Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Millions of Americans visit wildlife refuges each year.

It’s Halloween and Congress is eyeing some downright scary cuts to vital wildlife conservation programs as part of its budget cutting frenzy. But while these programs may seem like easy targets for cuts, there is a lot more to the story.

Hundreds of thousands of people have jobs because the federal government funds programs like National Parks and the National Wildlife Refuge System. And everyone who visits these special places—to hike, photograph, hunt, fish, camp, bike, etc—spends money on their chosen method of recreation. So when you cut funding for wildlife conservation programs like wildlife refuges, it’s important for Congress to remember that you also risk losing jobs and further hindering our economic recovery in addition to the damage done to our natural heritage, damage that will be costlier to repair later than it is to prevent now.

This week, citizens from across the nation are coming to Washington D.C. to remind lawmakers on Capitol Hill of this very fact.  And the leaders of many groups, including Defenders of Wildlife, are meeting with members of Congress.  Groups are also running ads in key Capitol Hill media outlets and holding a reception to further our message.

Congress will never be able to come close to balancing the budget by cutting funding for wildlife conservation programs.

And what is that message? Simple: wildlife conservation and wildlife-related activities are big business. In 2006, the total contribution from outdoor recreation—hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, camping, skiing, and bicycling—in the United States was over $730 billion a year. That translates into about 6,435,000 U.S. jobs and $88 billion in federal and state tax revenues.

Indeed, the main engine driving the economy of many local communities in and around national parks, wildlife refuges, and other federal conservation areas is wildlife-related tourism and activity. Just visit any small town or city around wildlife refuges, national parks and other outdoor recreation areas and you will see what I mean.

Moreover, these programs are an investment. Funding these programs and conserving wildlife now is a lot cheaper  and smarter than rescuing imperiled animals down the road, when their numbers plummet and the situation becomes critical or restoring degraded lands allowed to deteriorate without basic maintenance support. That’s when more drastic and costly measures are needed; similar to repairing a bridge now vs. replacing the bridge after it collapses. Sadly, this simple equation seems to escape some in Congress, many of whom are the first to complain when the bridge collapses.

Congress will never be able to come close to balancing the budget by cutting funding for wildlife conservation programs. Yet there are some in Congress who would target these programs first. They do so not out some long term fealty to fiscal discipline, but largely because they never valued these conservation programs to begin with.  Many would rather promote increased oil and gas drilling, logging, and development; the economic downturn just gives them the excuse they needed to defund wildlife programs they have long held in low regard.

But doing so is extremely short-sighted. Wildlife conservation is not a luxury, it’s an investment and a key building block of what makes our country healthy and strong. Yes, when you conserve wildlife you are preserving a key slice of our natural heritage for future generations. But you are also preserving jobs and helping to keep the economic engine that keeps so many local, hard-hit communities running. And you are making a smart money play, chipping in now to avoid having to pay more later.

These are tough budgetary times and everyone should be expected to sacrifice a little. But in our zeal to cut, let’s not let those who oppose federal environmental protections in general use this crisis as an excuse to slash wildlife conservation programs that are both a smart economic investment and a down payment on the preservation of our natural heritage. And let’s be sure to call out those who hypocritically seek to weaken wildlife programs only to complain later when animals are pushed to the brink and more stringent and costly measures are required to rescue them from extinction.

House Interior Department appropriations bill blocks new endangered species listings

The Interior Appropriations bill includes a provision to prohibit any legal challenge to delisting gray wolves in Wyoming or the western Great Lakes region.

WASHINGTON (July 6, 2011) – The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen on the bill to fund the Department of the Interior just released by the Chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Mike Simpson (R-ID).

“No new plants or animals can be added to the list of endangered species if the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee gets his way. That’s how radical the agenda of some in the House has become.

“The Interior Department funding bill put forth today by Rep. Simpson is nothing short of a special interest wish list. It takes an ax to countless environmental provisions aimed at protecting our public lands, water, and wildlife. Even critical efforts to protect the air we breathe by regulating greenhouse gas emissions are on the chopping block.  But the prime example of just how far some in the House, including key leaders, are willing to go in their anti-regulatory zeal is what they are proposing to do to the Endangered Species Act.

“The Act is one of our nation’s most successful conservation laws and a prime example of good stewardship at work. Working with local communities and stakeholders, the Act has successfully saved animals like the bald eagle and grizzly bear from extinction and protected countless other species for future generations. But it has always been despised by oil companies, big developers, and corporate polluters.  Now, Rep. Simpson’s bill is doing the bidding of these special interests and essentially blocking new protections for any additional imperiled species and halting the designation of new critical habitat protections for those already on the endangered list.

“The American people want their leaders to act responsibly as good stewards of our natural resources. And they want plants and animals that are facing possible extinction to be protected. Sadly today, this bill places the special interests above the desires of the American people and the interests of future generations.”

###

Links:
Read the working draft of the House Interior Appropriations bill.

See Defenders’ analysis of several of the anti-environmental provisions.
(NOTE: page will be updated as additional information becomes available)

The National Wildlife Refuge System is the only system of federal lands in the U.S. dedicated primarily to conserving wildlife and their habitats. But what happens when Congress doesn’t give our refuges the funding they need? Defenders of Wildlife and 20 other organizations that make up the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) released a report this week that sheds light on that very question.

Restoring America’s Wildlife Refuges 2011: Assets for All Americans points to a long history of inadequate funding that has left the Refuge System struggling to fulfill its conservation mission. For example, in 2010, the Refuge System:

• had an average of only $3.36 to spend per acre to manage and protect more than 150 million acres of land and water.
• had to leave 87% of the 2.5 million acres overrun with invasive plants untreated.
• could only afford to employ 213 of the recommended 845 law enforcement officers needed to protect refuge resources and visitors.
• faced a more than $3.3 billion backlog of important operations and maintenance projects.    

Refuge funding is vital to protecting habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers and other wildlife

Though still far below what’s needed, small budget increases over the past few years have offered hope for our refuges. Unfortunately, some members of Congress want to turn back the clock on funding to 2008. That would mean cutting $69 million from the Refuge System’s already stretched budget, forcing habitat management projects to be scaled back further and critical staff positions to be eliminated. That’s why CARE is urging Congress to maintain a steady investment in the Refuge System and keep these special places on the right path to protect America’s wildlife. 

Learn more:

Read the full report here.

Watch this video by Defenders’ Federal Lands Director Peter Nelson to find out how funding our refuges helps protect the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

Funding Refuges to Save Woodpeckers

Congress is still fighting over the government funding bill that passed the House of Representatives back in February. In the video above, Defenders’ expert on funding for the environment, Mary Beth Beetham, explains why the Continuing Resolution is so bad for wildlife and wild lands, and what you can do to help.

Take Action: Stop anti-wildlife legislation in the Senate.

Stopping EPA regulating greenhouse gasses would be a huge blow for wildlife already impacted by climate change.

As Congress continues to debate the Federal Budget, Defenders’ Executive Vice President Jamie Rappaport Clark explains in The Huffington Post why wildlife has a whole lot more to lose in the coming weeks:

Tough Budget Choices? Judging by the Excessive Policy Riders on the Continuing Resolution, the Anti-Environmental House Majority Is Having a Ball

We’ve been hearing a lot from our leaders in Congress of late about the tough choices needed to get America’s budget cut down to size. It’s a compelling message and many House members have done a pretty convincing job of looking pained while proposing budget cuts in their Continuing Resolution (CR). But take a moment to look beyond the cuts and instead focus on the numerous policy changes proposed within the CR and it quickly becomes clear that this is not fiscal prudence at work but extreme ideology.

Read the whole post. 

Take take action now to stop the anti-wildlife legislation in the Senate.

Wolves and other wildlife under threat by Congress

This week, Defenders along with 34 other conservation organizations delivered the Green Budget 2012 to Congressional offices. The document is a blueprint for how we can cut spending and sift out the areas where investment continues to be the wise decision.

For example, each year oil and coal companies receive $60 billion through tax subsidies, despite the fact that they continue to make record profits. Cut!

On the other hand, programs that keep our wildlife and wild places healthy underpin an outdoor recreation industry that contributes $730 billion to our economy each year. Investing in those areas is, as Defenders President Rodger Schlickeisen says, “not only a personal and moral responsibility but an economic no-brainer too”.

…they are using the budget deficit as an excuse to advance an extreme ideological agenda.

But while the budget battle takes center stage, an effort mounted by U.S. House leadership could potentially do untold damage to our environment. And even more troublingly, they are using the budget deficit as an excuse to advance an extreme ideological agenda.

The spending bill passed by the House and currently being deliberated by the Senate (H.R.1) also contained numerous anti-environment amendments, totally disconnected from budget issues. These bad policy riders contain body-blow attacks on core environmental laws we need to keep our air and water clean.

One bad policy rider blocks all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding for greenhouse gas pollution control. Another prevents EPA from protecting and restoring waterways in over 20 million acres of wetlands and habitat.

And as it stands, the bill includes attacks on the Endangered Species Act that would effectively remove all protections for most wolves in the Northern Rockies and deprive California’s Bay-Delta of a sustainable life-giving water supply.

Everyone understands that money is tight and tough choices must be made if we are going to reduce the budget deficit. And we need Congress to make sure that the cuts they make are smart cuts. But exploiting this budget process to advance a long-held anti environment agenda? That’s just wrong.

Learn more about why H.R.1 threatens the future of American wildlife.

Take action now: Urge your senators to oppose efforts to eliminate vital protections for healthy wildlife, air and water.