Lakes and ponds across Maine are under siege. Aquatic invasive species threaten Maine's drinking water systems, recreation, wildlife habitat, lakefront real estate, and fisheries. Plants, such as Variable Leaf Milfoil, are crowding out native species. Invasive Asian shore crabs are taking over Southern New England's tidal pools, and just last year, began their advance into Maine – to the potential detriment of Maine's lobster and clam industries. Maine and many other states are attempting to fight back against these invasions. Unfortunately, the states' efforts have frequently been of limited success. As with national security, protecting the integrity of our lakes, streams, and coastlines from invading species cannot be accomplished by individual states alone. We need a uniform, nationwide approach to deal effectively with invasive species. That's why I was pleased to join Senator Carl Levin of Michigan in introducing the National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003. This bill would create the most comprehensive nationwide approach to date for combating alien species that invade our shores.
The stakes are high when invasive species are unintentionally introduced into our nation's waters. They endanger ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, and threaten native species. They disrupt people's lives and livelihoods by lowering property values, impairing commercial fishing, degrading recreational experiences, and damaging public water supplies.
In the 1950s, European Green Crabs swarmed the Maine coast and literally ate the bottom out of Maine's soft-shell clam industry by the 1980s. Many clam diggers were forced to go after other fisheries or find new vocations. In just one decade, this invader reduced the number of clam diggers in Maine from nearly 5,000 during the 1940s to fewer than 1,500 in the 1950s. European green crabs currently cost an estimated $44 million a year in damage and control efforts in the United States.
More recently, in Limerick, Maine, one of North America's most aggressive invasive species – hydrilla – was found in Pickerel Pond. Hydrilla can quickly dominate its new ecosystem. Already hydrilla covers 60 percent of the bottom of Pickerel Pond from the shoreline out to six feet deep. Never before detected in Maine, this stubborn and fast-growing aquatic plant threatens Pickerel Pond's use by swimmers and boaters, and could spread to nearby lakes and ponds. Unfortunately, eradication of hydrilla is nearly impossible, so we must now work to prevent further infestation in the state.
Past invasions forewarn of the long-term consequences to our environment and communities unless we take steps to prevent new invasions. It is too late to stop European green crabs from taking hold on the East Coast, but we still have the opportunity to prevent many other species from taking hold in Maine and the United States.
Our bill would do just that. The National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003 is the most comprehensive effort ever to address the threat of invasive species. By authorizing $836 million over six years, this legislation would open numerous new fronts in our war against invasive species.
For example, it would take aim at one of the leading pathways for the introduction of aquatic organisms to U.S. waters from abroad – the ballast water of transoceanic vessels. Commercial vessels fill and release ballast tanks with seawater as a means of stabilization. The ballast water contains live organisms from plankton to adult fish that are transported and released through this pathway. Our bill would establish a framework to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species by ships.
Currently, the U.S. is in negotiations with the international community on the development and implementation of an international program for preventing the unintentional introduction and spread of non-indigenous species through ballast water. I commend American negotiators for working with the international community to address this global problem. This legislation offers a strong framework that the U.S. should use as a model in negotiating this important international convention. The bill directs the Coast Guard to develop regulations that will end the easy cruise of invasive species into U.S. waters through the ballast water of international ships, and would provide the Coast Guard with $6 million per year to develop and implement these regulations.
The bill also would provide $30 million per year for a grant program to assist state efforts to prevent the spread of invasive species. It would provide $12 million per year for the Army Corps of Engineers and Fish and Wildlife Service to contain and control invasive species. And finally, the Levin-Collins bill would authorize $30 million annually for research, education, and outreach.
The most effective means of stopping invading species is to attack them before they attack us. We need an early alert, rapid response system to combat invading species before they have a chance to take hold. For the first time, this bill would establish a national monitoring network to detect newly introduced species, while providing $25 million to the Secretary of the Interior to create a rapid response fund to help States and regions respond quickly once invasive species have been detected. The Levin-Collins bill is our best effort to prevent the next wave of invasive species from taking hold and decimating industries and destroying waterways in Maine and throughout the country. The United States must take the most protective action possible to protect our waters, ecosystems, and industries from destructive invasive species – before it's too late.