Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI
Mule Deer Foundation and Partners Release Report Outlining Conservation Policy Recommendations
Today, the Mule Deer Foundation along with 50 hunting conservation partners released policy recommendations for the next White House Administration and the next two Congresses. Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI was developed by the groups that participate in the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) to provide specific actions to improve wildlife conservation and habitat management. The report is the culmination of more than a year of work by AWCP and represents a general agreement of the partners on conservation policy changes that could be undertaken by decision makers.
“Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI presents our federal elected officials with concrete actions that they can take on key policy issues that will make a positive difference for future management of wildlife and our nation’s federal public lands,” said Mule Deer Foundation president, Miles Moretti. “The American Wildlife Conservation Partners is an important coalition for MDF policy work, and we played an active role in helping develop the recommendations on big game migration corridors, energy development, public lands access, and active habitat management that are found in this report.”
The AWCP member organizations represent the interests of America’s millions of dedicated hunter conservationists, professional wildlife and natural resource managers, outdoor recreation users, conservation educators, and wildlife scientists. The 10 recommendations made in Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI focus on conservation funding, access and management of federal lands, big game migration corridors, integrating wildlife goals into energy planning, private land and species conservation, wildlife disease management, and habitat conservation in a changing climate. All of the recommendations encourage collaboration and cooperation between federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, and private landowners.
“State and federal agencies must work cooperatively to meet the needs of our wildlife and our communities – this is not a nicety, it’s a necessity,” wrote AWCP chairs the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Blake Henning (2020 chair) and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Jennifer Mock Schaeffer (2019 chair) in the introduction to the report. The specific recommendations made by the AWCP are featured in 10 distinct sections of the report. Each recommendation also includes detailed descriptions of the issues, action items to address the issues, and whether the issue should be addressed by Congress or a specific agency within the administration.
- Recommendation 1: Funding for Conservation – Secure permanent and dedicated conservation funding from public and private sources.
- – Enhance access for hunters and outdoor recreationists.
- – Require collaboration on big game migration corridors and habitats.
- – Integrate industry, state, and federal wildlife goals early in energy planning.
- – Incentivize private landowners to conserve wildlife and habitat and provide access for hunting.
- – Increase active management of federal land habitats and reduce litigation through collaboration.
- – Achieve greater results from an improved ESA program.
- Recommendation 8: Big Game Diseases – Support and assist states in addressing Chronic Wasting Disease and wild sheep pneumonia.
- Recommendation 9: Climate Change – Focus climate policy on habitat conservation and restoration.
- – Require collaboration for wildlife conservation, hunting, and recreational shooting on federal lands.
“MDF and its partners in AWCP will be working to ensure that Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI is received by each of the presidential campaigns and by members of Congress so that they can take action on these priorities,” concluded Moretti.
