Press Releases

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is pleased to see the National Fish Habitat Partnership program assist in providing more than $35 million to support 95 fish habitat conservation projects in 31 states. This year these projects represent nearly an 8-to-1 match for federal funding with partnership project funding from other sources. Collaborative partnerships between the state fish and wildlife agencies, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nongovernmental organizations, and other partners are key to implementing these conservation priority projects.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is excited to see the National Fish Habitat Partnership’s 2020 list of “Waters to Watch” representing a snapshot of voluntary, locally driven freshwater, estuarine and marine habitat conservation efforts implemented across the country. States are a key partner in implementing these conservation priorities.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies commends the support and leadership of Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Congressman Don Young (R-AK), who were joined by 220 of their colleagues on letters to the leadership of the U.S Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittees on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Interior Appropriations. The Senate and House letters, respectively, are in support of the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program which provides a critical investment to sustain our nation’s most vulnerable fish and wildlife. In the letters, Members urge the Subcommittees to provide the most robust funding possible for the Program.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is partnering with conservation leaders, including the National Wild Turkey Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, and Pheasants Forever to spearhead #ResponsibleRecreation, a media campaign encouraging Americans to enjoy outdoor recreation while adhering to proper COVID-19 safety protocol.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is currently soliciting recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) grant applications for the 2020 multistate conservation grant cycle. In December 2019, the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act was passed by Congress and expanded the multistate conservation grant program to include up to an additional $5 million annually, beginning with 2020, for Wildlife Restoration eligible grants as defined by the legislation. This legislation expanded the purpose of the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Fund to provide financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting and allows flexibility for state fish and wildlife agencies to use their P-R funds for the recruitment of sportsmen and women. During the now expanded multistate conservation grant program cycle, the Association will be placing priority on projects that serve to create a solid R3 infrastructure, with an additional focus on monitoring and evaluating the long-term impact of R3 efforts created through the Act, in addition to the delivery of R3 initiatives.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies applauds this week’s announcement by U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt of the Administration’s significant efforts to increase recreational access on public lands. The new proposed rule would expand hunting and fishing opportunities to Americans by opening 2.3 million acres to public access and would represent the largest expansion of land to hunting and fishing in the history of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nominations are now open for the Climate Adaptation Leadership Award which recognizes outstanding efforts to increase the resilience of America’s valuable living natural resources and the many people, businesses and communities that depend on them. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and its members and partners are seeking nominations from individuals, agencies, businesses and other organizations to recognize exemplary leadership by to reduce impacts and advance adaptation of the nation’s vital natural resources in a changing world.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is proud to share the news that Maryland’s Project WILD Coordinator, Kerry Wixted, received the Maryland Outdoor Educator of the Year during last week’s Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) Conference in Ocean City, Maryland.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is pleased to announce the passage of critical habitat legislation that reauthorizes funding for projects in the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay. The Association would like to thank and congratulate the bills’ sponsors, Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA) for the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1620) and Representative David Joyce (R-OH) for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019 (H.R. 4031), both of which passed the full House with bipartisan approval.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is pleased to announce the passage of critical conservation legislation through the full Senate via unanimous consent for the America’s Conservation Enhancement Act (S. 3051). The Association thanks Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) for their leadership in advancing this bipartisan legislation through the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and successfully championing agreement by unanimous consent on the Senate floor late last evening. Passage by the full Senate followed a December 17th legislative markup on S. 3051 in the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, during which it passed by unanimous consent.