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Federal, state legislation offers most significant wildlife conservation opportunity in a century

July 27, 2019

Two bills — one signed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown earlier this month (HB 2829), and one recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 3742) — offer the most significant opportunities to fund fish and wildlife conservation in a century.

This year, the 2019 Oregon State Legislature passed HB 2829 to create the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund to conserve and manage Oregon's fish, wildlife, and their habitats. The bill puts $1 million in General Fund aside to be matched by $1 million in private funds raised by ODFW, as seed money towards an alternative, sustainable funding source. It also creates an Oregon Conservation and Recreation Advisory Committee to recommend how to spend monies from the Fund.

Another significant funding source on the horizon is the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742), introduced on July 12 by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Rep. Fortenberry, R-Neb., and currently supported by 70 Members of Congress including Oregon Representatives Bonamici, Blumenauer, DeFazio, and Schrader. The bill would dedicate approximately $1.3 billion annually to state fish and wildlife agencies and an additional $97.5 million for tribal fish and wildlife managers to implement science-based wildlife action plans, with funding coming from the general treasury.