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Budget Outlook
We've all heard about and It and its various names...fiscal cliff, fiscal slope, taxmageddon. If Congress fails to take action before the end of the year, changes to the tax code and budget sequestration could send the economy into another recession. We are hopeful that Congress can reach a bipartisan compromise in the coming weeks. If that does not happen then budget sequestration will result in an 8.2% cut to the State & Tribal Wildlife Grants Program next year. The growing federal deficit requires shared sacrifice. However, the successful State & Tribal Wildlife Grants program has already absorbed a 31% cut since 2010. Funding for the program averages less than $1 million per state & territory to conserve over 12,000 at-risk species so any further cuts will increase the likelihood of more federal endangered species listings. Additional cuts to the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program and other conservation and environment programs (these programs make up <1.25% of the federal budget) will have lasting impacts to fish and wildlife conservation and the $600+ billion economy this industry supports. We've been taking this message to the Hill this fall and will continue into the new year.
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2013 Teaming With Wildlife FLY-IN
 The annual Teaming With Wildlife Fly-In is set for March 5-6, 2013. The event is sponsored by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Teaming With Wildlife Steering Committee and the National Invasive Species Council in Washington DC. The Fly-In is the 6,300 member TWW Coalition's principal venue to inform Congress of the importance of the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.
Are you attending the 2013 Fly-In? Click Here to Register Online!
As part of this event, the TWW Steering Committee is seeking nominations for two awards to be presented at a congressional reception to be held on March 6, 2013. The deadline to submit award nominations is January 4, 2013.
Teaming With Wildlife Coalition Member Achievement Award: Recognizes outstanding achievements of a coalition in support of funding for state wildlife diversity conservation
State Wildlife Action Plan Award: Recognizes both a state fish and wildlife agency AND a partner agency or organization for their outstanding collaboration in the implementation or revision of the state's Wildlife Action Plan.
To nominate an award recipient please send a short justification paragraph to mpfaffko@fishwildlife.org.
For more details on the 2013 Fly-In Event please visit the TWW website at http://teaming.com/2013-fly-in.
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State Wildlife Grants In The News!
The Nashville Zoo announced the captive breeding of Eastern hellbenders, one of the largest salamanders in the world, for the first time. This was also the first controlled breeding of any hellbenders using biotechnology. The two hellbenders were successfully hatched from eggs produced and artificially fertilized from the Zoo's long-term captive animals. The project was supported by State Wildlife Grant funding. For more on this story go to http://www.examiner.com/article/nashville-zoo-announces-the-first-captive-breeding-of-eastern-hellbenders
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Teaming With Wildlife Webinar Series!
Thanks to those of you who participated in the Fall 2012 Teaming With Wildlife (TWW) Webinar Series! The webinars were provided for state TWW Coalition Leaders and their partners. The goal was to prepare state coalitions for becoming active advocates for state wildlife diversity conservation funding. The state coalitions have had great success in achieving federal appropriations and state-level funding initiatives, and are now preparing campaigns to advocate for the ultimate goal of robust and dedicated funding state wildlife diversity conservation programs.
The webinars were a joint effort of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the National Wildlife Federation.
Links to the webinar presentations can be found on the TWW website at http://www.teaming.com/toolkit/Coalition%20Building%20Tools.
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