast. It is imperative that we prevent this from happening, and the
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act can help us do it.
As you well know, invasive species do not
recognize political boundaries. We in Vermont can’t expect a species to stop at
our border. Experience tells us that we also can’t wait for an invasive species
to cross into the state before we take action - by then it is too late. We must
work with other states throughout the region to build a unified defense. The
National Invasive Species Act is helping us to do this. In 2001 the Northeast
Aquatic Nuisance Species Panel was formed under authority of the federal
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. The Panel, with funding assistance from
the Task Force, has developed a dedicated network of representatives from all
six New England states, New York, and Canada. We meet regularly to share ideas
and concerns, and to coordinate the use of our limited resources. For example,
the Panel is printing a card to assist boaters, resource managers and other
individuals throughout the Northeast in the identification of the extremely
invasive plant, hydrilla. Populations of hydrilla have recently been found in a
few lakes in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. As a further example of regional
coordination, the Panel recently held a workshop to develop a model aquatic
nuisance species rapid response plan for the Northeast. When completed, the
plan will establish a coordinated region-wide early detection and warning
system. It will also facilitate the development of state aquatic invasive
species rapid response plans that are consistent and coordinated throughout the
region.
Additionally, the Northeast Aquatic Nuisance
Species Panel and each of the other four regional panels developed under the
National Invasive Species Act give the respective regions a strong, unified
voice on the national stage helping to level the playing field. The regional
panels, via the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, enable small states like
Vermont to have their aquatic nuisance species concerns fairly presented to the
federal agencies distributing funds and making critical management decisions in
this area.
Provisions of Senate Bill 525 that would
lead to effective practices to prevent new introductions of potentially
invasive species to this country will have perhaps the greatest long-term
benefit for Vermont. For example, although Vermont does not have significant
issues directly related to ballast water, it is vulnerable to nonnative species
introduced to the Great Lakes via ballast water dumping. Lake Champlain, along
Vermont’s western border, is directly connected to the Great Lakes by the
Champlain Barge Canal, Erie Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway systems. The zebra
mussel used these routes to enter Lake Champlain from the Great Lakes in 1993.
Of direct relevance, provisions in Senate Bill 525 would facilitate the
transfer of knowledge gained from the dispersal barrier deployed on the Chicago
Ship and Sanitary Canal to other canal systems throughout the country. This
specifically includes the Champlain Barge Canal which connects the south end of
Lake Champlain to the Erie Canal system and has been implicated in the
introduction of numerous invasive species to Lake Champlain.
The National Invasive Species Act has played
a direct role in helping to address aquatic invasive species issues throughout
the Lake Champlain Basin of Vermont and New York. Authorized under the National
Invasive Species Act, the Lake Champlain Basin Aquatic Nuisance Species Management
Plan was developed and subsequently approved by the federal Aquatic Nuisance
Species Task Force in 2000. Since then the Task Force has provided $370,000 for
the Plan’s implementation. While this represents a relatively small percentage
of the total aquatic nuisance species
program costs in the Basin, the funds have enabled many significant
accomplishments that would have otherwise been unattainable. Specifically, Task
Force funding has assisted with the establishment of an Aquatic Nuisance
Species Coordinator position for the Lake Champlain Basin, has enabled
dedicated enforcement of Vermont aquatic nuisance species laws, has contributed
to the Lake Champlain Water Chestnut Management program, has funded the
printing of outreach/spread prevention literature, and is helping with the
development of an aquatic invasive species rapid response plan for the Lake
Champlain Basin.
Senate Bill 525 would significantly raise
the authorized funding levels for state and interstate aquatic nuisance species
management plans. While the continued development and approval of state
management plans is a positive contribution to the nation-wide effort needed to
address invasive species, funding levels for such plans have not grown for the
last several years. This has resulted in a smaller share for each state with an
approved plan. To be effective, the funding for state and interstate plans must
grow proportionate to the number of approved plans, not get sliced into smaller
and smaller portions. This bill provides the funding authorization to enable
this to happen.
Passage of Senate Bill 525 will greatly
assist Vermont, and I believe the nation as a whole, in continuing to build on
the substantial gains made under the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species
Prevention and Control Act of 1990. I encourage you to support this bill and
thank you again for the opportunity to speak with you this afternoon. Time
permitting, I will be happy to entertain questions.