RALEIGH, N.C. (Aug. 30, 2016) —The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on Thursday passed a resolution supporting bipartisan congressional legislation that would provide $1.3 billion to conserve more than 12,000 fish and wildlife species in greatest need of conservation while providing the public with more access to open spaces.

The resolution supports the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (HR5650), which was introduced on July 6 by Congressman Don Young (R-AK) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI). The bill would reallocate existing revenue from mineral extraction lease fees and royalties from federal lands and waters to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program.

The money would be apportioned annually to each state, territory, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia based on a formula of land area and human population. States would be required to provide a 25 percent match.

If passed, the legislation would provide North Carolina with approximately $32.1 million annually to implement the N.C. Wildlife Action Plan effectively. The plan, which was updated in 2015, identifies steps needed to conserve species of greatest conservation need and their habitats before they decline to the point that Endangered Species Act protection is required. The new funding would help build capacity to conserve many species that are declining.

 “This is a watershed moment in fish and wildlife conservation,” said Gordon Myers, the Wildlife Commission’s executive director. “This legislation completes a funding model to conserve all fish and wildlife species building on successes of the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts enacted by Congress last century.”

The bill would implement the March 2016 recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources, a nonpartisan panel comprising 26 leaders who represent outdoor recreation retailers and manufacturers, the energy industry, sportsmen’s groups and other conservation organizations. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) convened the panel to make recommendations on providing continual and secure funding for wildlife species and their habitats.

For more information about wildlife conservation in North Carolina, visit the Commission’s Conserving page, www.ncwildlife.org/conserving