Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges
July 23, 2013
Dear Friends: 
Proposed Budget Spells Disaster for the Refuge System!

I have just received a message from the National Wildlife Refuge Association about upcoming legislation that I feel all Friends and supporters need to know about.  Below is the text of the message. 
 

"We have just learned the content of the appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) being proposed by House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies and it is one of the worst proposals we have ever seen.  

If enacted, the proposed funding and riders would:

  • Cut the overall funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by 27% (and if the 27% cut be evenly distributed to all Service programs, the Refuge System will fall from $502.8 million in FY10 to $331.2 million in FY14, a 34% cut in four years!)
  • Eliminates all funding for conservation easements and land acquisition under the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a program established in 1995 that uses a small portion of royalties from off shore drilling to support conservation of other resources.
  • Eliminates all funding for the State Wildlife Grants Program, which helps states keep species from becoming endangered.
  • Eliminates all funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), which funds wetland restoration on refuges. 
  • Eliminates all funding for Landscape Conservation Cooperatives that are forums for federal, state, tribes, organizations, and groups to work together to support conservation.
  • Eliminate funds for establishment of refuges and boundary expansion.

This bill, if enacted, will be a severe blow to the National Wildlife Refuge System and conservation of wildlife nationwide.

 

Please contact your Member of Congress and urge them to OPPOSE the House Appropriations Bill for the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. The House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee will be voting on the bill tomorrow, July 23rd and the House Appropriations Committee will vote on Thursday, July 25th."

 

The passage of the Appropriations bill with these Draconian cuts would be a serious blow to the viability of the Refuge system we all hold dear.  Please take a moment to email your representative and urge them to vote NO.  To find out who your US Representative is and how to contact him/her, click HERE.  After e-mailing, please follow up with a quick phone call to your Representative's offices by calling the Capitol Switchboard at: 202-224 -3121.

 Here is a copy of the email I sent Rep. Jack Kingston.  Please feel free to edit it as appropriate for you, then go to your Rep's website and paste it into their contact form.

 

 

Let our voices be heard on this crucial vote!

Rick Shields
President
Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges

 

 


Rick Shields
Friends of the Savannah Coastal Wildlife Refuges, Inc.