News
As the National Wildlife Refuge Association celebrates its 48th birthday, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the important work this organization has done in protecting, promoting, and enhancing the National Wildlife Refuge System.
In November, the National Wildlife Refuge Association continued to advocate for increased appropriations for the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System) in fiscal year (FY) 2023. We led a letter signed by 62 organizations, including 17 Refuge Friends organizations, to appropriators requesting at least the funding levels of $574 million included in the House-passed version of the Department of the Interior Appropriations bill, and we signed a group letter requesting increased funding for environmental agencies that goes well above simply keeping pace with inflation.
The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the wild, pristine, and ecologically intact places in America, home to more than one thousand different species of animals and plants. It is also an economically important area for local residents and holds great cultural and historical significance, with Native American roots dating back thousands of years. This is why the National Wildlife Refuge Association, with partners; the National Parks Conservation Association, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Center for Biological Diversity, are taking legal action to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from the proposed strip mine from Twin Pines.
Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska recently had a big win in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when a rehearing was granted for a previous District Court decision that could allow a road to be constructed across the unique national wildlife refuge. The National Wildlife Refuge Association, former President Jimmy Carter, Former Secretary Bruce Babbitt, and other conservation partners petitioned to request a rehearing of that decision by a larger set of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges earlier this year.
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, putting our nation on a new path to tackle the climate crisis and build a clean energy economy. This historic $370 billion package is a critical investment in our future and we applaud the diligent efforts in Congress to get this bill over the finish line. We were pleased to see the inclusion of over $121 million to address the threat of invasive species and increase the resiliency and capacity of habitats within the National Wildlife Refuge System and State wildlife management areas.
The evidence of the effects of lead toxicity on wildlife populations and human health has been growing quickly over the past few decades. The National Wildlife Refuge System should be the pinnacle of wildlife protection and conservation on public lands. We must acknowledge the adverse health effects lead has on wildlife, especially on national wildlife refuges throughout the country.
The decades-long battle to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska has reached a milestone as yet another major oil company pulls its lease to drill for oil in the sensitive Coastal Plain ecosystem. Regenerate Alaska is now the third company to abandon its lease in addition to Chevron and Hilcorp who did less than a week earlier.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association recently named Libby Marking as the Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy. Libby will work closely with Congress and the Administration to promote federal conservation funding and policy affecting the National Wildlife Refuge System. She also will lead the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association recently named Elizabeth (Liz) Figueroa as the South Florida Regional Partnership Specialist for NWRA’s Urban Wildlife Refuge Program. Liz’s primary focus is to build a major urban program throughout South Florida in partnership with the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach.
