Action: Contact your U.S. Representative to support NAWCA funding in FY 2020
Recently, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) sent a notice to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) urging them to support critical funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA).
This notice comes in advance of the April 1 House Appropriations deadline for funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year. CSC Vice-Chair Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI) and CSC Members Congressmen Rob Wittman (VA), Mike Thompson (CA), and Roger Marshall (KS) also sent a letter of support for NAWCA funding to the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. On the Senate side, CSC Co-Chair Senator Martin Heinrich (NM), CSC Members Senators Mike Crapo (ID) and Jim Inhofe (OK) as well as Senator Chris Coons (DE) sent a similar letter to the leadership of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.
The letter states, “NAWCA represents a reasonable, cost-effective approach to wildlife conservation. While we understand the fiscal constraints this year, we would like to point to this program’s demonstrable success at developing non-federal funding sources and diverse partnerships for the conservation of wildlife habitat. It deserves the subcommittee’s endorsement for the most practical funding level.”
The United States has lost roughly half of its original wetlands and continues to lose over 80,000 wetland acres annually. NAWCA provides necessary support for conservation partners to restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for fish, migratory birds, and many other species. To date, NAWCA has completed more than 2,833 on-the-ground conservation projects while conserving more than 29.8 million acres in all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
