THE CADDO LAKE RAMSAR TREATY

Establishing THE CADDO LAKE CLEARINGHOUSE For Community-based Coordination of Wetland Management of Caddo Lakes Wetlands of International Importance under the "Ramsar Convention" March 2002

Caddo Lake's wetlands were designated as the 13th U.S. "Wetland of International Importance" (the "Site") in 1993 and enlarged in 1996, encompassing more than 25,000 acres of public and private lands in the Texas portions of Caddo Lake. These wetlands depend upon runoff and inflows from the surrounding Caddo Lake Catchment basin and the lower reaches of the tributaries known as Big Cypress Bayou, Little Cypress Bayou, Black Cypress Bayou and Jims Bayou.

G. Ramsar designations of the Caddo Lake Site were accomplished through exemplary collaborations between Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas General Land Office, the US Army, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Caddo Lake Institute.

H. Under Ramsar guidance, degradation of attributes which led to the listing of the Site can require extraordinary protective intervention by state, national and international bodies to avoid undermining US treaty arrangements and "de-listing." Ramsar Site designation papers summarize the internationally important wetland attributes of the Caddo Lake Ramsar Site, as follows:

"Justification of [Ramsar] criteria... As noted in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services 1993 Ramsar proposal, the area (1) provides wintering habitat for waterfowl, especially mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) (2) represents one of the highest populations and reproduction areas for wood ducks (Aix sponsa) in the state of Texas (3) represents one of the best examples of mature baldcypress swamp wetland community in the southern United States; (4) provides important habitat for an assemblage of rare, threatened, or endangered plant, fish, and animal species (5) serves as a critical staging area for a variety of nongame migratory birds, such as neotropical songbirds and colonial waterbirds; (6) provides important hydrologic and biological functions with respect to the Cypress Bayou and the lower Red River drainage basins and (7) provides an exceptional opportunity for research and study of the life histories and habitat requirements of internationally important species, such as neotropical songbirds (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1993). A 1985 study by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service rated the wetlands of Caddo Lake as significant waterfowl habitat, and assigned Priority 1 [RC-1] ranking for acquisition and preservation.

I. Louisiana portions of Caddo Lake, although not yet designated, do qualify for Ramsar designation, because of the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s 1993 "RC-1" determination --that all of Caddo Lakes wetlands having elevations of 168.5 feet MSL or below should be classified as RC-1 (highest priority) habitat (highest priority habitat) by of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. This
RC-l classification was a principal basis for the Texas Ramsar designations.

J. Like many international wetlands, the Louisiana and Texas portions of Caddo Lake are a single integrated wetland ecosystem –which supports important economies of adjacent human communities. Locally significant economies depend upon the Site’s substantial sports fishery and migratory waterfowl hunting; the values of recreational boating, bird and wildlife viewing, "nature tourism," high "quality of life" values to local residents are important. These interdependent natural functions and economic values provide essential private income and property value benefits to the residents and businesses of the communities of Louisiana and Texas which are in close proximity to the Site.

I. Ramsar guidance, which was co-authored by the Caddo Lake Institute, was adopted by the national parties to the Convention in Costa Rica in 1999. This guidance, based in part on a Caddo Lake Case Study, called for a world-wide effort --by governments and non-governmental organizations-- to maximize the involvement of local and indigenous peoples in the conservation, management and wise use of their local Ramsar wetlands.

J. The purpose of this Caddo Lake Ramsar Treaty is to establish at this Site a local and international model for exemplary implementation of Ramsar guidance through a community-based Caddo Lake Wetland Clearinghouse.

II. AGREEMENTS

A. Name; Institutional Framework & Goals. The Contracting Parties hereby adopt this "Caddo Lake Ramsar Treaty" to adapt Ramsar’s proven institutional framework to local conditions, to be known as "The Caddo Lake Clearinghouse, for Community-based Coordination of Wetland Management of Caddo Lakes Wetlands of International Importance" (The "Clearinghouse").