For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
August 4, 2004
Press Gaggle with Scott McClellan and a Senior Administration Official on New Conservation Initiatives
Aboard Air Force One
En Route Davenport, Iowa
10:30 A.M. CDT
MR. McCLELLAN: Let's see. Let me go through the President's day,
to start with, and then I've got a senior administration official here
to give you a little background on today's conservation event in
Minnesota. But first let me go through the day.
The President had his usual briefing on board Air Force One here a
short time ago. He will -- we will go into Iowa first, where the
Freedom Corps greeter is Peggy Schaefer, who, for the past four years,
has volunteered with the Genesis Mentoring Program at Genesis Medical
Center in Davenport. Then the President will make remarks at a
Davenport, Iowa rally.
From there, we will go to Minnesota, where the President will first
go to a family farm and make remarks on the Conservation Reserve
Program. The President will be talking about his conservation agenda
and three new major initiatives that he will be announcing to build
upon his commitment to protecting and conserving our land. And again,
I'll turn it over to a senior administration official in just a second
here to talk about that. And you all should have the fact sheet
already.
After that, we go to Mankato, Minnesota, for remarks at a rally
there. Just one bit of color: This will be the first sitting
President to visit Mankato since President Truman made a brief speech
there from the back of his train during a whistle-stop tour in 1948 --
believe it was October 1948.
And then we return to D.C. this evening. And let me turn it over
to the senior administration official, and then I'll be around for
questions after you're through with him.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Good morning. The President is
going to a farm today in Minnesota, as Scott said ---- highlight some
important environmental and conservation initiatives that the President
is going to unveil. These initiatives are based off of a program
called Conservation Reserve Program, which has
been a highly successful
environment and conservation program.
Just to give you some idea of the scope of this program, we have
about 400 million acres of crops in this country. The Conservation
Reserve has 35 million of those acres enrolled in this land retirement
program. So it's a massive program scattered throughout the United
States. Ten percent of our crop land base roughly are in this program
-- 10 percent of our total crop land base are in this program. It has
already reduced soil erosion in this country by 40 percent. That means
cleaner air, cleaner water. It's been used to restore 1.8 million
acres of wetlands already; 2 million acres of trees have been planted
under this program.
The President today is going to make announcements that we believe
will use this program to even further the environmental benefits.
First and foremost, two-thirds of the contracts -- these are voluntary
contracts that the farmer enters into with the government to take his
land out of production for 10 to 15 years -- two-thirds of these
contracts expire beginning in 2007. And there is great concern in the
farm and conservation community that somehow all of this land that has
been conserved, restored and preserved for wildlife is somehow going to
go back into intensive agricultural production with all those
environmental benefits being lost.
The President is going to announce today that he is instructing the
Department of Agriculture to begin to immediately re-enroll and offer
contract extensions for all of these contracts that are beginning to
expire, the two-thirds in 2007 and 2008.
Q Can he do that through executive order? How is he going to
--
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: He can do that administratively.
That's correct. It requires no legislation.
Q How long does he extend them to?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The producers would be given the
opportunity to enter into a new contract on the CRP, which would be 10
to 15 years.
The second announcement, also related to the CRP, has to do with --
the CRP has been very, very good for wildlife, particularly pheasants,
ducks; we've seen particularly in the upper Midwest a return of those
types of species to an area where they had practically been gone.
However, one of the species that we have not seen much increase in the
last decade or so has been the bobwhite quail; the population of the
bobwhite has continued to decline. Roughly 59 million birds, down to
about 20 million by the most recent assessment. So CRP has, up to this
point, not done much for that.
The President is going to announce that we are setting aside
250,000 acres of borders along agricultural fields that would be
specifically targeted for habitat for bobwhite quail. We believe that
with this habitat established that we can increase the bobwhite quail
population by about 750,000 birds per year.
Q How is he doing that? How is he accomplishing that?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Through the Conservation Reserve
Program, the farmers will enter into a contract, 10 to 15 years, where
they will agree to put a buffer strip along their agricultural fields.
That buffer strip will likely be about 60 feet wide. And within that
buffer strip then we will plant a habitat that will be specifically
targeted towards the bobwhite quail in order to increase their
population.
Q And what's killing the quail?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Lack of habitat, primarily. Lack
of habitat.
Q So this would be new buffer --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: This would be new buffers
planted. That's right -- 250,000 acres.
Q Are they endangered?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, the quail population, as I
said, has declined from about 59 million in the late 1980s, down to
about -- our latest assessment is about 20 million. So they have been
on the decline.
Q Any particular area of the country where they're
concentrated?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: These are scattered over 35
different states, specifically, again, targeted towards those habitats
where bobwhite quail are going to be the most prevalent. And it just
depends upon the state and region, but we have targeted acreage in each
state for this --
Q So no particular region --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No particular region. Certainly
the southeast region in the country has seen the strongest decline in
bobwhite quail population.
Q So they're not on the endangered list -- because there's a
difference between endangered, which has critical habitat --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not aware that the bobwhite
quail is on an endangered list at this point.
The third part of the announcement deals with wetlands. As I've
said, the Conservation Reserve Program has already been responsible for
recreating 1.8 million acres of wetlands, restoring wetlands. The
current rules, however, only allow wetlands to be restored in what are
called flood plain regions. And the President is using his authority
to day to direct the Department of Agriculture to expand that
eligibility to say that now the CRP can be used to take acreage in what
are called the upland regions -- in other words, non-flood plains.
And this is particularly important in areas of the country we call
sort of the prairie pothole regions, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Minnesota, Montana, regions like that where they have a lot of wetlands
that are not bottom-land, flood plain regions, but they're high plains,
flat areas that flood and are -- have all the wetlands
characteristics. Those areas are currently not eligible for the
Conservation Reserve; they will be as a result of this announcement,
and we believe we can use those areas again not only for the wetlands
restoration, but to create a habitat around the wetlands that will be
ideal for ducks, wildlife, geese, these kinds of things, for, again,
furthering the benefits of the existing program.
Q How much is this going to cost?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I believe this is all within the
spending authority in the Conservation Reserve under the farm bill,
which allows us to go up to 39.2 million acres. And that has been
budgeted for and is within the existing spending authority the
President has.
Q All this is part of the farm bill that passed --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: All this is part of the
Conservation Reserve, which was reauthorized as part of the farm bill,
that is correct.
Q -- farm bill passed?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: In 2002, May of 2002.
MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, anything else?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay, thanks.
Q -- part of the farm bill, the 2002 farm bill, it's -- just
for my own knowledge, I saw on the factsheet that it was $40 billion,
CPR is $40 billion in that farm bill. What's the overall number of
what -- of that farm bill again?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The overall total cost of the farm
bill? It's roughly about $12 -- $12 billion a year, something like
that.
Q -- for the next 10 years?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Ten years, yes. That's a very,
very rough number.
All right, thank you.
Q Thanks a lot.
MR. McCLELLAN: See you all later.
Q Hey, you.
MR. McCLELLAN: Hey, you.
Q So, are you guys going to Iowa because Kerry is going there?
(Laughter.)
MR. McCLELLAN: The President's schedule is something that we set
and determine based on where we feel it's best to go. It's not based
on the Senator's schedule.
Q Does the President like it when he's at the same place? Or
would you rather be in a different place when Kerry is --
MR. McCLELLAN: The President is focusing on his record and his
agenda for the American people. That's what we're going to be --
that's what he will be talking about in Iowa. Obviously, there are
some competitive states that both candidates will be traveling to --
and I suspect this might not be the first time we -- the last time we
cross paths. But the President is going to talk about his record and
his agenda for the American people, because he is -- the President has
been and will continue to be very clear and straightforward about what
his views and his positions are on the important priorities that the
American people face and the choices that we face moving forward. So
he will be talking about his agenda for moving America forward today.
Q -- level of narrow casting in all of this. I mean, there's
this thin sliver of the country where the President and Kerry are going
to be criss-crossing, it seems like, for most of the campaign. Is that
right?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, yes. Obviously, there are certain states
that are more competitive than others. And both candidates will I'm
sure spend a considerable amount of time campaigning in those states
that are considered swing states, or the most competitive states in
this election. But the President's schedule is set by -- on our own
terms based on where we feel it is best for him to be campaigning and
reaching out to those people who will be very involved in deciding the
outcome of the election.
Q The President lost Iowa in 2000 by .34
percent of the vote.
Do you think -- are you confident that the President will win it in
2004?
MR. McCLELLAN: He's competing all across the country, and we are
competing to win in Iowa. We believe -- yes, I think that we believe
that the President will win Iowa based on his record and his agenda for
moving America forward, because Iowans share the same values that this
President has.
Q Scott, there seems to be a lot of information that's been
coming up both on the record and on background in various media reports
today that sort of trace the evolution of the latest terror
alert.
Does the President feel sensitive about this notion that the
administration may have been politicizing some of this terror
information, and about the debate that seems to be circling around that
idea?
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, we hope people aren't making
such an irresponsible suggestion, and we hope that people won't try to
politicize something as important and serious as this threat
information. This is a time for all of us to come together in America
to do everything we can to protect the American people. And I think
that you have to, first of all, understand the nature of the enemy that
we face. Al Qaeda is a sophisticated enemy that goes through
meticulous planning before striking. It is -- al Qaeda is an enemy
that is patient and disciplined. And it is -- and as we have seen
through past attacks, it is a very lethal enemy.
But in terms of this current threat information, I think I want to
mention three things. Remember, we are in a heightened state of alert
already, given the current threat situation over the summer and fall
time period, as we have talked to the American people about -- the
current threat we face from al Qaeda. And al Qaeda is still interested
in harming the American people. And we know that they are involved in
plotting to try to carry out an attack to affect the outcome of the
democratic process here in this country. Secretary Ridge has spoken to
that.
Secondly, this recent alert -- or intelligence information that we
have received, a couple of things about it. One, there was an al Qaeda
operative who was recently captured. This al Qaeda operative had
computer files with very detailed and specific information about some
of al Qaeda's intentions. This is an active al Qaeda operative who we
know has ties to other al Qaeda operatives who are involved in plotting
to carry out attacks against the American people.
Finally, there is another new stream of intelligence reporting that
has come to our attention -- came to our attention on Friday. And I
think when you connect all these streams of intelligence, it paints an
alarming picture. And the President's most solemn obligation is to
protect the American people. And this is a time when we must all work
together to make sure we're doing everything we can to meet that
responsibility. And that's what we're doing.
I would also point out that it's because of our offensive actions
abroad, that we're better able to better protect the American people
here at home, as Secretary Ridge talked about on Sunday.
Q How was that statement not politicizing a terror alert?
MR. McCLELLAN: How was what?
Q How was that statement not politicizing -- basically given
the administration credit for its actions in the war on terror and
applying that credit to this terror alert? How is that not
politicizing?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think it's pointing out how -- how important
it is that we continue to stay on the offensive to win the war on
terrorism and to better protect the American people. That is what this
war is about. It's about going on the offensive and defeating the
terrorists before they can carry out their attacks on the American
people. That -- sorry, go ahead.
Q Why didn't you disclose this new stream on Sunday, when the
terror alert was --
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again -- and there are some ongoing
operations underway. And I think that -- one, I think on Sunday that
it was pointed out that some of the information that we are receiving
regarding surveillance goes back to the 2000-2001 time period, but we
know that al Qaeda has a history of planning attacks well in advance,
years in advance, and in updating that information just before they
intend to carry out their attacks. The 9/11 Commission talked about
this in their report, and they pointed to the '98 embassy bombings and
how those were in the works years before and then updated before the
attacks were carried out. The September the 11th attacks is another --
the September the 11th attacks are another example.
So we're continuing to analyze this information. We're continuing
to learn more about this information. There are ongoing operations
involved here, which prevents us from getting into certain information
publicly.
Q Scott, just to be clear, the new stream of intelligence that
came to your attention Friday, that was the material from this active
al Qaeda operative who was recently captured?
MR. McCLELLAN: The al Qaeda operative and the computer files,
that's a stream of intelligence there. You should look at it -- that
is a stream of intelligence that -- that it came to light more fully on
Friday. But there is another new stream of intelligence that came to
our attention on Friday, as well. And I can't go -- I can't go further
-- I can't go further into it because it could compromise some ongoing
operations at this point. Anyway, anything --
Q The arrest of the 13 British terrorist suspects, is that at
all related to --
MR. McCLELLAN: I can't get any further into that at this point. I
think you ought to talk to British officials about that.
All right, thank you. Did you all have anything else, or does that
pretty much cover it?
Q I think that's about it.
END 10:45 A.M. CDT
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