Teaming with Wildlife Update

One-Year-Later Conference a Great Success

Earlier this month, from July 30 - August 2, the State Wildlife Action Plans' One-Year-Later Conference drew an amazing 175 participants! Wildlife diversity program managers and planners, state agency leadership, federal agency partners and non-governmental organizations gathered at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown , WV from nearly every state. Even the territory of the Northern Mariana Islands attended!

The conference began with inspiring remarks from Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett, Jim Martin of the Berkeley Conservation Institute, USFWS Director Dale Hall and incoming Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies President and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Director Ed Parker, among many others. Breakout sessions covered everything from action plan prioritization to integration, and from monitoring to GIS tools and climate change. However, the over-arching theme of the conference was partnerships.

"It was incredible to see the willingness to participate in making the action plans work for everyone and in every state," said Naomi Edelson. "Implementing the action plans is not only a priority of the state fish and wildlife agencies. Many more are stepping up to ensure their success and full integration nationwide."

The conference closed with a stirring reminder that none of this would have been possible without the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition efforts that created State Wildlife Grants. We'll need an even stronger coalition to support implementation in the years ahead.

For more information visit Teaming with Wildlife's online Agenda, Powerpoint Presentations, and Group Breakout Discussion Notes from the One-Year-Later Conference. For access to more about the conference, contact Rebecca Brooke at rbrooke@fishwildlife.org.

Senators Introduce Dedicated Wildlife Funding Amendment

Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Jim Talent (R-MO), working with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, took a bold symbolic step by introducing an amendment to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (S.3711) in the U.S. Senate (Association press release). Their amendment would have dedicated a percentage of federal oil and gas revenues to states for fish and wildlife conservation programs, including implementation of the state wildlife action plans.

For the moment, this step is purely symbolic as no amendments were allowed and the overall bill seems unlikely to move, but this marks an important milestone for dedicated wildlife funding.

“For years now we have stood by and watched as wild places and threatened species disappear,” said Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD), one of the amendment's sponsors. “The time has come to take action. While we cannot replenish the global oil supply, we can reinvest in our natural resources by using this revenue to fund wildlife conservation. We'll just keep trying to establish the funds needed to keep our wildlife and natural areas healthy.”

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recently polled wildlife advocates, showing that 87 percent strongly support setting aside a portion of existing fees on oil and gas drilling for wildlife conservation. Stay tuned as Teaming explores other dedicated funding opportunities in the months ahead! 

Take Action: Speak Up at Cooperative Conservation Listening Sessions

At the One-Year-Later Conference, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced that numerous references to the state wildlife action plans would be included in the draft cooperative conservation legislation to be circulated at listening sessions around the nation in August. These sessions are a great opportunity to show the great actions the plans put forth, and creates a platform for a call for increased appropriations and dedicated funding the wildlife action plans need for implementation to conserve wildlife and natural areas.

The cooperative conservation legislation is an opportunity to advance the goals of the Department of the Interior's (DOI) model of cooperative conservation. First, the bill would legally establish a number of programs that are currently carried out under multiple general authorities. Second, the bill would provide the Secretary of the Interior with increased flexibility to enter into partnerships with private individuals, companies, organizations, and government entities to achieve conservation goals; promote conservation partnership capabilities; and resolve environmental and natural resources disputes by fostering collaborative problem solving and alternative dispute resolution.

Teaming with Wildlife Coalition urges its members to use the opportunity to attend a listening session, and applaud the inclusion of action plans. Of the eight original planned listening sessions around the country, there are a few more left. Here's a list of the sessions left for this month:

-- Jefferson City, Missouri, 9 a.m., August 29, 2006, venue under review

-- Enid, Oklahoma, 1 p.m., August 30, 2006, Cherokee Strip Conference Center, Pinner Hall

-- Redding, California , 10 a.m., September 13, 2006, Cascade Theatre

Additional venues are expected and will be posted at: http://www.cooperativeconservation.gov/

Help Needed in Reaching Record Number of Endorsements

This month, Teaming with Wildlife passed a major milestone, achieving more than 4,000 coalition members for the first time! However, Teaming with Wildlife and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies are confident that this number will keep growing as it works toward the goal of 100 new endorsements in every state by the Annual Meeting on September 18.

To help Teaming with Wildlife reach its coalition goals, try the following:

1. Check the national coalition list online to ensure your organization or business (or others you work with) is listed properly. If not, you can endorse or update your information with a simple form online, or if you have further questions, call Naomi Edelson at 202/ 624 -7890.

2. Please send any endorsements to teaming@fishwildlife.org (Fax: 202-624-7891) as soon as possible. The Annual Meeting is fast approaching!

3. Help spread the word!  Send this email on to at least ten organizations or businesses you work with by the end of this week and ask them to send it on to another five.

4. If you represent a group with chapters and/or organizational members, Teaming needs your help to get the word out. It's as simple as sending an email or letter to the leaders of these chapter and organization leaders. Please let Naomi Edelson (nedelson@fishwildlife.org) know if you need our help creating something more customized for your organization.