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June 2020, Volume 6, Issue 6 |
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Sign-on to highlight the economic benefits of Recovering America’s Wildlife Act – Chapters and sections of The Wildlife Society can sign-on to a letter to House leadership requesting that a future economic recovery package responding to the COVID-19 pandemic include the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742). The letter emphasizes that the bill will have a positive impact on both the economy and wildlife by putting Americans to work on conservation projects. Units can sign-on by using this form. The deadline to sign on is Monday, June 8.
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| BLM releases report on Wild Horse and Burro Program – The Bureau of Land Management delivered in May a report to Congress on what resources would be needed to achieve ecologically sustainable levels of wild horses and burros on BLM rangelands. The report stated that it would take 15-18 years to reduce the current horse and burro population of over 95,000 animals down to the appropriate management level of 26,715. BLM estimated it will cost over $900 million in just the next five years to implement plans to intensify wild horse gathers, removals, and fertility control treatments. Though this report was congressionally mandated, it is unclear if any congressional action will result from its delivery within the Fiscal Year 2021 funding package.
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DOI announces 2020 Bison Conservation Initiative – The Department of the Interior unveiled its 10-year vision for management and conservation of federally-managed bison herds in the 2020 Bison Conservation Initiative. The Initiative focuses on ecological and cultural restoration of bison and highlights the need for translocations of bison between herds to maintain genetic diversity. It was guided by a population viability study published by the National Park Service that said without gene flow, isolated bison herds will lose genetic diversity and will be left with reduced adaptive capacity. The Initiative will inform how DOI manages over 11,000 federal bison in 19 separate herds around the country.
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| Alberta Chapter commends ban on toxic product for gopher control – The Alberta Chapter of The Wildlife Society wrote a letter to the Canadian Minister of Health to commend the decision to ban 2% strychnine control of Richardson’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii, also known as prairie gophers). The letter applauds the decision as an example of the proper use of wildlife science. The Chapter said that although use of strychnine-laced carcasses or grains is the most effective way to control prairie gophers, strychnine’s toxicity presents a high environmental cost. The Chapter says that most of Alberta’s threatened and endangered species live in prairie ecosystems alongside prairie gophers and could be negatively impacted by non-selected strychnine use. Finally, the Chapter stated that alternative control methods like trapping, shooting, or other poisons can be used to control prairie gophers without threatening non-target species.
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| Wyoming Chapter comments on brucellosis bacteria regulations – In May, the Wyoming Chapter of The Wildlife Society submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Safety. In its comment, the Wyoming Chapter supported the removal of Brucella abortus from the current list of select agents and toxins that pose a severe threat to animal health. B. abortus is the bacteria that causes brucellosis infection in elk, bison, and cattle in and around Yellowstone National Park and the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming. The Chapter said that listing B. abortus as a select agent limits field research opportunities on the bacteria, including testing of animals with a live field strain of B. abortus. This research is important, the Chapter said, in understanding the dynamics of disease transmission between and among wildlife species and livestock. Removal of the bacteria as a select agent will allow scientists to do research designed to inform management actions to control brucellosis.
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| TWS advocates for wildlife crossings – The Wildlife Society signed a letter with nearly 40 other organizations asking the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to address wildlife-vehicle collisions in the reauthorization of the next Federal Highway Bill. The letter says that hundreds of people and thousands of animals are killed every year in vehicle collisions. However, these collisions can be prevented with wildlife crossings and habitat connectivity measures. Several critical wildlife crossing measures were passed in the Senate Committee version of the bill (S. 2302). These included a grant program for wildlife infrastructure projects and a study on wildlife-vehicle collision reduction. The signatories urged the House Committee to take up the wildlife crossing provisions of the Senate bill. The House recently adopted remote voting procedures that could allow committees to get back to work quickly on this legislation and others despite the pandemic’s impacts on travel and in-person legislative work.
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| TWS continues advocacy work while 2021 appropriations process is delayed – In May, The Wildlife Society signed a coalition letter to both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The letter requested that 302(b) allocations, which set the maximum spending levels for each of Congress’s 12 annual appropriations bills, be increased for spending bills related to environmental priorities. The letter said that it is necessary that environmental agencies and programs have enough funding to pay expenses for their normal activities plus the new expenses incurred as agencies respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2021 has been delayed – appropriations bills and 302(b) levels are unavailable for now while Congress focuses on responding to the pandemic. We expect that spending bills will not to be unveiled until at least late June.
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| TWS Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic |
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| TWS urges Congress to support wildlife professionals during pandemic – In May, The Wildlife Society sent a letter to House and Senate leadership requesting that future responses to COVID-19 support wildlife professionals and empower them to manage wildlife diseases. Among TWS’ recommendations were increased funding for the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center, the USDA-Wildlife Services Methods Development program, and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Investing in these areas, TWS argued, would support important research on wildlife and zoonotic diseases. TWS also supported advancement of three bills for responding to Chronic Wasting Disease and the Invasive Fish & Wildlife Prevention Act, which would strengthen federal authority under the Lacey Act to control invasive species. TWS suggested that, during this crisis, states may need short-term relief from federal match requirements for programs like State and Tribal Wildlife Grants and Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration. Finally, TWS emphasized that the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742) provides an excellent opportunity to provide funding for wildlife conservation and support jobs for wildlife professionals. Congress has been discussing additional stimulus packages, but it isn’t clear if or when one will be fully crafted.
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TWS signs-on to support the Great American Outdoors Act and America’s Conservation Enhancement Act – The Wildlife Society joined a letter with dozens of other conservation groups to urge House and Senate leaders to advance both The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA, S. 3422) and the America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act (H.R. 925, S. 3051). The GAOA would establish a fund to address the deferred maintenance backlog on federal lands and provide permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million per year. It is expected to be passed by the Senate this month, but there is no matching bill in the House yet. The ACE Act, meanwhile, reauthorizes a variety of conservation funding mechanisms, including the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. It was passed by the Senate in January. The sign-on letter recommended that both bills be enacted, whether as stand-alone bills or as part of a future COVID-19 stimulus package.
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| CAC Activity and Contact Updates |
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Policy consultation – Do you want assistance with a wildlife conservation policy issue? Curious as to the various ways your organization unit can support federal efforts by TWS or engage on local level issues? Contact pol...@wildlife.org.
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Activity updates, success stories, and CAC Contact information – Does your CAC have a success story to tell? Is a new partnership developing at your organization unit? Do you have a new CAC Chair? Send it in! Let the CAN hear about it and help you in your work. Email Mariah Simmons at MSim...@wildlife.org.
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Increasing the Society’s effectiveness through communication and collaboration |
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