House passes Recovering America’s Wildlife Act: Bill heads to Senate

The House voted 231-190 on Tuesday to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a bipartisan conservation bill that will amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Act and provide $1.3 billion to assist in conserving, restoring, and protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat in territories and Tribal lands across the nation.

State, territory, and Tribal governments carry out most wildlife management and conservation through their State Wildlife Action Plans, but these plans depend on consistent, reliable federal funding. Currently, federal funding sources, like the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Act, are inadequate.

“As the world faces an unprecedented biodiversity crisis, we are taking action to provide much-needed funding for conservation of wildlife populations and habitats in our Commonwealth,” said Fourth District Democrat Donald McEachin. “RAWA will protect our endangered species, make wildlife conservation more effective and cost-efficient, boost our outdoor economy, and address climate change by building more resilient ecosystems. I am proud to support Virginia’s Wildlife Action Plan that will help preserve our beautiful ecosystems and wildlife for all Virginians, our children, and future generations to come.”

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would:

• Provide Tribes critical funding for wildlife conservation. RAWA provides a $97.5 million annual non-competitive Tribal Wildlife Conservation and Restoration grant program to assist Tribes in carrying out wildlife conservation and habitat restoration efforts.
• Protect threatened and endangered species. At least 15% of RAWA funding must be spent on species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act or are considered threatened or endangered under Tribal law.
• Make wildlife conservation more effective and cost-efficient. RAWA funding will help states, territories, and Tribes put conservation measures in place for species before they become threatened or endangered, making species protection less difficult and less costly. RAWA will also provide much-needed funding for non-hunted species.
• Address climate change by building more resilient ecosystems. State Wildlife Action Plans often include habitat restoration projects (e.g., removing invasive species, fighting wildlife disease) that simultaneously benefit forest, watershed, and coastal health. These improvements help make ecosystems more resilient to severe weather events caused by climate change, including wildfires, hurricanes, and drought.
• Boost the outdoor economy. By supporting wildlife conservation, RAWA funds will boost our $887 billion outdoor economy, which already supports over 7.6 million jobs and is fueled by more than 100 million American wildlife enthusiasts, hunters, anglers, birders, and hikers. A portion of the funds will also support wildlife education.

Read the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act fact sheet here.