This week was a momentous week for wildlife conservation and wildlife refuges on Capitol Hill! From the protection of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to funding for Refuge System Operations and Maintenance to the permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, we thank Congress for their hard work to support our nation’s public lands.
Desert National Wildlife Refuge:
On Tuesday July 21st, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which contained a provision to extend the withdrawal of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge with its current jurisdictional (‘status quo’) boundaries. This followed a tumultuous journey from the committee to the floor, when the future of the refuge was at risk. We thank the Nevada delegation, particularly Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) in whose district the refuge lies, for advocating for the protection of the refuge and insisting on changing the committee-passed language.
The Senate passed their version of the NDAA on Thursday July 23rd, also with status quo language.
However, even with both chambers passing language favorable to the Desert NWR, a conference committee will work through the fall to merge these two overall disparate bills. We will continue to request your help to ensure the Desert NWR stays intact with no jurisdictional or boundary changes.
Great American Outdoors Act:
On Wednesday, July 22nd, the House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act, the most impactful piece of conservation legislation in years. This follows Senate passage of an identical bill on June 17th. As both the House and Senate bills are identical, no conference committee is necessary, and the bill has been presented to the President for his signature.
First, this bill fully and permanently funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was created in 1965 to fund conservation out of offshore oil and gas revenues. Only twice in its history has the Fund been fully funded. Now, land acquisition will be funded in perpetuity at $900 million per year, with roughly $120 million potentially going to the Refuge System each year.
Second, the GAOA funds public lands maintenance backlogs. While we are disappointed that the Refuge System funding in this bill was cut at the last minute from 10% down to 5%, this bill will send $475 million over the 5-year life of the program to the Refuge System. Every single refuge in the System is in need of some kind of repairs, whether it is damaged boardwalks or unsafe trails or weathered signage or dilapidated buildings. This funding will cut the maintenance backlog by one-third, and we look forward to working with refuge staff to accomplish these goals.
An enormous thanks goes out to the Senators, Members, and staff who worked so hard on this bill. Many, many hours of hard work went into getting this bill across the finish line, and accomplishing great things for wildlife.
FY2021 Interior Appropriations Bill:
Today, July 24th, the House passed their version of the FY2021 Interior Appropriations Bill. Many great pieces of legislation are included in this bill, and we want to thank Chairwoman Betty McCollum for her tremendous work in protecting and enhancing wildlife refuges.
Included in the House language is an $8 million increase to Refuge System Operations and Maintenance, to $511 million. The Refuge Association has requested $586 million for FY2021, and we still believe a larger increase is essential. But an $8 million increase is sufficient to cover fixed and inflationary costs, thus preventing the Refuge System from having to make additional cuts to programs.
We are particularly thrilled about the language on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Included in the base bill from the subcommittee was a requirement to only hold a lease sale in the Arctic NWR if the leases reached a minimum bid. A floor amendment from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), which passed, prohibits a lease sale in the Refuge completely.
The Senate has yet to release any bill language, and we have not heard of any potential dates for such release. So we fully expect Congress to fund the government starting on October 1, 2020 (the first day of FY2021) by a Continuing Resolution through November or December. Once the election occurs and we know what the political makeup of the Presidency and Congress will be in 2021, we will know more about the future of the Arctic Refuge and O&M funding.