MICHIGAN (April 7, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee voted to advance the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act with a 15-5 vote. This significant wildlife conservation bill dedicates $1.3 billion for states and territories and $97.5 million to tribal nations annually for proactive, on-the-ground conservation projects for the benefit of birds and other wildlife.

The bill is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators including Sen. Stabenow (D-MI), Sen Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Duckworth (D-IL).

Marnie Urso, Senior Policy Director for Audubon Great Lakes issued the following statement in response the bill’s advancement in Congress, and is available for public comment:

“We are in the midst of an extinction crisis. Scientists tell us that we’ve lost 3 billion birds since 1970 and that two-thirds of North American bird species are at risk of extinction due to climate change.

One species, the Black Tern has experienced a dramatic population decline over the past 50 years and is struggling to survive in Michigan and across the Great Lakes region. This spring, as the Black Tern embarks on its long migration to our region’s coastal and inland marshes, Audubon Great Lakes is working to restore critical wetland habitat by removing invasive plants that prevent the vulnerable species from successfully nesting. Conservation projects like these are critical to protecting the places that birds and other wildlife need.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will dramatically scale up conservation work to protect vulnerable species. State Wildlife Action Plans, which are incredibly important in keeping species from becoming endangered, are severely underfunded. This bill will ensure that states have the funding to fully implement their plans for the protection of wildlife and our natural resources.

Investing in conservation work is good for wildlife and people. It is estimated that the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will create over 30,000 jobs and generate over $93 billion in total economic activity.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is the bold initiative we need to address the crisis facing birds. Audubon Great Lakes thanks EPW Committee members Sen. Stabenow (D-MI) and Sen. Duckworth (D-IL) for voting to advance this important wildlife conservation funding.

Audubon Great Lakes urges Congress to pass this important bill.”

About Audubon Great Lakes

Audubon Great Lakes is a regional office of National Audubon Society. Learn more on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive.

TO REQUEST AN INTERVIEW: Emily Osborne, emily.osborne@audubon.org, 414-841-5273