Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, working closely with Congressman Norm Dicks  successfully secured $1,400,000 to help save Willapa Bay from Spartina Alterniflora, an invasive plant that has taken over the area’s intertidal mudflats.  The money, included in the Fiscal Year 2005 Interior Appropriations Bill, will continue ongoing efforts of a six-year plan to rid the Willapa region of Spartina.  This will be the third year of eradication efforts in Willapa.  Rep. Baird secured funding for Spartina eradication in Fiscal Years 2003 and 2004 as well.

“We all cherish the Willapa Bay for its beauty and for its importance to our local economy,” said Rep. Baird.  “These waters give life to a $20 million oyster industry as well as local crab and salmon fishermen whose future is in jeopardy if Spartina is not wiped out of the Willapa.  We have made steady progress and with strong support from federal, state and local authorities, we will continue to combat Spartina and preserve this natural treasure.”

The Willapa Bay’s intertidal mudflats support an annual $20 million oyster and hard-shell clam aquiculture industry in a rural area with chronically higher-than-average unemployment rates.  Uncontrolled, Spartina infestation will destroy this industry.  Additionally, the Bay’s mudflats are highly productive, critical habitat for migratory wildfowl.  Spartina grass invades and aggressively displaces the native shoreline plant species that make Willapa Bay one of the most important wintering and fueling areas of the Pacific Flyway.  Furthermore, the Bay's estuaries are critical habitat for endangered salmon populations making their transition from freshwater to saltwater and their return to freshwater spawning grounds.

Rep. Baird hosted a  forum on the health and future of the Willapa Bay on October 23 - 24, 2003 in Long Beach.  During the summit, Baird brought together local businesses, officials, conservation groups and research scientists to discuss how to best meet the Bay’s challenges and ensure the future vitality of the region’s economy and environment. 

In 1995, the Washington State Legislature declared the Spartina infestation an environmental emergency, and directed state environmental agencies to assign a high priority to its control. In the past three years, state agencies estimate that over 500 acres of Spartina grass have been successfully killed. 

Rep. Baird has been a leader in Congress in the fight against invasive species, introducing two bills, HR 1081, Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act, and HR 1080, National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003, to help eradicate invasive species from our nation’s waterways.  Invasive species cost the American economy an estimated $137 billion annually in loss and damages.  HR 1081 was approved by the House Science Committee in June and is awaiting consideration by the full House. 

The effort to contain Spartina in Willapa Bay has reached a critical juncture. In 1991, there were approximately 2,500 acres of Spartina in Willapa Bay.  The infestation is currently estimated to cover between 11,000 and 15,000 acres of tidelands and it is projected to occupy 56,000 out of the 80,000 acres of Willapa Bay if left uncontrolled.  Thanks to the funding secured in recent federal appropriations, agencies are at last turning the tide against this destructive plant.

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