Below is a communication from the White House.
February 14, 2022 – Today, Senior Advisor and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu and other senior administration officials, including Sarah Greenberger the Associate Deputy Secretary at the Department of Interior, discussed how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will build a better America by investing in the conservation of and access to our public lands. Landrieu outlined the President’s commitment as part of the America the Beautiful Initiative to building partnerships with states, conservation groups, hunters, anglers, Tribes and others to conserve America’s lands and waters for future generations.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes billions for ecosystem restoration and resilience of America’s lands, invasive species detection and prevention, and native vegetation restoration efforts, on top of nearly $16 billion for cleaning up legacy pollution. On Friday, the Department of the Interior announced distribution of a record $1.5 billion in Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program allocations to state wildlife agencies throughout the nation. The WSFR was reauthorized as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Landrieu noted that these grants will make significant progress in our work to protect our cherished natural treasures, and together with other Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments, will make significant progress in our work on collaborative conservation.
From today’s conversation: “The tremendous amount of ongoing, new, or improved collaboration between the federal government, states, local leaders, tribes, nonprofits, and everyone here today will make it possible to build back better. Conservation is something we can all agree on, and as the President has said repeatedly, there’s so much common ground for those who seek to find it.” – Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator
Participants:
- Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
- National Wildlife Federation
- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
- Ducks Unlimited
- Trout Unlimited
- National Wildlife Refuge Association
- Mule Deer Foundation
- Wildlife Society
- National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
- Center for Sports Fishing Policy
- National Marine Manufacturers Association
- Watershed Results
- Outdoor Industry Association
- American Sportfishing Association
- Boone and Crockett Club
- The Wildlife Society
- International Game Fish Association
- National Deer Association
- American Saltwater Guides Association
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
- Wildlife Mississippi
- National Wild Turkey Federation
- Archery Trade Association
- Wildlife Management Institute
- Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies outgoing and incoming Presidents:
- Tony Wasley, Director, Nevada Department of Wildlife
- Sara Parker Pauley, Director, Missouri Department of Conservation
See Fiscal Year 2022 Apportionment tables by state for the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funds here.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)