WASHINGTON, DC - On Friday, July 12, at 9:30 am, Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), along with conservation and sportsmen's leaders, will reintroduce the bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA), to help promote and enhance our nation's conservation efforts and ensure the long-term health of fish and wildlife throughout the country.

RAWA is the most significant investment in wildlife and habitat conservation in a generation. The bill would dedicate roughly $1.4 billion to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program for proactive, voluntary efforts led by the states, territories and tribal nations to prevent vulnerable wildlife from becoming endangered.

Dingell and Fortenberry first introduced the bill in 2017 based on a recommendation from a panel of conservation and business leaders. The Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America's Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, a group of national business and conservation leaders co-chaired by Bass Pro Shops founder John L. Morris and former Wyoming governor Dave Freudenthal, convened in 2015 to recommend a new mechanism to sustainably fund fish and wildlife conservation. In March, 2016, the Panel recommended creating a $1.3 billion dedicated funding stream to support implementation of State Wildlife Action Plans in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia.

Without a change in the way we finance fish and wildlife conservation, the list of federally threatened and endangered species is expected to grow from nearly 1,600 species today to thousands more in the future. The new dedicated funding created by the Recovering America's Wildlife Act is aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming endangered to ensure the long-term health of all fish and wildlife that provide countless hours of outdoor enjoyment for the nation's citizens.

PRESS CONFERENCE DETAILS

WHAT: Press Conference Reintroducing Recovering America's Wildlife Act

WHEN: July 12, 2019, 9:30 am

WHERE: Cannon House Office Building, Room 122

Live on Dingell's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RepDebbieDingell/

WHO: Representative Debbie Dingell, D-MI

Representative Jeff Fortenberry, R-NE-1

Collin O'Mara, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

Jeff Crane, President, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

Ed Carter, President, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Executive Director,

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Media must RSVP to Maggie@mail.house.gov.

Since 1989, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) has maintained a singleness of purpose that has guided the organization to become the most respected and trusted sportsmen's organization in the political arena. CSF's mission is to work with Congress, governors, and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping. The unique and collective force of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC), the Governors Sportsmen's Caucus (GSC) and the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses (NASC), working closely with CSF, and with the support of major hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping organizations, serves as an unprecedented network of pro-sportsmen elected officials that advance the interests of America's hunters and anglers.