news

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Natural Resources Committee passed Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). Led by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), RAWA has broad support of conservation and sportsmen’s leaders. This bipartisan legislation would help promote and enhance our nation’s conservation efforts, and ensure the long-term health of fish and wildlife throughout the country.

RAWA is the most signification investment in wildlife and habitat conservation in a generation. The bill would dedicate roughly $1.4 billion to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program for proactive, voluntary efforts led by the states, territories and tribal nations to prevent vulnerable wildlife from becoming endangered.

“We are in the midst of an unprecedented biodiversity crisis. RAWA is a landmark change in the way we finance fish and wildlife conservation. Without action the list of federally threatened and endangered species will grow from nearly 1,600 species today to thousands more in the future,” said Dingell. “Thank you to my partner in this effort Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Chairman Grijalva for advancing this significant investment, and the broad coalition that has gotten us to this point.”

“RAWA is the single most exciting public policy development in conservation in decades. It protects ecosystems, enhances community, supports recreation. It’s why we have a diverse group of persons, from across the political spectrum–– sportsmen, hunters, anglers, birdwatchers ––aligned so beautifully around this bill,” said Fortenberry.

“Protecting endangered and threatened species is not optional if we want our world to stay a livable place,” said Chairman Grijalva. “Climate change is getting worse, and the Trump administration is handing over public lands to corporate interests as fast as possible. This bill reduces pressure on our wildlife and gives us a chance to rebuild a more sustainable relationship with the natural world. I thank Rep. Dingell for pushing this so hard at such a critical time for our country and our planet.”

“Right now, more than one-third of all wildlife species in the United States are at heightened risk of extinction—and demand immediate conservation attention. The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is the most significant piece of wildlife legislation since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Thanks to the incredible leadership of Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Rep. Jared Huffman, Chair Raul Grijalva, and more than 150 additional bipartisan cosponsors, this historic bill is making critical progress in the House and is showing that even in these divided times, wildlife conservation can bring all Americans together.” 

“The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act represents a historical opportunity to complement the crucial contributions that our nation’s hunters, anglers and recreational shooters continue to invest in fish and wildlife conservation,” said Jeff Crane, President of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “As Vice-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, Congresswoman Dingell’s efforts to move this landmark legislation in a bipartisan fashion demonstrates her steadfast commitment to ensuring that state fish and wildlife agencies have the resources needed to drive on-the-ground species conservation for the benefit of all Americans.”

“By investing in proactive conservation, we can take action toward restoring and managing the most imperiled species within our states’ borders and ensuring future generations can enjoy our valuable natural resources,” said Secretary Kelly Hepler of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “The Association greatly appreciates the Chairman’s and Ranking Member’s leadership in bringing the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act to the attention of the Committee for markup and in advancing H.R. 3742.”

The text of RAWA is available here. Fact sheets from the National Wildlife Federation is available here, and from Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife here. In October, the Natural Resources Committee held a legislative hearing on RAWA, you can read more about that hearing here.

Dingell and Fortenberry first introduced the bill in 2017 based on a recommendation from a panel of conservation and business leaders. The Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, a group of national business and conservation leaders co-chaired by Bass Pro Shops founder John L. Morris and former Wyoming governor Dave Freudenthal, convened in 2015 to recommend a new mechanism to sustainably fund fish and wildlife conservation. In March, 2016, the Panel recommended creating a $1.3 billion dedicated funding stream to support implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

Without a change in the way we finance fish and wildlife conservation, the list of federally threatened and endangered species is expected to grow from nearly 1,600 species today to thousands more in the future. The new dedicated funding created by the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered to ensure the long-term health of all fish and wildlife that provide countless hours of outdoor enjoyment for the nation’s citizens.

Built on the premise that the best way to save America’s wildlife is through collaborative, proactive, on-the ground conversation, RAWA would help recover 12,000 species considered in need, including more than 1,600 species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

About the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act:

·         The bill will fund conservation efforts for more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of assistance by providing $1.397 billion in dedicated annual funding for proactive, on-the-ground efforts in every state and territory.

·         The bill will hasten the recovery of 1,600 U.S. species already listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

·         Wildlife recovery efforts will be guided by the Congressionally-mandated State Wildlife Action Plans, which identify specific strategies to restore the populations of species of greatest conservation need.

·         Tribal Nations would receive $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation efforts on roughly 140 million acres of land.

·         The bill complements the highly successful Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson) and Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson), which have facilitated the state-led recovery of a range of large mammals, game birds, and sportfish that faced potential extinction last century.

·         A 2018 report, Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife, found that one-third of America’s wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction. More than 150 U.S. species have already gone extinct and an additional 500 species have not been seen in recent decades and are regarded as possibly extinct.

·         Last session’s House bill (H.R. 4647) garnered 117 cosponsors with both parties strongly represented.

###