*(Edited on 7/31/2020 @ 8:30 AM)
U.S. Senators John Kennedy (R-La.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have introduced legislation to amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act.
The proposed legislation would authorize an additional $6 million (to a total of $12 million) a year to increase assistance for states participating in the Nutria Eradication Program, which provides funding to states that implement initiatives to eradicate the invasive species. The legislation would also make financial assistance proportional to the total area of a state that is affected.
“Louisiana’s wetlands protect our state from hurricanes and other serious storms. For
years, nutria have devoured miles of our marshes, and some areas have no chance of
growing back. This bill would help prevent these invasive swamp rats from further
destroying Louisiana’s marshland,” said Kennedy.
“The explosive population growth of the nutria rodent could overwhelm our farms and
wetlands if we don’t take aggressive action now. 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. Our bill will make all states eligible for federal
funds to control this invasive species and stop its spread before we lose control of the
situation,” said Feinstein.
Source: Office of United States Senator John Kennedy
*(Previous paragraph that was edited due to a correction issued in a press released from the Office of United States Senator John Kennedy: “The proposed legislation would authorize an additional $8 million a year to increase assistance for states participating in the Nutria Eradication Program, which provides funding to states that implement initiatives to eradicate the invasive species. The legislation would also make financial assistance proportional to the total area of a state that is affected.”)
