Press Releases

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies strongly supports the inclusion of the Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act (H.R. 4828) as part of the Moving Forward Act (H.R.2), which passed in the House of Representatives last week. This bipartisan legislation, originally introduced in the House in 2019 by Congressman Joe Cunningham (D-SC), along with Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA), Congressman Austin Scott (R-GA), Congressman Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI), would extend the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund through 2024.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies applauds the adoption of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act as an amendment to the Moving Forward Act, which passed today in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R.3742) will benefit the nation’s economy by creating as many as 33,500 new jobs annually, supporting future economic growth in the outdoor recreation sector through infrastructure improvements, and increase resiliency and recovery of imperiled species and their habitats. The Association would like to thank Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) for their leadership on this bill that has brought 182 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives together as cosponsors.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is pleased to see passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422) through the full Senate yesterday, with a majority vote of 73-25. This historic bipartisan conservation legislation would support State recreation and parks programs, facilitate public access to outdoor recreation on state and federal public lands, and help rebuild much needed federal infrastructure that supports hunting, fishing, boating, and other aspects of the outdoor recreation economy.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is pleased to see the National Fish Habitat Partnership program assist in providing more than $35 million to support 95 fish habitat conservation projects in 31 states. This year these projects represent nearly an 8-to-1 match for federal funding with partnership project funding from other sources. Collaborative partnerships between the state fish and wildlife agencies, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nongovernmental organizations, and other partners are key to implementing these conservation priority projects.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is excited to see the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s 2020 list of “Waters to Watch” representing a snapshot of voluntary, locally driven freshwater, estuarine and marine habitat conservation efforts implemented across the country. States are a key partner in implementing these conservation priorities.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies commends the support and leadership of Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Congressman Don Young (R-AK), who were joined by 220 of their colleagues on letters to the leadership of the U.S Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittees on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Interior Appropriations. The Senate and House letters, respectively, are in support of the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program which provides a critical investment to sustain our nation’s most vulnerable fish and wildlife. In the letters, Members urge the Subcommittees to provide the most robust funding possible for the Program.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is partnering with conservation leaders, including the National Wild Turkey Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, and Pheasants Forever to spearhead #ResponsibleRecreation, a media campaign encouraging Americans to enjoy outdoor recreation while adhering to proper COVID-19 safety protocol.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is currently soliciting recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) grant applications for the 2020 multistate conservation grant cycle. In December 2019, the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act was passed by Congress and expanded the multistate conservation grant program to include up to an additional $5 million annually, beginning with 2020, for Wildlife Restoration eligible grants as defined by the legislation. This legislation expanded the purpose of the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Fund to provide financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting and allows flexibility for state fish and wildlife agencies to use their P-R funds for the recruitment of sportsmen and women. During the now expanded multistate conservation grant program cycle, the Association will be placing priority on projects that serve to create a solid R3 infrastructure, with an additional focus on monitoring and evaluating the long-term impact of R3 efforts created through the Act, in addition to the delivery of R3 initiatives.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies applauds this week’s announcement by U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt of the Administration’s significant efforts to increase recreational access on public lands. The new proposed rule would expand hunting and fishing opportunities to Americans by opening 2.3 million acres to public access and would represent the largest expansion of land to hunting and fishing in the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nominations are now open for the Climate Adaptation Leadership Award which recognizes outstanding efforts to increase the resilience of America’s valuable living natural resources and the many people, businesses and communities that depend on them. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and its members and partners are seeking nominations from individuals, agencies, businesses and other organizations to recognize exemplary leadership by to reduce impacts and advance adaptation of the nation’s vital natural resources in a changing world.