Policy News
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
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is gaining momentum in Congress. As of this month, 52 members of Congress have joined Representatives Jeff Fortenberry (R.-Neb.) and Debbie Dingell (D.-Mich.), the lead sponsors of H.R. 4647, in co-sponsoring the bill. There’s more work to be done! We’re expecting a companion bill in the Senate in the near... Read More
In late April, the Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act was signed into law. This legislation reauthorizes the National Wildlife Refuge System volunteer, community partnership, and education programs that help ensure the public can visit, explore, fish, hunt, and study wildlife for generations to come. H.R. 3979 passed the House in December, with overwhelming bipartisan support.... Read More
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) and The Wildlife Society’s (TWS) Climate Change & Wildlife Working Group (CCWWG) are seeking nominees to serve on a synthesis team to address emerging climate change issues in natural resource management. Last year, more than 150 participants participated in a survey to identify topics for a collaborative synthesis effort that... Read More
AFS joined with a number of organizations and professional societies in calling for support of the Forest Service’s Research and Development (R&D) program to improve the future health and sustainability of the nation’s forests and grasslands for the benefits to forests, wildlife, and fish. In a letter to Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member... Read More
45 Members of the Senate have signed a letter supporting “robust funding” for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grant program in the fiscal year 2019 federal budget. The ‘Dear Colleagues’ letter was delivered to Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Ranking Member Tom Udall (D-N.M.) of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.... Read More
On April 12, AFS and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hosted a roundtable discussion with congressional staff on impacts on inland fish from extreme weather events like hurricanes, flood, drought, and forest fires. USGS scientists cautioned that as these extreme events increase in frequency and severity they will have significant ecological consequences for inland fisheries and... Read More
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking input on the appropriate contents of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Pebble Mine project and has extended the deadline to submit comments to June 29, 2018. The objective of the scoping is to identify specific elements of the environment that might be affected by the Pebble... Read More
When I started my career in politics a little over 20 years ago, Google was in beta, mobile phones came in a bag, and dial‐up Internet was de rigueur. Newsletters were still transmitted via fax machine. Smartphones and social media were the stuff of dreams. In those two decades, significant advances in technology have transformed the... Read More
