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WILD CALL
Teaming With Wildlife Coalition Update |
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Teaming With Wildlife
A coalition of nearly 6,300 organizations supporting increased and dedicated funding
for wildlife conservation education and nature based recreation. |
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Are you a Facebook user? Teaming With Wildlife has over 450 fans. Become a fan and get up to date information on the coalition.
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TEAMING WITH WILDLIFE UPDATE by Mark Humpert, TWW Director  State and Tribal Wildlife Grants - Dear Colleague LetterEach spring, members of the Teaming With Wildlife coalition work with our champions in the Senate and House to circulate Dear Colleague Letters (DCL) that support funding for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program. Advocates from around the country meet with members of their congressional delegation to persuade them to sign the letter. It's often the only time during the year when coalition members have an opportunity to communicate the need and successes of the program. The DCL is sent to the chair and ranking member of the respective Interior Appropriations subcommittees. The more members who sign the letter and the more influential the member, the better our chances that we will secure increased funding. This year, Congressman Mike Thompson (CA), Ron Kind (WI) and Frank LoBiondo (NJ) lead the House letter and we were successful in getting 80 members to sign on. In the Senate, Senators Blanche Lincoln (AR) and Mike Crapo (ID) lead the letter and we were able to get 47 members to sign on. If you consider that there are 30 senators on the appropriations committee and by tradition most don't sign on to DCL's, that makes our success even all the more remarkable. The hard work gathering signatures on the DCL's culminates each spring when members of the Teaming With Wildlife Steering Committee hand deliver the letters to professional staff on the appropriations subcommittees. Thank you for all your time and hard work this spring-it really makes a difference. Go to www.teaming.com to see copies of the final letters. White House Conference on the American Great Outdoors
On April 16th the President hosted a conference on the Great American Outdoors. More than 500 conservation leaders from across the country attended the day-long conference including dozens of Teaming With Wildlife coalition members. President Obama addressed the attendees and harkened back to the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt. He later signed a presidential memorandum that instructs the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, the Council on Environmental Quality and EPA to collaborate and develop a report by November 2010. The report will be informed by discussions by participants at the meeting and listening sessions that are planned around the country in the coming months. The Teaming With Wildlife steering committee has set up a meeting with officials at the Department of Interior to find out how we can use our coalition to help spread the word about the American Great Outdoors initiative and ensure turnout at the listening sessions. After the conference President Obama said..."when we see America's land, we understand what an incredible bounty that we have been given. And it's our obligation to make sure that the next generation enjoys that same bounty". That is precisely why our 6,200 member coalition was formed-to continue our conservation legacy so future generations can benefit too. Visit the Teaming With Wildlife website ( www.teaming.com) to find out more about the American Great Outdoors conference.
Natural Resources Adaptation & Climate Change
You may have seen news coverage this last week that the long anticipated release of climate change legislation by Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman scheduled for release this week was postponed. A process issue has arisen that at least for now has caused Senator Graham (SC) to pull back from negotiations. The conservation community has been working for several years to ensure that climate change and energy legislation take into consideration the expected impacts of wildlife and their habitats. It's not known if legislation being drafted by the trio will include natural resources adaptation or if legislation will eventually advance during this Congress. We will keep you posted.
I Want to HelpOne of the easiest and most satisfying ways to help support the Teaming With Wildlife coalition is to help it grow. As the largest wildlife coalition of its kind we have great strength in our numbers. You can help by encouraging local conservation organizations, nature centers, outdoors groups and outdoor-related businesses to become members. It's easy and will give you a good feeling to know that you are helping to give a voice to wildlife. New members can sign on to the coalition at www.teaming.com/action/ |
10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION UPDATE
A Decade of Conservation Success!
The 10 Year Anniversary for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants
In 1937, Congress passed the Pittman-Robertson Act that dedicated an excise tax on hunting and shooting equipment for restoration and management of wildlife. This momentous piece of legislation has benefited many wildlife species, but the primary focus has been on the restoration and management of game species. Although an important part of each state's natural heritage, over 95% of fish and wildlife species held in the public trust by states are not hunted and fished.
The Pittman-Robertson Act and related Dingell-Johnson Act (excise tax on fishing equipment) have generated over $10 billion in formula based funding for game management. However, there is no similar source of dedicated funding to conserve non-game species. To partially address this problem, in 2001 Congress created the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program which for the first time provided funding to state fish and wildlife agencies for the management of nongame species. Through annual appropriations to the program, states have received over $600 million to develop State Wildlife Action Plans and to begin direct conservation of more than 10,000 at-risk species of fish and wildlife.
This September we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program! In the first decade of the program we have accomplished much and we need to reflect on our successes. We hope you will join us this September in celebrating the accomplishments of this important program and help us continue our efforts to achieve dedicated funding that will help keep common species common and prevent more wildlife from becoming endangered!
For more information regarding special events in your area to celebrate State and Tribal Wildlife Grants and the State Wildlife Action Plans, look for regular updates in future issues of the WildCall and on the Teaming With Wildlife website, www.teaming.com.
If you are interested in participating in the planning effort
for the "10 Year Anniversary of State and Tribal Wildlife Grants," please contact Terra Rentz, trentz@fishwildlife.org
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Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance
The Lake Ozark Watershed Alliance, LOWA Inc. is a proactive group of local residents formed to protect and preserve our lakes and watershed. Prevention is better than repairing problems economically, health-wise, and for safety.
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Nongame Program Eligible for $740,673 Federal Grant; Must Raise Match - CONCORD, N.H. -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced that the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is eligible to receive State Wildlife Grants through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, totaling $740,673, to conserve wildlife and their habitats. The State Wildlife Grants Program is designed to provide annual funding to fish and wildlife agencies that have established wildlife action plans. New Hampshire's plan has been in place since 2006.
Record number of bald eagles in Indiana - 120 adult eagles were observed at or near 97 Indiana nests. Restoration and monitoring of bald eagles in Indiana is funded by donations from the DNR's Nongame Fund and federal State Wildlife Grants. |
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