ELCA Action Alert: Protect Our Wildlife!
The bill was sponsored by Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. Sen. Sinema is one of 11 cosponsors on S.1149. Now we need Sen. Kelly to sign on.
National Endangered Species Day on May 19 is only one way to alert us to a distressing fact: As many as one-third of all U.S. wildlife species are deemed vulnerable, meaning they face an elevated risk of extinction. While one-in-five species found in the country are imperiled and face a high risk of extinction. Unless we act soon, we risk losing some of our nation’s most cherished wildlife. Growing research suggests that through concerted effort and funding into conservation, we may be able to reverse this trend.
Current policies and programs, like the Endangered Species Act and the State Wildlife Grants Program, address species decline too late and are underfunded. A focused, preventative approach to wildlife conservation gives species a better chance at rebounding and would save money overall. Introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA) aims to do just that. RAWA will redirect $1.3 billion of existing revenue annually to state-led wildlife conservation efforts. The National Wildlife Foundation describes this bill as the most significant investment in wildlife conservation in a generation.
Additionally, RAWA would take a necessary step toward addressing historical inequities and exclusion of Tribal wildlife management agencies, as Indigenous people have been successful managers of species and habitats for thousands of years. RAWA would designate $97.5 million specifically to Tribal-led wildlife conservation efforts.
“God’s gift of responsibility for the earth dignifies humanity without debasing the rest of creation. We depend upon God, who places us in a web of life with one another and with all creation,” says the ELCA social statement Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice (p. 3).Wildlife has no voice in halls of power. Stewardship of your voice can move us to better care for God's good creation.