WASHINGTON, DC — A bill introduced last week into the U.S. House of Representatives may, if it passes, boost conservation efforts across the nation. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE).
“As we celebrate Earth Day and continue our work to combat the biodiversity crisis, bold solutions are needed to safeguard our nation’s wildlife from further decline,” Dingell said. “The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act represents a strong commitment to addressing the current biodiversity crisis using innovative, on-the-ground collaboration that will protect our nation’s environmental heritage for years to come.”
This bipartisan legislation will dedicate money to state fish and wildlife agencies to conserve rare and declining species by implementing previously created science-based wildlife action plans. The act also will devote additional funds for tribal fish and wildlife managers to conserve fish and wildlife on tribal lands and waters.
Every state has developed a wildlife action plan to identify species in need of additional efforts to prevent further population declines, but most states don’t have adequate funding to implement the strategies. Some species, such as eastern collared lizards, diana fritillary butterflies (Arkansas’s state butterfly), and a variety of songbirds, may not be recognizable by most Arkansans and often get left out of wildlife management conversations, but they actually are very important ecologically and serve as indicators of good habitat. When these species thrive, so do many others that are more recognizable, such as quail and turkeys. Other species on Arkansas’s Wildlife Action Plan include game animals such as northern bobwhite and American black duck. The plan also includes many pollinator species essential to agricultural crops throughout The Natural State. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and approximately 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators. Good habitat benefits a whole host of wildlife species and provides other benefits such as improved water quality.