“(a) Findings.—The Congress finds the following:“(1) The winter index population of mid-continent light geese was 800,000 birds in 1969, while the total population of such geese is more than 5,200,000 birds today.
“(2) The population of mid-continent light geese is expanding by over 5 percent each year, and in the absence of new wildlife management actions it could grow to more than 6,800,000 breeding light geese in 3 years.
“(3) The primary reasons for this unprecedented population growth are—“(A) the expansion of agricultural areas and the resulting abundance of cereal grain crops in the United States;
“(B) the establishment of sanctuaries along the United States flyways of migrating light geese; and
“(C) a decline in light geese harvest rates.
“(4) As a direct result of this population explosion, the Hudson Bay Lowlands Salt-Marsh ecosystem in Canada is being systematically destroyed. This ecosystem contains approximately 135,000 acres of essential habitat for migrating light geese and many other avian species. Biologists have testified that one-third of this habitat has been destroyed, one-third is on the brink of devastation, and the remaining one-third is overgrazed.
“(5) The destruction of the Arctic tundra is having a severe negative impact on many avian species that breed or migrate through this habitat, including the following:“(A) Canada Goose.
“(B) American Wigeon.
“(C) Dowitcher.
“(D) Hudsonian Godwit.
“(E) Stilt Sandpiper.
“(F) Northern Shoveler.
“(G) Red-Breasted Merganser.
“(H) Oldsquaw.
“(I) Parasitic Jaeger.
“(J) Whimbrel.
“(K) Yellow Rail.
“(6) It is essential that the current population of mid-continent light geese be reduced by 50 percent by the year 2005 to ensure that the fragile Arctic tundra is not irreversibly damaged.
“(b) Purposes.—The purposes of this Act are the following:“(1) To reduce the population of mid-continent light geese.
“(2) To assure the long-term conservation of mid-continent light geese and the biological diversity of the ecosystem upon which many North American migratory birds depend.
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