Please consider signing your organizations onto a letter to President-elect Biden and the transition team that is nearly identical to the on sent to Congressional leadership requesting funding in a future Covid-19 related stimulus bill for programs and projects that will create jobs throughout the country while benefiting wildlife and restoring public lands.  This latest version is adapted for actions that Biden administration could take and funding that they can advocate for in congressional legislation.

Below is an excerpt from the letter identifying the categories and projects/programs for which funding is being requested .  You can click on the following link to see the full text of the letter which includes more detail and supporting information:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14P2KraOqpKiQmz9K5rO92tPWjsIPS-01/view?usp=sharing


__________________________________________________________________________

Dear Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy,

The COVID-19 pandemic is a national crisis and the need to address the health and safety of communities as well as the economic futures of people across the nation is paramount.  As Congress works to restart the American economy and put people back to work, you have an opportunity to create a large number of green, long-term jobs performing vital conservation and restoration work. Similar to the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the recovery from the Great Depression, Congress can revive the United States economy by investing $25 billion in new and existing conservation programs that will create hundreds of thousands of direct jobs and provide benefits to people, communities and the environment.

On the ground conservation and restoration work has myriad benefits. Most importantly, this work is needed in virtually every corner of the United States, creates quality jobs impossible to outsource, and can provide employment opportunities for low-wealth communities, Black, Brown, Indigenous and other people of color, and younger people, all of whom are suffering disproportionately from this current economic downturn. Conservation work can—and should—be conducted in an equitable manner, guaranteeing fair wages and utilizing project labor agreements, community benefit agreements, local hire, and other provisions and practices that ensure the rights of workers and promote environmental justice.

The United States can overcome this economic hardship while protecting and restoring our unique natural resources which includes a diverse array of fish and wildlife and our national wildlife refuges, forests, parks, monuments and other public lands. Restoring wildlife, wild lands and waterways contributes to significant public health benefits for all people. As Congress begins to plan for the post-pandemic recovery, we urge you to provide funding for federal agencies and existing federal grant programs to support the work of state and local governments and agencies, Tribes, public universities, and small businesses to immediately implement the following conservation and restoration projects for the benefit of all.

RESTORING WILDLIFE AND PUBLIC LANDS

Prioritizing Endangered Species Recovery

Threatened and endangered fish, wildlife and plants are found across the United States, and every imperiled species would benefit from additional conservation work to further their recovery. Despite their importance, recovery programs have been consistently and significantly underfunded, with recent estimates indicating species receive less than one-quarter of the funding scientists indicate is required.  Habitat restoration, the removal of invasive plants, the humane management of invasive animal species, and translocating and restoring species to their historic range all are contingent upon having sufficient funding and capacity. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) work in close partnership with other federal, state, local agencies, Tribal governments and private landowners, and these collaborations helped to save the California condor, gray whale, black-footed ferret, and the bald eagle from extinction. Similar work on other species could put thousands of people to work on environmentally beneficial projects in a COVID-19 stimulus bill.   Recovery projects should be prioritized whenever possible when Congress funds the other conservation initiatives discussed below.

Restoring Public Lands

• Removal of unauthorized and unneeded roads and trails that negatively impact fish and wildlife habitat, movement, and security,  
• Reclamation of orphaned well pads and abandoned mines,
• Removal of degraded and abandoned rangeland infrastructure, debris, and waste,
• Conversion and repair of existing or damaged rangeland infrastructure to mitigate impacts to wildlife and safeguard sensitive habitats, and
• Fully fund and expand the U.S. Youth Conservation Corps.

Restoring Watersheds and Coastal Areas

• Decommissioning, repairing and/or relocating roads that negatively impact waterways and water quality, including removal or replacement of culverts to reconnect stream segments and re-establish passage of native aquatic species,
• Restoration of natural stream channels and hydrologic flows including removing dams and water diversion infrastructure and gully stabilization,
• Restoration of coral reefs, coastal dunes, and estuaries,
• Creation of wetlands and other natural alternatives to gray infrastructure,  and
• Humane management of invasive animal species, removal of invasive plant species and restoration of native vegetation for wildlife habitat and stream bank stability.

Safeguarding Key Wildlife Corridors   and Reducing Impacts to Wildlife from Infrastructure

• Identification and management of wildlife corridors by increasing agency capacity, funding improvements, and directing grants to landowners, states, and Tribes,
• Construction of wildlife overpasses, underpasses, and bounding fences across busy roads and highways,
• Removal, re-siting, or modifying infrastructure that is a barrier to wildlife migrations and movements,
• Burial of transmission lines to reduce bird strikes and other impacts to wildlife, and
• Developing and employing technology to reduce impacts to wildlife from energy production and other infrastructure.

Addressing Invasive Species and Restoring Native Plants

• Substantially increase federal and state agency staffing in the areas of import/border inspection for agriculture and wildlife,  
• Fund additional invasive species strike teams on national wildlife refuges and other public lands to remove invasive plants and humanely manage invasive animals,
• Fully fund the Bureau of Land Management Plant Conservation and Restoration Program to implement the National Seed Strategy  including the construction, operation and maintenance of up to five native seed storage facilities across the country,
• Scale up existing contracts for seed collection and research and support native plants material development on Tribal lands including culturally significant plants, and
• Establish a comprehensive national survey of invasive plants and animals.

Promoting Wildlife Coexistence

• Development and implementation of wildlife friendly waste management strategies,
• Installation of electric fencing and application of other non-lethal wildlife deterrents,
• Creation and maintenance of livestock composting facilities and carcass removal programs,
• Expansion of on-the-ground community outreach and education programs,
• Increasing funding for federal, state and Tribal non-lethal wildlife conflict specialists, and
• Funding of pilot programs geared to creative non-lethal solutions to conflicts in the urban wildlands interface.

Bold investments to stimulate the economy through the restoration of public lands, waters, and wildlife habitat not only have the potential to put hundreds of thousands of people to work, but also to ensure more resilient ecosystems and communities throughout the United States that will result in enduring public health benefits and quality of life improvements. Accordingly, funding should be directed at programs that focus on restoration rather than resource extraction, promote coordination and cooperation with local communities, and embody the principles of environmental justice. Recovery funding should fully comply with all laws designed to safeguard the environment, workers and the public. Scientists warn that relaxing environmental standards will only lead to future pandemics.  For that reason, we urge you to strengthen our bedrock environmental laws including the passage of legislation to restore critical protections under the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

We must also ensure that our programs and policies are designed to protect against future pandemics. Decades of scientific studies have warned that—in addition to live wildlife markets—habitat destruction and biodiversity loss also create significant risk of zoonotic disease spillover into the human population.  The projects and programs we have outlined above, which focus on changing our relationship with the natural world by restoring lost and degraded fish and wildlife habitat, promoting coexistence, and increasing biodiversity, are key steps toward protecting against future pandemics.

Thank you for your attention to these important issues and proposals. We look forward to working with you on a stimulus package that provides relief and recovery from the crisis triggered by COVID-19, and safeguards the health and resilience of people, public lands and wildlife for generations to come.

Sincerely,