Senate passes Kennedy bill to eradicate nutria
Sep 30 2020
WASHINGTON – The Senate today unanimously passed Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) bill to amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act. Kennedy and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the legislation in July to prevent invasive nutria from continuing to destroy America’s coastal wetlands.
“While Louisiana’s marshlands provide a habitat to some of America’s most beautiful wildlife, they are also the first line of defense against damaging storms. Nutria have already destroyed thousands of acres of wetland along our coast, putting Louisianians and our ecosystems at greater risk. I want to thank my colleagues in the Senate for passing this bipartisan bill. Now, I hope it quickly becomes law to save communities from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean from these destructive swamp rats,” said Kennedy.
“The nutria rodent threatens to overwhelm our farms and wetlands if we don’t act. In California, there could be as many as 250,000 nutria within five years that could cause more than $1.2 billion a year in agriculture losses and eradication costs. I’m pleased that the Senate passed our bill to stop this invasive species before the infestation gets out of hand,” said Feinstein.
Kennedy’s bill authorizes an additional $6 million per year to increase assistance for states participating in the Nutria Eradication Program, which provides funding to states that take action to eliminate the invasive species.
The measure also makes all states eligible to participate in the Nutria Eradication Program and appropriates financial assistance based on the total area of a state that is affected by nutria.