The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a bill to prevent wildlife extinctions by funding locally-led conservation efforts.
If it becomes law, Nevada will receive around $24 million to help 256 species of concern, including the Desert Bighorn Sheep, Desert Tortoise, and the Lahontan cutthroat trout.
“This is the most important piece of wildlife legislation in the past fifty years,” said Kuhlman, Executive Director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “Wildlife in Nevada and across the country are in crisis and this bold, bipartisan bill will tackle the problem at scale without new taxes or regulations. The aye votes from Representatives Lee, Titus and Horsford will be a proud part of their legacy.”
Funding from the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will be used to implement the Congressionally mandated state wildlife action plans, which identify more than 12,000 wildlife and plants that need conservation assistance nationwide.
“Passage of this bill in the House is a giant step forward for wildlife and a reaffirmation that conservation transcends party lines and politics,” said Tony Wasley, Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
“We sincerely thank Congresswoman Dingell for her outstanding leadership and thanks to all those supporting the advancement of the bill today on the floor. We look forward to working with everyone on both sides of the aisle and the Capitol to get this bill across the finish line as soon as possible so we can begin the work of proactive wildlife conservation and habitat protection at the scale that is needed.”
The bill will also dedicate $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation efforts led by Native American Tribes. The nation’s 574 federally recognized Tribes manage tens of millions of acres of land nationwide with limited federal funding for conservation efforts.
“Tribes have thousands of years of traditional knowledge and a vested interest in solving the biggest challenges facing our fish and wildlife. The missing piece of the puzzle is adequate, sustained resources to build tribal capacity and support their conservation efforts,” explains Gloria Tom, Director of the Navajo Nation’s Fish and Wildlife Department. “The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would be an unprecedented step in providing those resources and rectifying historic funding inequity and injustice.”
The bill has strong bipartisan support in the Senate, with 35 cosponsors including Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen. The Senate bill would be paid for out of federal environmental penalties.
(The Nevada Wildlife Federation and NV Department of Wildlife assisted with this report.)
