October 17, 2019 The Honorable Jared Huffman Chairman Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee 1522 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Tom McClintock Ranking Member Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee 1522 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member McClintock and the Members of the Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources: The undersigned organizations and businesses write to express our full support of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R.3742), and respectfully request that you support and advance this important piece of legislation through the House Committee on Natural Resources to help conserve America’s most vulnerable fish and wildlife. Collectively, we represent millions of Americans who enjoy the great outdoors and value fish and wildlife. One-third of the fish and wildlife species in the United States are at risk of becoming threatened or endangered. The crisis facing our nation’s fish and wildlife is daunting, but this legislation provides a solution. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will provide state fish and wildlife agencies and Indian Tribes with dedicated resources to address more than 12,000 species in need of proactive, voluntary conservation. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will help recover and conserve species at risk by dedicating $1.3 billion annually for state-led conservation and $97.5 million to Indian Tribes for on-the-ground conservation projects. The legislation funds the implementation of the congressionally-mandated State Wildlife Action Plans, which outline specific, science-based conservation actions necessary to recover and sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations. Similarly, Tribes will expand conservation efforts on their lands, which provide vital habitat for hundreds of fish and wildlife species, including more than 500 species that are listed as threatened or endangered. Taking measures to restore species before they are on the brink of extinction and ensuring healthy populations will help prevent these species from needing costly “emergency room” measures under the Endangered Species Act. Further, ensuring healthy populations of species will also allow businesses and landowners to operate with more regulatory certainty and reduced risk. This collaborative approach to conservation is good for wildlife, good for taxpayers, good for landowners, and good for business. Our nation has a remarkable history of coming together to bring species back from the brink of extinction by funding professional, science-driven fish and wildlife management through partnerships. Eighty years ago, prized game species like elk, wood ducks, wild turkeys, and trout were at the cusp of being lost forever. Instead, hunters and anglers came together to leverage user fees for game species conservation because they understood that preserving wildlife takes a coordinated, consistent investment in collaborative conservation. Today those species are thriving because of that foresight and commitment. Passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will represent the largest investment in conservation funding in more than a generation. This groundbreaking legislation will help ensure that future generations can enjoy the same abundant fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreation opportunities that we have today and maybe even more. We appreciate your consideration of our request to support and advance this bill in the 116th Congress. We ask that you join Congresswoman Dingell (D-MI) and Congressman Fortenberry (R-NE) and the 138 bipartisan cosponsors in supporting the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. Sincerely, American Fisheries Society American Sportfishing Association Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Audubon Audubon Connecticut Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Barry Conservation District Bass Pro Shops Bat Conservation International Big Game Conservation Association Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Bucks County Audubon Society Cabela’s The Connecticut Audubon Society Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Connecticut Falconers Association Connecticut Ornithological Association Connecticut Waterfowlers Association Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation The Conservation Fund Cornell Lab of Ornithology Delta Waterfowl Ducks Unlimited Fisheries Advisory Council Flathead Audubon Society Forest Landowners Association Frankfort Audubon Society Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Grand Valley State University, Department of Biology Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hess Corporation Houston Safari Club Foundation Huron Pines I DO AMERICA International Raptor & Falconry Center Izaak Walton League of America Jacklin Rod and Gun Club, Inc. QuietKat, Inc. Kalamazoo Nature Center Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation Kemp Design Services Kootenai Tribe of Idaho Lake Erie Islands Conservancy Maine Audubon Mattabeseck Audubon Society Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation Mojave Desert Land Trust Montana Audubon National Alliance of Forest Owners National Association of State Foresters National Marine Manufacturers Association National Shooting Sports Foundation National Wild Turkey Federation National Wildlife Federation Native American Fish and Wildlife Society Nebraska Land Trust North Dakota Natural Resources Trust Oregon Zoo Outdoor Industry Association Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever Playa Lake Joint Venture Pure Fishing Put-in-Bay Township Park District Quality Deer Management Association Ravenswood Outdoors REI Co-op Richard Childress Racing Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society Seven Mountains Audubon Shell Stocking Savvy Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Toyota Trout Unlimited Village of Middleville, MI White River Marine Group Wildlife Ecology Institute Wildlife Habitat Council Wildlife Management Institute The Wildlife Society World Wildlife Fund Yellowstone River Parks Association cc: Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva, Ranking Member Rob Bishop
