Refuge Association Activity
In November, the National Wildlife Refuge Association continued to advocate for increased appropriations for the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in fiscal year (FY) 2023. We led a letter signed by 62 organizations, including 17 Refuge Friends organizations, to appropriators requesting at least the funding levels of $574 million included in the House-passed version of the Department of the Interior Appropriations bill, and we signed a group letter requesting increased funding for environmental agencies that goes well above simply keeping pace with inflation.
Snow Goose on Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota | Liz Julian / USFWS
We have also begun conversations with the Biden Administration to prepare for FY2024. We met with leaders from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to discuss how we can work more effectively together to receive more funding from Congress. The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), a diverse coalition chaired by the National Wildlife Refuge Association, also met with the White House Office of Management and Budget to request an increased allocation in the President’s FY2024 Budget Request.
Following the devastating impacts of Hurricane Ian on the Refuge System, we worked with USFWS personnel on the ground to understand the damage costs and additional costs for mitigation against future natural disasters. We sent a letter to appropriators requesting additional funding to address this damage, as well as funding to address other natural disasters that have impacted the Refuge System in FY2022. We also signed a group letter to appropriators asking for public lands disaster relief to be included in the disaster relief portion of the FY2023 appropriations bill.
Damage to boardwalk at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida | USFWS
Apart from our appropriations work, we have also been active on issues impacting specific national wildlife refuges. We signed a group letter that supports retaining provisions in the House and Senate Homeland Security appropriations bills that provide funding to federal land management agencies for remediation from damage caused by border wall construction and expand uses of previously appropriated border wall funding to also allow remediation from damage.
We have also continued our work to protect the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge via litigation to reverse a land exchange that would allow a road through the biological heart of the refuge. In a recent win, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a rehearing en banc of the split-panel decision that allowed the land exchange. In addition, we continue to urge Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Deb Haaland, to use her authority to ultimately rescind the land exchange agreement.
Prairie dog outside its burrow at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico | USFWS
On the proposed SunZia Southwest Transmission Project that proposes to cross the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, we have continued to express our concerns about the project’s potential impact on wildlife to the Bureau of Land Management and the developers, insisting that a compatibility determination is required for a project of this magnitude.
Lastly, CARE has approved the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers to join the coalition, increasing our member organizations to 24.
What’s Ahead
Congress is continuing budget package negotiations for FY2023 government funding, but there is increasing concern about meeting the December 16th deadline, as Congress has yet to agree on topline spending numbers. A Continuing Resolution (CR) may be needed to allow another week to reach a deal, but House Republicans are lobbying for another CR until next year, when they will assume control of the chamber. This must-pass omnibus package provides the potential for moving other policies members want to move during lame duck, particularly an environmentally problematic permitting reform package Senator Manchin is pushing.
It is looking unlikely that the debt ceiling will come into play, instead pushing that fight to next year. Congress is also looking to wrap up negotiations on the FY2023 defense authorization bill, which is expected to carry a host of energy and environment priorities.
How You Can Help
Visit our Action Center before the CR runs out on December 16 to help urge your representatives in Congress to increase appropriations for the National Wildlife Refuge System in FY2023!
Also, be sure to tune in to our next webinar for Refuge Friends on December 21st at 2 pm ET to learn about the staffing challenges facing the National Wildlife Refuge System and how you can help advocate for more funding to address these challenges in FY2024.