House Passes the Bipartisan “Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act of 2022”

The Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act of 2022 (H.R. 6734) recently passed the House of Representatives and now heads to the Senate for consideration. In March, the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s former Vice President of Government Affairs, Caroline Brouwer, testified in support of the bill to the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.

This bill reauthorizes the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Community Partnership Enhancement Act (VCPEA). Originally enacted in 1998 and reauthorized in April 2018, this legislation enables the National Wildlife Refuge System to expand its volunteer programs and partner with community groups such as Refuge Friends organizations who increase public awareness of the natural, historical, and cultural resources of their local national wildlife refuge and the entire Refuge System.

The VCPEA also allows refuges to receive donations and other contributions from individuals, groups, or partner organizations, provides for expansion of volunteer programs, and streamlines administrative and contracting processes for partnership development. In an era where private public partnerships are allowing cash-strapped agencies to expand community programs and work with non-federal partners, this act helps both refuges and communities increase refuge educational programs and public awareness of the Refuge System and its resources.

The National Wildlife Refuge Association thanks Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and bipartisan cosponsors for their work to move this important bill forward. We look forward to working with the sponsors of the Senate companion bill (S. 4194), Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), to advance this bill through the Senate.