On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee is set to hold a vote on the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 2773)
H.R. 2773, led by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair Representative Debbie Dingell (MI) and CSC Member Representative Jeff Fortenberry (NE), is the most significant wildlife conservation bill to be considered by Congress in decades and is a top priority for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF).
The committee vote on this legislation marks a critical step in the advancement of the bill.
Why it matters: The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act represents the single most significant fish and wildlife conservation to be considered by Congress in decades. For over 80 years, sportsmen and women have been the primary funders of conservation efforts, however, due to increasing challenges facing our fish and wildlife populations, there is simply not enough funding to proactively conserve all species. Fortunately, the Recovering Wildlife America’s Act provides a solution to this problem.
On Wednesday, January 19, the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a legislative markup to vote on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 2773), one of the top legislative priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.
Earlier today, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation sent an action alert to members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus on the Natural Resources Committee urging a “yes” vote on this important legislation. Furthermore, CSF and over 40 of the leading sporting-conservation organizations sent a letter to the Committee urging a favorable vote on the bill to address the 21st century conservation challenges facing our fish and wildlife managers.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will provide nearly $1.4 billion annually in perpetuity for proactive, state-based conservation projects in every state, territory, and on tribal lands and waters. Collectively, through their Congressionally-mandated State Wildlife Action Plans, state fish and wildlife agencies have identified nearly 12,000 species of fish, wildlife, and plants that are considered “species of greatest conservation need”. Specifically, Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would provide $1.3 billion annually to states and territories to implement their State Wildlife Action Plans and would provide $97.5 million annually to conduct conservation efforts on tribal lands and waters.
In 2015, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation assisted in the development of the concept of providing a long-term, dedicated source of conservation funding to state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies as a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources. The Blue Ribbon Panel is now represented by the Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife. Since 2015, CSF’s President and CEO, Jeff Crane, has served as the legislative co-chair of the Alliance.
In advance of the scheduled Committee vote on Wednesday, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will work to urge members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus on the Committee to vote favorably on the bill.
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?
