Advocacy Update

By Libby Marking, Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy, National Wildlife Refuge Association

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations cycle is wrapping up soon, and the National Wildlife Refuge Association is now beginning to focus on increasing funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System in FY 2024. As a first step in this process, the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) recently sent a letter to President Biden with our funding request, signed by 57 partner organizations including 11 Refuge Friends organizations. The Refuge Association is also ramping up its efforts to bring attention to the dire staffing challenges on refuges as a result of chronic underfunding and has reached out to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service leaders to begin conversations on how to collaborate on addressing this issue.

In August, the Refuge Association submitted public comments on hunting and fishing regulations for several refuges, expressing support for phasing out lead ammunition and encouraging an expedited timeline. We also weighed in on the Inflation Reduction Act to attempt inserting an amendment that would provide funding to hire more staff for the Refuge System, similar to funding the National Park Service received in the bill. However, amendments were ultimately discouraged due to the tenuous nature of the legislation and our amendment was not considered.

The Keeping America’s Refuges Operational Act (H.R. 6734) recently passed the House and has been sent to the Senate for consideration. We are thankful to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for his efforts, as well as his staff, for continuing to advance this legislation. In addition, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and John Kennedy (R-LA) have introduced resolutions in their respective chambers designating the week of October 9, 2022 as “National Wildlife Refuge Week.” The Refuge Association thanks all Refuge Friends organizations that participated in uplifting national wildlife refuges during Refuge Week and the benefits refuges bring to wildlife and communities.