“The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is the most significant piece of wildlife legislation since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act was passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee today, priming it for a vote on the House floor. The bipartisan legislation, which has nearly 160 co-sponsors, would fund proactive conservation efforts to prevent species from becoming endangered and would provide additional funding for species that are already listed.
“Right now more than one-third of all wildlife species in the United States are at heightened risk of extinction — and demand immediate conservation attention. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is the most significant piece of wildlife legislation since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Grijalva and Reps. Dingell, Fortenberry and Huffman, and the bill’s more than 150 bipartisan cosponsors, this historic bill is making important progress in the House and is showing that even in these divided times, wildlife conservation can bring all Americans together.”
About the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act:
• The bill will provide $1.397 billion in dedicated annual funding for proactive, on-the-ground wildlife conservation efforts in every state and territory.
• The bill will fund additional recovery efforts for the approximately 1,600 U.S. species already listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
• The majority of the money — $1.3 billion — will go to wildlife recovery efforts led by state wildlife agencies. This spending will be guided by the Congressionally mandated State Wildlife Action Plans, which identify 12,000 species of concern nationwide.
• Tribal Nations would receive $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation efforts on tens of millions of acres of land.
• The bill complements the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson) and Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson), which funded state-led recovery efforts on behalf of game and fish species that faced potential extinction in the 20th century.
_________________________________________________
Learn more about threatened and endangered wildlife in Indiana and how this legislation can help #RecoverWildlife by attending our January 18, 2020 Indiana Wildlife Conference.
Plant native plants in your backyard. Native plants provide crucial food sources and habitat for everything from pollinators to mammals. Being native, these plants are adapted to our specific climate, competition, and herbivores, benefitting our environment. You can purchase native plants through our Native Plant Sale or at a local supplier:
Local Suppliers: http://www.indianawildlife.org/wildlife/sources-indiana-native-plants
Remove invasive species from your yard and local natural areas. Invasive species are exotic species that spread quickly and overcome native plants. Being from another ecosystem, these plants have few, if any, natural predators. They are able to grow rapidly, forming dense colonies that are detrimental to the environment. Even if they just start in your yard, they can spread everywhere! Find a list of invasive species here.
Build feeders or homes for wildlife that you want to attract. There are many types of different feeders, catering to pollinators, different bird species, and mammals. In addition, you can build bird houses for your yard that can house anything from owls to cardinals. There are even bug houses, bat boxes, and toad abodes you can build if you want to attract these species. We have plenty of ideas for these activities on our Pinterest page!
Certify your yard, trail, or campus as wildlife habitat or a sustainable space. Through our Habitat Workshops, Sustainable Trails Initiative, and Landscaping the Sustainable Campus program, you can learn about the best ways to create a sustainable space for humans and wildlife. We offer certification programs so you can know the best steps to take in your process and show off your success when finished.
Volunteer through local conservation organizations or through citizen science efforts. Local conservation groups like IWF can always use volunteer help,. Want to help the conservation cause by participating in a fun citizen science project? Join our group on YardMap where you can plot your yard and everything in it, share advice with others, and see what kind of positive impact you’re having on wildlife!
Experience Wildlife
Visit state parks and other natural areas throughout the state. Indiana has a plethora of state parks and state forests that offer a variety of recreation opportunities. There are trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Indiana also has great fishing and hunting opportunities, so don’t forget to purchase your license. Check out other areas in Indiana like the Hoosier National Forest and local land trusts that offer recreation opportunities too!
Connect kids to wildlife through the IWF Kids’ Contest, Indiana Children and Nature Network’s Nature Play Days (keep an eye out for IWF’s event!), and these activities provided by National Wildlife Federation. These fun educational games are a great way to draw kids’ attention to wildlife that surrounds them.
Enroll in a Master Naturalist Course to take your identification skills to the next level. These courses offer certification level training so that you can become a pro outdoors, identifying all types of species. These courses also offer a great networking opportunity where you can meet some of the most experienced naturalists in the state.
Monarch Butterfly – The Monarch butterfly is known for its iconic orange colors and its incredible migration journey from Mexico to Canada and back again. Protecting Monarch habitat in this range will benefit all pollinators, benefitting our food system and natural beauty as a whole. The Monarch is reliant on different types of milkweed for food and reproduction, as they only lay their eggs on milkweed and only feed on milkweed leaves during their larval stages. This makes milkweed hugely important to the continued survival of these beautiful creatures. Want to help the monarch butterfly? Contact your mayor and ask them to sign on to the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge! IWF helped 12 cities and municipalities sign on already, and together we can get more! You can also plant milkweed in your yard or purchase a butterfly kit from our native plant sale to help monarchs in your yard. You can find out more about U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s efforts and how you can help here.
Cardinal – The state bird is a frequent flier throughout the state. These birds spend most of their lives in their mating pairs, through both summer and winter. The iconic bright red bird is the male, whereas the female has much more subdued plumage. Cardinals are often seen along hedgerows and wood margins, and nest among shrubs and saplings. This beautiful bird has a lovely singing voice that can brighten the mood of any day. These qualities have earned the bird the right to be the Indiana state bird, and are even protected nationally.
Sandhill Crane – Sandhill Cranes are another migrating species that pass through Indiana biannually, with some residing for longer. In late fall and early spring, these cranes can be seen in massive quantities in areas like Jasper-Pulaski FWA, in numbers exceeding 10,000. These birds travel a huge distance, from Mexico to the northern reaches of Canada. Some of these birds even cross the Bering Strait into Siberia for breeding purposes. Other birds are solitary, residing in Cuba or Florida without migrating. Every year Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in Greene County hosts Marsh Madness. This annual event celebrates the sandhill crane migration through Indiana with an assortment of events and viewing opportunities. Find out more here. View the video below for more information regarding the migration through Jasper-Pulaski FWA.
Hellbender Salamander – The Hellbender Salamander earned its name for its uniquely ugly appearance. With a broad head, baggy skin, large tail, and a color to match the murky river beds where it resides, this salamander is not a pretty sight at first glance. However, these one of a kind salamanders are actually the largest in North America, reaching up to 30 inches in length and 5 pounds in weight! These salamanders trudge through the muddy and rocky bottoms of rivers and creeks, eating crayfish and mollusks while living under rocks. Hellbenders used to be much more widespread, inhabiting different waterways in Indiana and throughout Appalachia into New York. Today, due to widespread pollution and habitat degradation, their range is decreasing, and can only be found in the Blue River of Indiana. Hellbenders, and other amphibians, are considered indicator species that show the health and water quality of an ecosystem. You can learn about Purdue Extension’s efforts to protect and save the Hellbender through this video. More information is available on their website.
Indiana Bat – The Indiana Bat is a state and federally endangered species due in large part to white-nose bat syndrome, a fungus that wakes bats prematurely from hibernation. These bats, as well as other species, are crucial to ecosystems worldwide. Bats serve as pollinators and insect control, benefitting ecosystems, crops, and mosquito hating citizens. Bats are incredible nocturnal creatures that fly and locate prey using echolocation. They emit high pitched frequencies that bounce off objects back to the bat, telling them the location of the object or location. During the day, bats roost in caves, under bark of trees, and in bat boxes. Indiana bats only produce one offspring per year in the spring, and then spend much of the year feeding and preparing for winter hibernation.
Black Bear – Indiana has recently experienced its first black bear sightings in many years. These black bears are not residents yet, but visitors from Kentucky and Michigan. However, with improved conservation efforts, Indiana may have its own residential black bears permanently. This would create many ecosystem shifts and much public education on coexisting with these creatures. You can learn more about Indiana’s most recent black bear in our article here.
River Otter – River otters, along with beavers, once provided a profitable market in the fur trade. Whereas this market was beneficial for the economy, it resulted in the local extinction of the animal. However, since that time, river otters have been successfully reintroduced to Indiana.
The conservation success story even surpassed the states goals, and today the river otter has been removed from the state endangered species list. River otter can be found in 80 counties across the state in riparian zones. These fun loving creatures are mostly solitary, but can be seen playing in rivers and streams during mating season as a ritual, as well as sliding down banks into the water.
