OCR Text |
Show effort along these lines should be continued. Uni- form national regulation is needed to overcome objections raised by industry. If exacting require- ments are placed on any regional segment of a single industry and not on the industry as a whole, that segment is placed at a competitive disadvan- tage. Such objections will be made as long as standards and regulations are not nationally uni- form, but instead are made by the States and locali- ties acting independently. A uniform national pollution policy, uniformly administered, is needed. 4. Federal Responsibility in Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation Resources The Problem The extent of Federal responsibility in protec- tion and enhancement of fish and wildlife and rec- reation resources. The Situation The importance of fish and wildlife and recrea- tion resources in the present and future develop- ment of the Connecticut River Basin is indicated by the fact that two-thirds of the basin area con- sists of wooded rough terrain, a favorable wildlife habitat. The river itself is one of the important inland fish producing areas of New England. It is felt that at present the recreational resources of the basin are not fully utilized. In addition to treaties with other countries, Fed- eral responsibility in protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife as affected by water development programs was established in the amended Coordi- nation Act.5 The purpose of this act was to pro- mote effectual planning, development, mainte- nance, and coordination of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation within the United States, in- cluding that at water-use projects proposed by Fed- eral agencies and any public or private agency under Federal permit. Under authority of this act, the Fish and Wildlife Service investigates these projects and determines their effect on the fish and wildlife resources of the basin, and prepares reports recom- mending measures to be taken by the construction agencies to propagate and to prevent damage to fish and wildlife. At the present time, the Fish and Wildlife Service maintains and operates one Federal fish hatchery within the basin at St. Johnsbury, Vt., and renders sAct of August 14, 1946, 60 Stat. 1080. technical advice on fish and wildlife problems with- in the basin. It is presumed that any additional Federal reservoirs to be built in the Connecticut River Basin will contain necessary measures for the preservation and propagation of fish and wildlife. The responsibility for providing and administer- ing various types of nonurban recreational areas is divided among agencies at various levels of gov- ernment. The general policy of the Department of the Interior is that only those reservoir recrea- tional areas of importance to the entire Nation or to a large segment of it should be administered by the National Park Service. One of the legally established functions of the National Park Service is cooperating with and aiding State agencies in carrying out their park and recreational programs. The Connecticut River Basin contains no area administered as a part of the National Park Sys- tem. However, all four States in the basin are keen- ly aware of the importance of recreation to their welfare and each State has agencies providing op- portunities for nonurban recreation to resident and visitor alike. Recreational resources within the na- tional forests, of which there are two in the basin, are administered by the Forest Service of the De- partment of Agriculture. The Corps of Engineers in its flood control plans for the Connecticut River Basin has devoted con- siderable attention to dam and reservoir construc- tion in the upper portion of the basin; however, most of these reservoirs have been considered for flood control only. Multiple-purpose reservoirs would not be accompanied by so much of a prob- lem. Although the National Park Service has acted since 1945 as consultant to the Corps of Engineers on the recreational use of reservoirs, no request for this service has been received for any reservoirs in the Connecticut River Basin. This may result both from the fact that fluctuating flood control pools thus far have been considered of little recreational value in a region of many natural lakes, and from the planning of recreational development by the States. Pollution is one of the major handicaps to full utilization of the waters of the Connecticut River for fish and recreation. Comprehensive plans and Federal aid to municipalities for pollution abate- ment measures, authorized by the Water Pollution Control Act of 1948, give some opportunity to alleviate present conditions.6 ' Act of June 30, 1948, § 5, 62 Stat. 1155, 33 U. S. C. 466d. 493 |