Press Releases

Last week the conservation community lost a fierce champion of fish and wildlife conservation. Congressman Don Young was the longest-serving member of the current Congress and an influential advocate for conservation policy. Young served the Congress since 1973 and was serving his 25th term and 49th year as Alaska’s only Member of the United States House of Representatives.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is pleased to see the first ever economic analysis of how America’s hunters and sport shooters contribute to national and state economies for all 50 states and their legislative districts. This report was released last week by the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, and showcases recreational hunters and sport shooters contributed $149 billion to the national economy, supported nearly 970,000 jobs and created over $45 billion in wages and income in 2020.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies enthusiastically commends the Senate for confirming the nomination of Martha Williams, who will serve as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). On February 17, 2022, the Senate confirmed the former Director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, by voice vote.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is excited to see over $1.5 Billion in annual funding available through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program to support state and local outdoor recreational opportunities, and wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. The WSFR program works with states, insular areas and the District of Columbia to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, their habitats, and the hunting, sport fishing and recreational boating opportunities they provide.

Yesterday, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies was pleased to witness the House Committee on Natural Resources markup to advance bills that protect our rivers and restore our wildlife populations, including Recovering Americas Wildlife Act (H.R. 2773). The Association applauds Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Ranking Member Bruce Westerman (R-AR) for their leadership in bringing H.R. 2773 up for a full committee markup and looks forward to working with members of the committee to advance this important legislation that has 151 bipartisan cosponsors toward final passage in the House.

On Dec. 6, 2021, a new Landscape Conservation Joint Task Force was established during a signing ceremony at the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Executive Committee Meeting. The establishment of this Task Force is the next step in landscape conservation collaboration to foster even stronger relationships. Long-term collaboration between the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the states will provide the necessary durable foundation for working together more effectively with Tribes, other agencies, landowners, conservation organizations and other partners so essential for balancing and implementing landscape-scale conservation in a sustainable manner for the future. The Task Force outlined in the Charter will examine what is working and what is not and make recommendations to stitch together a collaborative approach.

Today, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies was pleased to testify before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) legislative hearing in support of The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (S.2372). The Association applauds Chairman Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Capito (R-WV) for their leadership in bringing S.2372 to the committee and help to advance this important legislation. The Association would also like to thank EPW members Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Kelly (D-AZ), Senator Padilla (D-CA), Senator Stabenow (D-MI), Senator Boozman (R-AR), Senator Cramer (R-ND), Senator Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Graham (R-SC) for their committee support and co-sponsorship of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, in addition to the other 32 bipartisan Senate co-sponsors.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies enthusiastically commends Congress for passing the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR 3684), which will support fish and wildlife resources and ecosystem resiliency while driving economic recovery and creating high quality jobs through new and reauthorized conservation programs. Last week Friday, November 5, 2021, the House passed the bill, sending this historic legislation to the President’s desk for enactment.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (Association) commends Congress and the White House for their continued commitment to improving fish and wildlife habitat and habitat connectivity. By including critical conservation priorities within pending legislative packages, they have once again reaffirmed their commitment to empowering state and federal agencies to conserve and restore healthy habitats and species for future generations.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies strongly supports introduction of the Stop the Spread of Invasive Mussels Act (H.R. 5692), which will strengthen partnerships between state and federal agencies in the fight against aquatic invasive species. Sponsored by Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA) and Mark Amodei (R-NV), this bipartisan legislation would grant federal agencies the necessary authority to carry out inspection and decontamination of recreational watercraft within their jurisdictions while coordinating with state fish and wildlife agencies.