Would allocate additional funds to tribal
wildlife programs
By Jessianne Castle EBS ENVIRONMENTAL & OUTDOORS EDITOR
BOZEMAN – In
the early 1900s, many notable wildlife species were disappearing. Wolves were
nearly eliminated from the Lower 48 by the mid-century, the abundant grizzly
bears witnessed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition had been siloed into less
than 2 percent of their historical range, and the passenger pigeon, once the
most abundant bird in North America, was officially declared extinct.
Citizens of
the United States took note, and in 1937, legislation was enacted that is now
known as the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration, intended to create funding
for conservation. Also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, this bill imposes an
excise tax on the sale of firearms, bows, arrows and ammunition, generating
revenue that is ultimately doled out among the nation’s state wildlife
agencies—the entities responsible for overseeing management of the nation’s
wildlife. Those dollars are then applied to qualified wildlife or public access
projects and hunter education programs.
There’s a
catch though: The funding is legally targeted at game and sportfish species,
meaning that projects to help westslope cutthroat trout or bighorn sheep
qualify, but wildlife agencies largely lack the funds to conserve nongame
species like songbirds or bats.
In July
2019, a bill known as Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was introduced by U.S.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) that
would amend the Pittman-Robertson Act so as to provide an additional $1.3
billion in annual funds specifically for use in conservation projects for
species of greatest conservation need and species listed under the Endangered
Species Act, as well as key habitats and plants. Animals recently delisted from
the Endangered Species Act would have dedicated funding to ensure they don’t
end up back on the list.
This
bipartisan legislation, currently working its way through the House of
Representatives, would also make available $97.5 million annually to tribal
wildlife agencies; this aspect of the act is a new addition to a similar piece
of failed legislation introduced in 2018.
If passed,
the bill would allocate dollars from the U.S. Treasury fund and would require a
25 percent non-federal match in order for a project to qualify.
In a joint
statement released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Martha Williams
and Rich Janssen, director of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Natural Resources Department, the wildlife managers spoke on the importance of
interagency cooperation, noting that additional funds generated by the new
legislation would aid in this effort.
“Fish
and wildlife don’t see government borders, and the state of Montana
shares authority to manage wildlife with Montana’s tribal nations,”
Williams and Janssen said. “Joint management is complicated and requires
careful coordination, and is not only worth it, but the only way we can protect
the resources that are so important to us all.
“The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would
expand the ability of FWP and CSKT to take conservation action for many fish
and wildlife species that have been traditionally overlooked,” they
added. “Working together, we could help prevent more of
Montana’s wildlife from becoming endangered.”
According to
a press release by FWP, use of the new funds, of which the agency could see as
much as $26 million, would be guided by the
State Wildlife Act Plan, direction from the citizen commission
and legislative approval.
“Imagine a
source of funding that allows states to better steward wildlife and
habitat so that the species won’t need the protection of the Endangered
Species Act,” Williams said. “Imagine a renewed focus on partnerships
in wildlife education so that we can help get kids outside. Or even,
imagine Montana having the funds to best steward the resources that make Montana
so special.”
While more than 1,000 businesses and conservation organizations from across the nation have endorsed passage of the Recovering America’s Fish and Wildlife Act in a letter, some have raised concerns that the legislation is not enough, as the bill requires only a minimum of 10 percent of the funding apportioned to the agencies to be used in the recovery of federally threatened or endangered species.
According to a statement issued on behalf of Defenders of
Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity, “Given the extinction crisis
our planet now faces, Congress must enact legislation that would guarantee
significant funding to combat extinction and to conserve imperiled species.
While the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act includes new funding for imperiled
wildlife and habitat conservation, the bill does not focus sufficient resources
on the most imperiled species, those listed under the Endangered Species Act.
“It would be a terrible lost opportunity if Congress were
to create a historic new funding stream for wildlife that doesn’t strongly
respond to the existential threat facing the more than 1,600 species listed as
threatened or endangered in the United States.”
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act currently
has more than 135 cosponsors, both Democrats and Republicans, and is making
progress in the House of Representatives.
