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Senate passes bill to control, eradicate nutria

Nutria Rat
Posted at 9:21 PM, Sep 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-30 22:21:53-04

The Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act.

The legislation aims to prevent invasive nutria from continuing to destroy America's coastal wetlands. It was introduced earlier this year by Louisiana Senator John Kennedy and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.

"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.

The 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 program and appropriates financial assistance based on the total area of a state that is affected by nutria.

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