LSI 2010 NRD Santa Fe final conference binder 072110.pdf

Allan Kanner of Kanner & Whiteley, L.L.C. Speaker 23: 4
healthy resources that provide recreational opportunities. Fishing annually
brings in $38 billion; hunting, $21 billion; and wildlife viewing, $27 billion.
These earnings represent about 1.4% of the Gross Domestic Product. NRDAR
helps safeguard more than 2 million full- and part-time jobs related to fishing,
hunting, and wildlife viewing. NRDAR benefits a nearly $4 billion dollar per
year commercial fishing industry. 3
In addition, property owners and other real estate interests adjacent to restored areas
benefit by removing stigmas that lower property values, promoting economic development and
enhancing the use and enjoyment of property. The establishment of new natural resources, such
as habitats for certain species, might create more development opportunities in other areas over
time. Healthy natural resources are also important to Native American Tribes and help to
maintain “their sovereign rights to land, water, fishing, hunting, and gathering, as well as cultural,
spiritual, and traditional activities that depend on healthy resources.” 4
For all Americans, there
remains a strong desire to leave things better for the next generation.
The overriding public interest in the preservation and reclamation of natural resources is
one of the most important reasons for the development of NRD programs. As the nature of the
public interest in natural resources has evolved, so has environmental legislation. The focus of
the first significant environmental laws in the 1950s and 1960s was significantly different than
the present day focus of environmental legislation.
Initially, environmental efforts were
prompted by preservationist ideals -- the desire to maintain the “great” natural resources and save
such sites from exploitation. For example, in the 1960s, the proposed construction of a dam in
the Grand Canyon raised awareness about environmental protectionism - - the need to preserve
the legacy of our nation’s natural resources. Legislation was directed primarily at the behavior
3 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Beyond Cleanup: Restoring American’s Natural Heritage, Jan. 1, 1998, available at
http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/Library.cfm
4 Id.
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Law Seminars International | Natural Resource Damages | 07/16/10 in Santa Fe, NM