Louisiana would receive $19 million annually to conserve more than 700 nongame fish and wildlife species and their habitats through a bill filed recently in Congress.
The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, introduced by Senators James Risch (R-Idaho) and Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), proposes to provide state fish and wildlife agencies across the country a total of $1.3 billion annually to implement State Wildlife Action Plans. Louisiana’s share would be $19 million, according to a release from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The source of funding would be royalties and revenues collected from energy and mineral development on federal lands and waters, the release states.
The new Senate bill is complementary to, and supports, the House bill (H.R. 4647) introduced in December 2017. That bill has received support from both sides of the aisle, with more than 75 representatives having signed on to date.
"We’re encouraged that both the Senate and House see the value of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act,” LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet said. "This legislation would certainly have a major impact on our state’s Wildlife Action Plan. We would go from $600,000 to $19 million annually. That would allow us to fully implement our plan for nongame and threatened species and habitat in our state."
