parallax background

Senator Cortez-Masto Supports Bipartisan Bill To Help At-Risk Wildlife

Representative Susie Lee Receives the First Annual Climate Change-Maker Award
April 4, 2022
Nevadans Call on Congress to Transition to Renewable Energy
May 25, 2022

Press Release


(RENO, Nev.) (May 9, 2022) — Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has joined Senator Jacky Rosen as a cosponsor of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a bill that will dedicate $1.4 billion annually to wildlife recovery efforts led by states and tribes.

“This is the most important piece of wildlife legislation we’ve seen in fifty years,” said Russell Kuhlman, the executive director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “The nation’s wildlife are in crisis. This bill will help Nevada’s vulnerable wildlife species including the sage grouse and desert tortoise while there is still time to make a difference. We are so grateful to Senator Cortez Masto for joining this bold, bipartisan effort to protect our wildlife heritage.”

The Senate bill has 34 cosponsors, nearly half of them Republicans. Three Nevada representatives – Republican Mark Amodei and Democrats Dina Titus and Steven Horsford – are among the more than 170 supporters of the House bill. The broad, bipartisan support suggests the bill has a real chance of passage this year.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will send around $24 million annually to the Nevada Department of Wildlife which the agency will use to benefit the 256 species identified in its wildlife action plan, including mule deer, bighorn sheep, and sage grouse.

“We are very appreciative of the support from Senator Cortez Masto for wildlife conservation,” said Tony Wasley, Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “As the latest cosponsor of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, she will be in an important position to join her colleagues in encouraging Senate Majority Leader Schumer to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. The passage of this historic bill will set a new course for our fish and wildlife that points toward proactive, collaborative conservation and recovery for the species that need it most.”

“Saving the thousands of at-risk wildlife species will require bold, bipartisan leadership and unprecedented collaboration,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We are so grateful to Senator Cortez Masto for leading the way on the historic Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.” The bill will also provide $97.5 in dedicated funding to the nation’s 574 federally-recognized tribes. Tribal Nations manage fish and wildlife populations on tens of millions of acres nationwide, including more than a million acres in Nevada.

“Wildlife conservation is an issue that unites all Americans. We are proud that Nevada is showing up for this historic piece of legislation. I’m increasingly optimistic that we are going to get this bill across the finish line in the next few months,” said Kuhlman.

#

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.