U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Maryland-1st) will introduce The Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act, a bill which would help restore sensitive habitat to improve the health of America's estuaries including the Chesapeake Bay.

The goal of the legislation is to restore 1 million acres of estuary habitat over the next 10 years through a voluntary, incentive-based program which builds on local efforts already under way.

The bill has been endorsed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Restore America's Estuaries, a coalition of community-based organizations representing 250,000 Americans devoted to restoring America's estuaries.

Estuaries are bodies of water along the coast where fresh water from rivers mixes in with salt water from the ocean. They are often known as bays, gulfs, sounds, inlets or marshes, and they offer food and shelter to plant and animal life. More than 75 percent of the commercial fish and shellfish species harvested in the U.S. depend on the habitat provided by estuaries at some point during their life cycle. Estuaries also offer millions of Americans tremendous recreational opportunities. Their wetlands protect landowners from flooding and provide important buffers that protect water quality by filtering runoff.

These functions that estuaries provide also have significant economic value. Commercial and recreational fishing, boating and tourism provide more than 28 million jobs nationwide. Fishing generates $111 billion a year to our nation's economy. And in one year alone, 73 million people spent more than $10 billion on recreational boating products and services, while $38 billion was spent on seafood in one year.

The Estuary Habitat Restoration Partnership Act seeks to reverse the rapid deterioration of estuaries and the resources they support caused by the loss of this important habitat. In the Chesapeake Bay, for example, 90 percent of sea grass meadows were destroyed by 1990, and oyster harvests fell from 25 million pounds to 1 million pounds over the last 30 years. In Louisiana, 25,000 acres of coastal marshes are destroyed each year, while the San Francisco Bay has lost 95 percent of its original wetlands.

"So much has already been lost, that it's time we start the process of restoring our estuaries to what they once were," Gilchrest said. "Fish catches are at their lowest, shellfish beds have been closed, and the livelihoods of watermen and others are threatened. We have to do everything we can."

Specifically, the bill would establish a national restoration strategy to bring together federal, state and local estuary restoration planning efforts. The bill authorizes $315 million over five years as matching grant funds for restoration projects. Local schools, non-profit groups, neighborhood associations, and state and local governments could apply for the funds. The local group would be required to provide at least 35 percent of the total project cost, with the federal share no more than 65 percent.

The bill asks governors of coastal states to form regional teams which will review project applications based on the needs and priorities of the states in that region. The region would then forward it's preferences to a national council. The national council would be established to review restoration projects from all regions and award funding. All projects must provide for long term monitoring to assess the success of the restoration project. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is directed to maintain a database of monitoring information and assist the Council in preparing a biennial report to Congress on the success of the restoration strategy.

"This bill is a flexible, voluntary approach that rewards efforts already under way to restore our estuaries, and hopefully will stimulate new plans," Gilchrest said. "It is a terrific mix of federal help with private sector initiatives."

A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. John Chafee (R-Rhode Island).