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Recovering America’s Wildlife Act passes the House of Representatives

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Press Release


Reno, NV (June 14, 2022) — 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.

“The bipartisan passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act affirms that there is consensus across the political spectrum that we can, and we must, prevent extinctions from our backyards to the backcountry,” said Collin O’Mara, president, and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Inaction is the ally of extinction, and the time to act is now.”

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.

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About Nevada Wildlife Federation: Nevada Wildlife Federation is a 501(c)3 and is the oldest statewide conservation organization dedicated to sustaining Nevada’s natural resources for wildlife through conservation, preservation, and education.