By Clark, Cook, Ellis, Crownover, et al.              H.C.R. No. 23
         76R3351 EFD-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The Lone Star State has been blessed with an
 1-2     abundance of unique natural resources, including a plentiful array
 1-3     of streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes that provide countless
 1-4     opportunities for entertainment and recreation such as boating,
 1-5     various water sports, and sport fishing; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, In addition to being an exciting and fulfilling
 1-7     activity for anglers young and old, sport fishing is also an
 1-8     economic boon for local communities and the state as a whole; over
 1-9     two million people annually fish in the freshwater bodies of Texas,
1-10     spending almost $2 billion per year on fishing related goods and
1-11     services and sustaining over 50,000 full-time jobs; and
1-12           WHEREAS, Over the past several years, a bird known as the
1-13     double-crested cormorant, also referred to as the "water turkey,"
1-14     the "sky rat," and the "fire ant with wings," has flocked to Texas
1-15     in growing numbers to winter in the warmer climate; its feeding
1-16     habits and increasing numbers are decimating sport fish populations
1-17     in many areas, especially where fish are stocked on a regular
1-18     basis, and the exploding population of this pest is also decimating
1-19     fish raised by commercial aquaculture facilities; and
1-20           WHEREAS, Although the economic losses suffered by aquaculture
1-21     facilities are more immediate and easier to quantify, the sport
1-22     fishing industry is an enterprise that is also suffering
1-23     economically; of the limited number of studies that have been
1-24     conducted regarding the feeding habits of cormorants, the research
 2-1     in Texas does not specifically address the problems occurring in
 2-2     many stocked lakes and ponds and therefore does not measure the
 2-3     detrimental economic effects of the bird; now, therefore, be it
 2-4           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-5     hereby request the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to
 2-6     include the economic impact of the cormorant on sport fishing in
 2-7     its ongoing evaluation of the double-crested cormorant and that the
 2-8     agency create a contingency plan for addressing site-specific
 2-9     cormorant problems in sport fishing areas; and, be it further
2-10           RESOLVED, That the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2-11     consider the removal of the double-crested cormorant from the
2-12     protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act if the national
2-13     economic losses warrant severe control methods to keep the
2-14     cormorant population at a manageable level within a given region;
2-15     and, be it further
2-16           RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
2-17     copy of this resolution to the director of the United States Fish
2-18     and Wildlife Service.
2-19      BEGCAPTION 
2-20     A resolution tracking the Oklahoma law regarding the double-crested
2-21     cormorant.
2-22      ENDCAPTION