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250 Conservation Organizations, Professional Societies, Outdoor Groups, and State Agencies Call for a House Vote on Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

February 24, 2020 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Capitol, H-204 Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy, As organizations collectively representing millions of Americans who enjoy the outdoors through hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, paddling, and gardening, as well as the state fish and wildlife agencies and other... Read More

AFS and Other Science Societies Request Extension of Comment Period for NEPA Overhaul

The U.S. Council on Environmental Quality recently released plans to substantially revise the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), one of the most important U.S. environmental laws. AFS and other science societies requested an extension of the comment period for these revisions. Comments can be submitted by March 10, 2020 at https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=CEQ-2019-0003-0001. American Fisheries Society ·... Read More

Aquatic Science Societies Criticize Revision of Definition of Waters of the US

American Fisheries Society ● Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation ● Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society International Association for Great Lakes Research ● North American Lake Management Society Phycological Society of America ●  Society for Freshwater Science ● Society of Wetland Scientists   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2020... Read More

USGS Coop Unit and Climate Adaptation Science Center Funding Boost

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

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Passes House Committee

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

Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap Helps Agencies Adapt to Change

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

Map of NFHP partnerships.

National Fish Habitat Partnership Act Passes House

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

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Reaches 150 Co-sponsors

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

Science Prominent in Maui Groundwater Supreme Court Oral Arguments and Questions

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