Policy News
AFS has long supported increased funding for the U.S Geological Survey’s National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) and Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units (CRUs). Both programs received a significant funding boost in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, signed into law last Friday. The CASCs will receive roughly $38.4 million, a more than... Read More
The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee on December 5, positioning it for a vote on the House floor. The bill would fund proactive conservation efforts to prevent species from becoming endangered and would provide additional funding for species that are already listed. “Forty percent of aquatic species... Read More
By Chris Smith, Wildlife Management Institute The Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap is now available on the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) website. The Roadmap provides practical, non-prescriptive guidance agencies can use to adapt to ongoing changes in the social, ecological, and economic context for fish and wildlife conservation. These changes include accelerated... Read More
December 17, 2019 – The bipartisan National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnership Act (H.R. 1747), introduced by U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), passed in the U.S. House of Representatives as part of a broader package of natural resource legislation last week. The bill also advanced through the Senate in the Committee on Environment and Public... Read More
House Bill Addressing America’s Wildlife Crisis Gains 150+ Bipartisan Cosponsors More than one-third of all wildlife species in the United States are at-risk or vulnerable to extinction — and now more than one-third of the members of the House agree on a solution. WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a bipartisan House bill aimed... Read More
Analysis and transcript of U.S. Supreme Court oral arguments and questions in County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund, including topics addressed in the aquatic science societies’ amicus brief. SCOTUSblog analysis: https://www.scotusblog.com/2019/11/argument-analysis-context-trumps-text-as-justices-debate-reach-of-clean-water-act/ Nina Totenberg’s report on NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/06/776968335/supreme-court-justices-searching-for-a-compromise-in-major-environmental-case Oral argument transcript: https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2019/18-260_m6hn.pdf Read More
On November 6, the Supreme Court heard a case (County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund) to determine whether the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction extends to the regulation of pollutants through groundwater flows. The Clean Water Act was intended regulate point source discharges of pollutants to maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the... Read More
PDF version October 21, 2019 Administrator Andrew Wheeler Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20460 Submitted via regulations.gov RE: Comments on Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405 Dear Administrator Wheeler, On behalf of our millions of members and supporters, the undersigned hunting, fishing, and conservation groups write in opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s... Read More
PDF version of letter October 21, 2019 Mr. Andrew R. Wheeler Acting Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460 Via regulations.gov Re: Submission of Comments to EPA regarding the proposed rule “Updating Regulations on Water Quality Certification” (84 FR 44080; Docket Number EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0405-0025) Dear Administrator Wheeler: On behalf of the... Read More
For Immediate Release October 17, 2019 Contact: Drue Banta Winters, 504-220-7868, [email protected] Caroline Murphy, 301-897-9770 x 308, [email protected] More than 1,000 Scientists Call for Proactive Conservation; Urge Passage of Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Today, more than 1,000 scientists from every state along with several territories and tribes sent a letter to members of Congress urging... Read More
