Sacramento, CA (July 22, 2021) — New bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate will fund locally-led efforts to help prevent extinctions and help wildlife thrive nationwide. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will send approximately 59 million to California each year, which the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will use to help species of concern in California, such as mountain lions, steelhead trout, California condors, and humpback whales.

“Biodiversity protection should be our number one priority due to the multiple stressors our species face every day, such as climate change, habitat loss, lack of genetic diversity, safe migration routes, pollution, and invasive species,” said Howard Penn, executive director of PCL. “This important measure will provide much-needed funding to state agencies to protect the most vulnerable species from extinction and will create jobs restoring habitat that these species depend upon for survival.” 

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was just introduced in the Senate by Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) introduced a similar version of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act in the House in April.

“The historic, bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is by far the most important piece of wildlife legislation in the past half-century,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “At a time when more than one-third of wildlife species are at heightened risk of extinction, this critical legislation will help recover thousands of at-risk species through proactive, collaborative efforts in every state, territory, and Tribal nation, creating jobs while preventing extinctions. We applaud the incredible bipartisan leadership of Senator Heinrich and Senator Blunt, and their House partners Rep. Dingell and Rep. Fortenberry, who are all demonstrating once again that wildlife conservation can unite all Americans.”

Nationwide, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act dedicates $1.4 billion annually to locally-led wildlife restoration efforts, with most of the money going to wildlife agencies like the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who will use the money to implement existing plans for at-risk wildlife. At least 15 percent of the funds will be used to help species that are already considered endangered or threatened. Tribal Nations would share $97.5 million annually to fund wildlife conservation efforts on the tens of millions of acres under Tribal management nationwide.

 

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The Planning and Conservation League is an environmental nonprofit based in Sacramento whose mission is to protect and restore California’s natural environment and to promote and defend the health and safety of Californians through legislative and administrative action.

 

The National Wildlife Federation is America’s largest conservation organization uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly-changing world.