October 4, 2022

October 4, 2022 President Joseph R. Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, We are writing to request that you prioritize the National Wildlife Refuge System in your Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget proposal by including a robust increase for the Operations and Maintenance accounts of the National Wildlife Refuge System, accounting for inflationary costs, salary increases, and the significant increase in visitation and land base of the Refuge System since 2010. The current enacted funding level of $519 million is drastically insufficient, and has led to a Refuge System strained under the weight of critically low staffing levels and lost capacity. It is crucial that Congress and the Administration address this unsustainably low level of funding in FY 2024. As the only system of federal public lands focused primarily on wildlife conservation and habitat, the National Wildlife Refuge System must play a key role in achieving the biodiversity and climate targets set forth under the America the Beautiful Initiative. Further, the Refuge System’s Urban Wildlife Conservation Program, which seeks to bolster recreational access, is well-positioned to support the outreach and recreation efforts outlined in America the Beautiful. With at least one refuge in every state, the Refuge System provides rural and urban communities recreational opportunities, like angling, hunting, bird watching, and environmental education. The Refuge System requires a substantial increase in funding to effectively fulfill its conservation mission, provide opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation, and connect communities to nature. The National Wildlife Refuge System is an important asset for our country. Refuges are home to over 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species, over 1,000 species of fish, and 513 threatened and endangered species. Over 65 million people annually visit the nation’s 568 refuges, which are found in every state and territory and within an hour’s drive of every major city. The Refuge System provides families and everyday Americans access to some of the nation’s best hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, photography, and more. As more Americans explore our wild places, management of these places must keep up to ensure the safety of their visitors. Although annual visitors to the Refuge System increased by 38 percent since 2010, the Refuge System’s budget has only increased by 3 percent since FY 2010. This, along with the addition of 13 refuges, 2 million land acres, and 597 million acres of marine national monuments, significant staff cuts (1,000 FTE since 2010), and increased pressures from natural events like wildfires and flooding, has put the Refuge System under increasing fiscal strain. In order to properly steward its lands and waters, the Refuge System requires additional conservation planning dollars: while Comprehensive Conservation Plans are required to be updated every 15 years, 40 percent of them are out of date. Increased investment in the Refuge System is not only warranted, but also a wise investment in local economies. In FY 2020, Refuges generated about $3 billion in economic benefits for local economies and supported over 41,000 jobs. In fact, studies have shown that every dollar invested in our Refuge System by the federal government returns about five dollars in local economic activity. Thank you for your attention to and consideration of this important request. We recognize the ongoing challenges facing the discretionary budget and look forward to working with you to support these vital programs. Sincerely, Alaska Wilderness League American Birding Association, Inc. American Fisheries Society American Rivers American Sportfishing Association Appalachian Trail Conservancy Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Boone and Crockett Club Braided River California Waterfowl Association Camp Fire Club of America Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports Defenders of Wildlife Delta Waterfowl Ducks Unlimited Endangered Species Coalition Environment America Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Friends of Bombay Hook NWR, Smyrna DE Friends of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge Friends of Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge Friends of Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge Friends of Louisiana Wildlife Refuges Friends of Neal Smith NWR Friends of Red River NWR Friends of the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge Complex Houston Safari Club Foundation Izaak Walton League of America Marine Conservation Institute National Audubon Society National Deer Association National Ocean Protection Coalition National Wildlife Federation National Wildlife Refuge Association North American Grouse Partnership Ohio Environmental Council Orion: The Hunter’s Institute Patagonia Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society Safari Club International Seeding Sovereignty Sierra Club The Conservation Fund The Nature Conservancy The Wilderness Society The Wildlife Society Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Trout Unlimited Waterway Advocates Wildlife Forever Wildlife Management Institute Wildlife Mississippi CC: Debra Haaland, Secretary, Department of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior Shannon A. Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Martha Williams, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Cynthia Martinez, Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System Stephenne Harding, Senior Director for Lands, White House Council on Environmental Quality Jessica Ennis, Public Engagement Director, White House Council on Environmental Quality Kate Kelly, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Department of the Interior Jacob Glass, Natural Resources Division, Office of Management and Budget Shantha Ready Alonso, Director of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Department of the Interior