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AFS Signs Joint Letter on USGS Cooperative Research Unit Funding

AFS joined with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Wildlife Management Institute, and The Wildlife Society in a letter to congressional appropriators to express support for the Cooperative Research Unit (CRU) program at the U.S. Geological Survey as they finalize the FY2019 Interior Appropriations bills.  The organizations requested funding for the CRUs at... Read More

AFS Recommendations for Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization Released

A new marine fisheries policy was approved by the AFS Governing Board Atlantic City in August to inform the proposed Congressional re-authorization and amendment of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management Act, the federal law that governs fisheries management in offshore waters. A special committee of prominent marine fisheries experts led by co-chairs, Tom Miller, University of... Read More

Magnuson‐Stevens: Continue to Support the Best Science

A new marine fisheries policy was approved by the AFS Governing Board Atlantic City in August to inform the proposed Congressional re‐authorization and amendment of the Magnuson‐Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), the federal law that governs fisheries management in offshore waters. Early this year, AFS President Steve McMullin empaneled a special committee of... Read More

Proposed Legislative and Regulatory Changes for Endangered Species

In mid-July, Senator John Barrasso (R.-Wyo.), Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released a “discussion draft” of a bill that seeks to amend the Endangered Species Act.  The committee held a hearing on July 17 to explore the proffered changes. The bill is largely based on the recommendations of the Western Governors Association for... Read More

Administration Flip Flops on Rationale for WOTUS Repeal

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

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Introduced in Senate

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

AQUAA Act Aquaculture Bill Introduced

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