The Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a coalition of sportsmen’s and conservation groups that includes Ducks Unlimited, the Trust for Public Land and wildlife management agencies, published its Sportsmen’s Priorities Checklist last week highlighting conservation programs targeted for reductions under HR 1.
Here is their synopsis:
- Land and Water Conservation Fund: Funds to the LWCF, which has acquired and conserved some of the nation’s most popular public-lands hunting and angling destinations, would be cut by $393 million.
- Natural Resources Adaptation: The Department of the Interior’s natural resources adaptation programs, which are critical to fish and wildlife management efforts in the face of climate change, would be reduced by more than 30 percent.
- State and Tribal Wildlife Grants: These grants provide federal money to every state and territory for efforts aimed at preventing key fish and wildlife species from becoming endangered; funding, currently at $90 million, would be completely eliminated.
North American Wetlands Conservation Fund: A core program for conserving waterfowl and other migratory bird habitat, this partnership-based approach would be eradicated under the House proposal. - Wild Lands: The Department of the Interior would be prohibited from carrying out Secretarial Order 3310, which enables evaluation of BLM lands to achieve management objectives designed to conserve high-quality backcountry fish and wildlife habitat.
- Clean Water Act: The EPA would be prevented from using funds to implement, administer or enforce a change pertaining to definitions of waters under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act a modification that would restore conservation measures for millions of acres of wetlands and miles of waterways. These and other proposed reductions, including departmental cuts to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Services Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, could result in lasting effects to long-standing American conservation activities.
