News
In a significant move for conservation advocacy on Capitol Hill, the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus (CWRC) of the 118th Congress has been reconstituted, signaling an expansion of this vital bipartisan group. Established in 2006, the CWRC plays a crucial role in fortifying, protecting, and preserving the National Wildlife Refuge System. The reconstitution of the caucus reflects a growing bipartisan commitment to addressing the challenges faced by the Refuge System.
It’s time to celebrate because it’s National Wildlife Refuge Week! Nationwide, we highlight and share the numerous wonders and significance of the National Wildlife Refuge System throughout the second full week of October annually. In celebration of Refuge Week, two major events have occurred further emphasizing the importance of national wildlife refuges: the Department of Interior marked two new locations as national wildlife refuges in Wyoming and Tennessee and the introduction of congressional resolutions designating the week of October 8th to 14th to be National Wildlife Refuge Week. How amazing! If you haven’t had a chance yet, the National Wildlife Refuge Association invites you to celebrate Refuge Week with us by downloading our toolkit and spreading the word about the Refuge System!
The National Wildlife Refuge Association recently named Libby Marking as the Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy. Libby will work closely with Congress and the Administration to promote federal conservation funding and policy affecting the National Wildlife Refuge System. She also will lead the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association strongly supports the language released yesterday by the House of Representatives in their Build Back Better reconciliation bill that repeals the disastrous oil and gas development program on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This bill also buys back the leases that were improperly sold in January to ensure they will be canceled. The language included in the bill would repeal the creation of the oil and gas program included in the 2017 Tax Act, repeal the addition of an oil and gas program as a “purpose of the refuge”, and buy back the leases sold in the last minute sale before the change of administrations.
President Joe Biden has nominated Martha Williams to be the 23rd Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge Association is proud to support Martha Williams, who has been acting as Director since January 20th, and looks forward to supporting her confirmation in the Senate.
Last night, under pressure from both sides of the aisle and with unemployment benefits lapsing and a government shutdown looming, President Trump signed the huge, 5,000+ page omnibus bill/COVID relief bill into law. This bill was passed last week by both chambers of Congress, and we have been waiting on news that the President would sign it into law.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association congratulates Representative Deb Haaland (NM-1) on her historic nomination as Secretary of the Interior. We are thrilled to welcome Rep. Haaland to this position, for which she is uniquely qualified and well prepared. As the vice chair of the Natural Resources Committee and chair of the Public Lands Subcommittee, she has been instrumental in implementing conservation policy during her tenure in Congress.
The National Wildlife Refuge System, which is administered by the Interior Department, manages 850 million acres of lands and waters. The System stretches from the islands of the Pacific Ocean to the 16 refuges in Alaska, throughout the 20 million acres in the Lower 48, to the underwater canyons and seamounts of the Atlantic and the sunny beaches and lush forests of the Caribbean. These lands and waters are the largest protected area for wildlife on Earth, and yet are drastically underfunded and understaffed.
We look forward to working with Rep. Haaland, who will be the first Native American ever to hold the position of Interior Secretary. The Refuge System by its very nature adjoins tribal lands, contains sacred sites, and provides habitat for native plants and wildlife that people depend upon, particularly in the Southwest and Alaska. We are extremely pleased to have a Secretary who values and treasures the wildlife of all Refuge System lands and waters, and will protect it for all generations of Americans.
The National Wildlife Refuge System encompasses more than 850 million acres of lands and waters across America’s 568 National Wildlife Refuges, including 5 Marine National Monuments. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for managing these lands and is expected to fulfill its obligation to the Refuge System’s 59 million annual visitors and diverse wildlife on a budget of a mere 59¢ per acre, a fraction of what other land agencies receive per acre. For comparison, the National Park Service receives $31 per acre for land management.
