📷 Ross’s goose in Lake Andes Nationwide Wildlife Refuge, SD | Liz Julian/USFWS
In a major transfer for conservation advocacy on Capitol Hill, the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus (CWRC) of the 118th Congress has been reconstituted, signaling an growth of this very important bipartisan group. Established in 2006, the CWRC performs an important function in fortifying, defending, and preserving the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge System. The reconstitution of the caucus displays a rising bipartisan dedication to addressing the challenges confronted by the Refuge System.
The CWRC’s mission facilities round supporting enough Refuge System funding, selling strategic progress via easements and focused land acquisition, and advocating for laws to enhance the Refuge System. Moreover, the caucus seeks to coach fellow members of Congress in regards to the growing challenges going through the Refuge System via briefings and outreach efforts.
Traditionally, the caucus’s leaders have performed a pivotal function in advancing measures to profit the Refuge System. Initiatives just like the Refuge Ecology Safety, Help & Quick Response (REPAIR) Act, aimed toward decreasing dangerous non-native species on and round nationwide wildlife refuges, underscore the caucus’s dedication to conservation.
Wanting ahead, we hope to strengthen the CWRC and our partnership collectively to additional it as an engaged and influential caucus. We plan to work with Caucus leaders to develop its membership, enhance communications channels for coordination on Refuge System points, host Capitol Hill briefings, and search help and endorsement for enough funding for the Refuge System.
The CWRC additionally sponsors the annual Nationwide Wildlife Refuge Expo, organized by the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), to focus on the values and significance of the Refuge System. This occasion serves as a platform to interact congressional employees and lift consciousness in regards to the vital function of the Refuge System.
The present members of the CWRC, which now boasts seven co-chairs, replicate a bipartisan dedication to conservation. They embody representatives from varied states and political affiliations.
The reconstitution of the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus and the growth of its co-chairs mark a pivotal second for conservation advocacy. With a strengthened bipartisan dedication, the CWRC is poised to play a extra energetic function in shaping laws, addressing challenges, and making certain the long-term well being of the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge System. The Nationwide Wildlife Refuge Affiliation expresses its utmost gratitude to caucus members. The Refuge Affiliation, together with the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, will work to mobilize help to encourage extra memberships, making a collective push for strong conservation insurance policies and correct funding supporting the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge System within the coming years.
Thanks to the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus members:
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), CoChair
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), CoChair
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), CoChair
Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), CoChair
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), CoChair
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), CoChair
Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR), CoChair
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA)
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Rep. Invoice Pascrell (D-NJ)
Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY)
Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR)
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME)
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH)
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ)
Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)
Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Rep. John Larson (D-CT)
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)
Rep. Kilili Sablan (I-MP)
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA)
Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA)
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA)
