Teaming with Wildlife
WILD CALL
Teaming With Wildlife Coalition Update
April 2012

Congressman
Jose Serrano (NY)

A coalition of over 6,300 organizations supporting increased and dedicated funding for wildlife conservation education and nature based recreation.   

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The Teaming With Wildlife Staff 
TWW Director
202-624-3637

TWW Associate
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2012 Fly-In Update
Senator Jon Testor (MT)

 

The 2012 Teaming With Wildlife Fly-in, held February 28 & 29th in Washington DC was a grand success.  A total of 80 individuals participated in the Fly-in this year, representing 28 states.  Dan Ashe, Director of the US Fish & Wildlife Service spoke at both the Advocacy training and Congressional reception.  We appreciate his support of the coalition.  The National Wildlife Federation hosted a reception on February 28th at their DC office and we partnered again with the National Invasive Species Awareness Week to co-host a reception for members and their staff at the Rayburn House Office Building.  Over 300 individuals were in attendance including members and partners who received awards.  The reception would not have been possible without the generous contributions of our sponsors.  Please thank these organizations and businesses for their generous support.  Teaming With Wildlife advocates met with members or staff in more than 100 congressional offices during the Fly-in.  Many of our advocates commented on how positive the meetings were this year.  Our "ask" to members was to support at least level funding ($61.3M) for the State & Tribal Wildlife Grants program and to sign on to the Senate or House Dear Colleague letter supporting funding for the program in FY13.  

One of our measures of success for the Fly-in is how many members sign on to the Dear Colleague Letters.  After much effort by our advocates at the Fly-in and follow-up afterwards, we were able to get 110 members to sign on to the House letter and 33 to the Senate letter.  Both totals surpassed last year.   In addition to those who signed on to the letters, nearly a dozen members said they would help in other ways such as by submitting a programmatic request or by talking to appropriators.  Members of the Teaming With Wildlife steering committee will be meeting with appropriations staff over the next several weeks to hand deliver copies of the letters.  We are confident that all this work will put us in the strongest position possible to fend off more potential cuts to the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.  Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of you for supporting the Teaming With Wildlife Fly-in and for supporting the coalition year-round.  

 


2012 TWW Fly-In and National Invasive Species Week Congressional Reception Sponsors:
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
Chocolate City Brewery
DC Brau
Delta Waterfowl Foundation

DJ Case and Associates
DOW, AgriSciences
Mule Deer Foundation
National Wildlife Federation
Organization of Fish & Wildlife Information Managers
Pheasants Forever
Premium Distributors of DC
Southwick Associates
Syngenta
The Nature Conservancy
The Wildlife Society
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
Trout Unlimited
Wild Sheep Foundation
Wildlife Management Institute

Awards Presented at the 2012 Fly-In
flyin award sandy breslin
Audubon Connecticut
Sandy Breslin

 

Coalition Member Achievement Award
Connecticut Audubon Society

SWAP Partnership Award
Idaho Department of Fish & Game and the South Fork Snake River Partnership


Congratulations to All of our Award Recipients! 



Congressional Member Awards

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R, Alaska)
Senator Jon Tester (D, Montana)

Representative Jose Serrano (D, New York) 

Representative Don Young (R, Alaska)

 

State & Tribal Wildlife Grant Members of Congress Supporters

 

The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program is funded through an appropriation. Each year the Teaming With Wildlife coalition works with wildlife conservation champions in the US House of Representatives and US Senate to draft and circulate a Dear Colleague Letter. These letters request a certain level of funding for the program and are addressed to the chair and ranking member of the House and Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations subcommittees.

View the FY13 Congressional Supporters of State Wildlife Grants

  

Murkowski 
Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK)

Article - The Outdoor Wire

More than 100 Members of US House of Representatives Sign Dear Colleague Letter Supporting State & Tribal Wildlife Grants

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressmen Don Young (AK), Todd Platts (PA), Mike Thompson (CA) and Ron Kind (WI) have been joined by 106 of their colleagues on a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. The letter is in support of the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program, which is aimed at preventing wildlife in the U.S. from declining to the point of being endangered. In the letter, Members urge the Subcommittee to provide the most robust funding possible for the Program, while also recognizing the fiscal constraints that the nation is under.

The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program is a principal source of federal funding for implementing congressionally required State Wildlife Action Plans in every state and territory. The Plans assess the health of each state's wildlife and habitats, identify the problems they face and outline the actions needed to conserve them over the long term to prevent more species from being added to the federal endangered species list.

"In Alaska, hunting and fishing are not just hobbies - they are ways of life," said Congressman Don Young (AK). "Having strong wildlife populations requires strong conservation programs not in just one state, but across the country. Fish and wildlife conservation is a shared responsibility between both the states and federal government. I support and will continue to support, the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program because conservation is too important to not only my home state of Alaska, but the entire nation."

Despite historical successes in bringing many wildlife species back from the brink of extinction, more than 12,000 species are at risk and potentially heading towards a future listing.

"It is our responsibility to be good stewards of this earth and prevent the ultimate extinction of wildlife, plants and fish," said Congressman Mike Thompson (CA). "The sad truth is that once we lose a species we also lose recreational and economic opportunities that are associated with them. This is one important reason we need to maintain funding to help keep species off the endangered list."

States, tribes and their partners have used funding from the Program that is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to combat invasive species, protect natural areas, restore habitat, conduct research, implement monitoring programs and facilitate partnerships with landowners to protect declining species and habitats on public and private lands. Priority for use of grant funds is placed on those species and habitats with the greatest conservation need. The Program leverages tens of millions of dollars in state and private funds each year.

"State hunting and fishing license dollars, federal excise taxes on hunting and fishing gear and motorboat fuel taxes have provided the backbone for funding the state wildlife conservation programs since 1937. However, there has always been a gap in funding for the 90 percent of species that are neither hunted nor fished," said Ron Regan, Executive Director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which represents the country's state fish and wildlife agencies. "The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program has provided state agencies with the resources they critically need to partially fill that gap."

"These bold members of Congress are reaching across the aisle and working together to protect wildlife for current and future generations of Americans," said Naomi Edelson, director of state and federal wildlife partnerships for the National Wildlife Federation. "Their work is supported by scores of hunters, anglers, hikers, bird watchers and outdoor enthusiasts and businesses who understand preserving nature also enhances our economy, our environment and our way of life."

"The State Wildlife Grants program is vital to wildlife management and conservation," said Paul Krausman, president of The Wildlife Society. "Funding from this unique program among other things has supported important research on White Nose Syndrome's effects on bats, and conservation actions central to the recovery of the Lake Erie Water Snake, which was removed from listing under the Endangered Species Act last year."

A copy of the House Dear Colleague letter is available at www.teaming.com. A companion letter to the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee is currently in circulation with more than 30 Senators signed on to support the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.

 

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