Bill would deliver $1.4 billion annually in support of landscape-level conservation efforts
The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) was re-introduced this week by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Thom Tillis (R-NC). If signed into law, RAWA would provide states, territories, and tribes $1.39 billion annually to help restore habitat and protect threatened species.
RAWA would deliver multi-faceted, positive implications for America’s wildlife resources. It would be the first time in U.S. history that permanent, dedicated funding would be set aside to conserve the full range of wildlife, including at-risk species, and the bill could generate as many as 33,600 jobs nationwide in fields ranging from construction to forestry.
“Passing RAWA would be a tremendous victory for conservation nationwide,” said Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever President and CEO Marilyn Vetter. “Permanent funding at this level would help bolster countless threatened species across the country, including bobwhite quail, lesser prairie chickens and monarch butterflies — all of which share critical habitat with other game and non-game species we hold dear.”
Bobwhite quail, in particular, would benefit from the bill’s passage. Bobwhite populations in the U.S. plunged by 85 percent from 1966 to 2014, and the species is among the 12,000 nationwide identified as species of concern. If passed, RAWA would help rebound as many of these species as possible before they are listed as threatened or endangered.
“I’ve been with the DNR for 27 years and before that I worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and this is by far the most important, game-changing piece of legislation that’s ever happened in my career,” said Cynthia Osmundson, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s nongame wildlife program supervisor. “It’s monumental on what it would mean for solidifying funding for wildlife biodiversity.”
Prior to last year’s midterms, the bill passed in the House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 230-190. It also passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in spring 2022 with a vote of 15-5. The bill is widely popular among voters. In a Data for Progress poll released in September 2022, 86 percent of respondents supported the bill —92 percent of democrats and 83 percent of republicans.