A House Natural Resources subcommittee will review Western water and fisheries legislation during a hearing this week, including a proposal to create a new coordinating commission for the Mississippi River Basin.
H.R. 1514, from Rep. Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) and Troy Carter (D-La.), would provide roughly $245 million for a panel to oversee fisheries management and economic development in the nation’s largest river basin.
That responsibility is currently shared by 31 states and multiple federal agencies, according to Ezell, vice chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries, which will host the hearing. Carter called the bill a “critical step in securing the future of this iconic waterway.”
One of the commission’s top priorities would be combating invasive species such as Asian carp that have rapidly expanded up the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
