Policy News
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have taken a new tack to repeal the 2015 Waters of the U.S. Rule or WOTUS Rule. On July 6, the agencies issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to amend a July 2017 proposed action that delayed the implementation of the WOTUS Rule with a... Read More
The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, S.B. 3223, was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), and cosponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.); Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The bill would authorize up to $1.3 billion annually, subject to appropriations, for state fish and wildlife agencies to support... Read More
At the end of last month, Sen. Roger Wicker introduced S.3138, the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act,” or AQUAA Act, that provides for a regulatory system for marine aquaculture in the United States exclusive economic zone. The bill seeks to establish an Office of Marine Aquaculture within the National Marine Fisheries... Read More
Having worked on the long‐term recovery of the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, I am keenly interested in how our country plans for future disasters. One of the primary lessons learned from the 2005 hurricane season was that mitigation saves lives and property and reduces the costs to taxpayers in the long run. Over the... Read More
The House Rules Committee members heard testimony on H.R. 200 on Monday, a bill that seeks to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). They will take up the bill again today and it could go to the full House tomorrow for a vote. However, the House is embroiled on immigration issues which... Read More
The American Fisheries Society (AFS), The Wildlife Society (TWS), and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) hosted a Congressional briefing on the status of U.S. fish and wildlife, along with a new funding mechanism that could address the current wildlife crisis. The event focused on a recently released report, Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis, which shows that... Read More
One year ago President Trump released his first budget proposal to Congress. The proposed cuts caused much consternation about the future of important fisheries and conservation programs. After a long slow crawl, Congress finally sent a budget deal to the President’s desk this spring. With the increase in the budget ceiling passed in early 2018,... Read More
Scientists, fisheries stakeholders, wind developers, and representatives of conservation organizations will converge in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Tuesday, August 21, during the AFS Annual Meeting for a panel discussion on offshore wind energy. Offshore wind energy development is poised to rapidly expand in the United States, with the mid-Atlantic as the epicenter of development... Read More
The House Appropriations Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Subcommittee released a Fiscal Year 2019 funding bill last week that would restore funding to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units (CRUs) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s State and Tribal Wildlife Grants. President Trump’s FY19 budget proposal eliminated funding for the... Read More
Last week, the White House released an updated timeline to repeal and replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule, also known as the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule. According to a document released on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers will not finalize their planned repeal of the Clean... Read More
