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WASHINGTON, DC – Legislation that would ban the use of traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System and other areas is being considered in the U.S. House, and Congressman Garret Graves is working to prevent the legislation from harming our nutria eradication efforts.

In Louisiana, this bill would make our National Wildlife Refuges a safe harbor for this invasive species and set back the progress we’ve made with our Coastwide Nutria Control Program. Nutria have caused the loss of thousands of acres of coastal Louisiana. These invasive pests exacerbate coastal wetlands loss, damage levees, agriculture and other infrastructure.

Without the trapping, the nutria will continue to destroy native plants and burrow holes in our levees – remaining a large threat to our hurricane protection and coastal restoration efforts. These National Wildlife Refuges also provide essential habitats for migratory birds and native wildlife.

Graves routinely secures more federal funding for a nutria bounty program and restoration funds to nutria-related damage