Conservation, Sporting, and Outdoor Groups Call for Passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

October 17, 2019

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