RECOVERING AMERICA'S WILDLIFE ACT - The Wildlife Society

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act:
A 21^st Century Model of Wildlife Conservation Funding

State and tribal wildlife agency professionals and their partners work tirelessly on the conservation and management of wildlife populations for the benefit of the American public. A bill that will match this ethic with adequate financial support is in line for movement this Congress.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 2773; S. 2372), introduced by Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-Nebraska) in the U.S. House and Senators Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) and Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) in the U.S. Senate, will bring much-needed resources to wildlife professionals tasked with conserving the diversity of America’s native species. These resources will fund multi-stakeholder efforts to conserve and monitor these at-risk species, known in states as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), in order to work toward reversing population declines.

The previous version of this legislation introduced in the 116th Congress saw over 180 bipartisan House cosponsors. With your help, we can build up additional support to foster movement of this game-changing legislation.

What’s at stake

Since 2000, state and tribal wildlife agencies have pulled from a much smaller funding stream known as the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program. This program is vulnerable to the whims of congressional appropriators, and is typically only funded at about $60-$70 million annually. Such limited funding only provides state agencies the ability to address a few of the SGCN projects deemed necessary within their conservation action blueprints, known as State Wildlife Action Plans. This problem is amplified in tribal agencies, where no federal fund exists that agencies can utilize annually for long-term conservation planning.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act aims to drastically change this dynamic. This legislation would:

Provide $1.3 billion in dedicated funding annually for the implementation of state fish and wildlife agencies’ wildlife action plans.
Provide $97.5 million in dedicated funding annually for tribal agencies to work on at-risk species recovery.
Allot 10% of dedicated annual funds towards the implementation of a competitive grants program aimed at fostering regional cooperation among states.
Leverage funds from state agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations to boost the power of federal conservation spending.
Provide greater regulatory certainty for industry and private partners by conserving species and avoiding the need to list them under the Endangered Species Act.
Empower wildlife professionals to hold the nation’s wildlife in the public trust for generations to come by providing state and tribal agencies with the flexibility to conserve populations in an effective and cost-effective manner.

How to get involved

TWS members can:

Use the action center below to find your Senators and request their support.
Call your member of Congress to request their support by following TWS’ phone call script (House version, Senate version).
Connect with the Conservation Affairs Committee in your chapter or section to find out how to best support your organization unit’s outreach efforts.
Check out the TWS fact sheet on the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to learn more.

TWS chapters and sections can:

Write letters or resolutions in support of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. Use this cosponsor request form letter (House version, Senate version) to ask for support from your state’s congressional delegation. For questions regarding the content of these supporting documents and what offices they should be sent to, please email cmurphy@wildlife.org.
Connect with local affiliates of the American Fisheries Society and the National Wildlife Federation to explore what efforts can be coordinated at the local level. You can check out a list of some of the affiliates that have supported this legislation by viewing the National Wildlife Federation’s letter of support.
Check out the May 2021 webinar hosted by TWS and the American Fisheries Society on Updates to the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. This session provides information on updates made to the legislation in the 117th Congress and tools for TWS units and individuals to engage their congressional delegation in support of the bill.

Please email cmurphy@wildlife.org to share any action you have taken on behalf of TWS or if you have any questions on how to take action.

See below for our relevant coverage:

RECOVERING AMERICA’S WILDLIFE ACT