Make your opinions known to decision-makers on issues of importance to you and National Wildlife Refuge Association. http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/alertlist.asp Sat, 19 May 2012 07:05:02 GMT Sat, 19 May 2012 07:05:02 GMT en-us action alerts thedatabank, inc. Technology for Change. http://www.thedatabank.com/
For more than a century the Lacey Act has prevented poaching wildlife, importing illegal plants and wildlife, and the spread of invasive species. The Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures Act of 2012 (FOCUS Act) seeks to decriminalize wildlife related crimes that are enforced under the Lacey Act. Sponsored by Representative Paul Broun (R-GA) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), the FOCUS Act seeks to decriminalize the law that prevents wildlife from being traded illegally in the United States and helps stop the illegal importation of invasive species like the Burmese python. The Lacey Act is a statute that gives the Fish and Wildlife Service (as well as NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) the authority to carry a firearm. By decriminalizing this law, it would prohibit the law enforcement officers that patrol our national wildlife refuges from carrying a gun. Many Refuge System law enforcement officers come in contact with people carrying firearms on a daily basis. While the vast majority of these people are law-abiding citizens, not all have the best intentions. A Refuge Law Enforcement officer could be putting themselves and others at great risk when confronting an armed individual in violation of Refuge rules and regulations. Lawmakers have proposed the FOCUS Act in part as a response to a raid on the Gibson Guitar Company for buying illegally harvested wood from India. Some lawmakers see the Lacey Act as overly stringent, but it is the best tool we have for preventing poaching endangered species and introducing exotic species to the United States, and it has been effective for over 100 years. The unintended consequences of decriminalizing the Lacey Act are sweeping and put Refuge Law Enforcement officers and the general public in great danger. We need your help to ensure Federal Wildlife Officers on our national wildlife refuges and elsewhere in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are able to carry firearms to do their jobs. Please send a message to your lawmakers urging them to say NO to these two foolish pieces of legislation.

Deadline for action: 5/17/2013.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=6033 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=6033 Thu, 17 May 2012 17:44:12 GMT
Stop the Road to Nowhere! In 2009 Congress passed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11), and authorized the construction of a multi-million dollar road through the ecological heart of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Alaska, with a stipulation that the Secretary of the Department of Interior must decide that the project is in the “public interest.” The proposed road would bisect the federally designated wilderness in the heart of the refuge, destroying this fragile ecosystem. Under the law, lands would be offered in exchange for the corridor on which the road would be built; however, these lands are of significantly lesser conservation value. For this environmentally devastating and costly road to be constructed, Secretary Salazar must first find the road to be in the public interest through an environmental review of the project, called an Environmental Impact Statement or (EIS). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a Draft EIS and NWRA and the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges have provided comments, we need advocates from around the nation to speak up on behalf of this internationally significant wetland and wildlife refuge. Background: Proponents argue it is needed to transport people in emergencies across a bay - from King Cove (pop 800) to Cold Bay (pop 80). However, Congress already solved this problem in 1998, with a $37.5 million appropriation to King Cove used to purchase a state-of-the-art hovercraft for regular ferry and emergency medical service; upgrade King Cove’s medical facilities; construct new marine terminals; and build an unpaved road between the town of King Cove and the connecting marine terminal. The hovercraft is working and has met every medical evacuation need of the King Cove community since it became operational conducting at least 32 successful medevacs, and operating with a 100% success rate. Even the Mayor of the Aleutians East Borough, a road proponent, agrees, saying the hovercraft is “a lifesaving machine” and “it is doing what it is supposed to do.” The Aleutians East Borough has halted operation of the hovercraft – despite its amazing success rate – saying that it is too costly to operate. However, they have petitioned FWS to allow them to transfer the hovercraft to another part of their community where it would provide EXACTLY the same service! Constructing the proposed road would disrupt nesting wildlife and fragment the wildlife refuge. Additionally, it would set a dangerous legal precedent that could threaten millions of acres of land that is designated “wilderness” by the United States. THE EASIEST WAY TO HELP: Use the Refuge Action Network (RAN) below to submit a comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – urge them to reject the Road to Nowhere and protect the Izembek NWR by adopting “No Action” alternative in their DEIS! (You may also submit comments directly to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via e-mail, fax or regular mail: izembek_eis@fws.gov fax: 907-786-3965 Mail: Stephanie Brady, Project Team Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1011 East Tudor Rd., MS-231, Anchorage, AK 99503.

Deadline for action: 5/1/2013.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=6024 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=6024 Fri, 18 May 2012 15:04:58 GMT
BACKGROUND The House of Representatives will be voting on a five-year $240 billion Transportation bill early next week. House leadership is using the Transportation bill to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. The bill, entitled “American Energy & Jobs Infrastructure Act”, requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement an oil and gas-leasing program in the Arctic NWR and use the revenues generated to pay for transportation projects. Drilling in the Arctic NWR will produce less than 1% of the revenues needed to fund the transportation bill. In addition, the Federal Highway Trust needs an infusion of funds NOW before it becomes insolvent and drilling will be too little too late. WHAT’S AT STAKE IF THERE IS DRILLING IN THE ARCTIC? The Arctic NWR, among the best-known refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, is home to musk ox, polar bears, wolves, shorebirds and many other diverse species of wildlife. The 100-mile Coastal Plain of the refuge plays a critical role as the calving grounds for 129,000 caribou that make up the Porcupine herd. Arctic NWR also provides vital nesting habitat for millions of migratory birds representing 135 species from all over the United States and other countries – there’s a good chance, no matter where you live in the U.S., that you’ve seen birds that spend time in this pristine Wilderness. The Arctic Refuge Coastal Plain represents the last 5% of Alaska’s north coast that remains legally closed to oil and gas exploration and development. The other 95% of Alaska’s Coastal Plain is already open to potential oil and gas development. Interestingly enough, this same 5% is also considered the biological heart of the refuge. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would introduce roads and pipelines spider-webbing across hundreds of thousands of acres on the coastal plain. HOW YOU CAN HELP! Use the Refuge Action Network (RAN) to contact your U.S. Representative and tell him/her to vote NO on H.R. 7. You are encouraged to personalize the letter provided below. Urge your elected officials to oppose this destructive legislation. And if possible, please take an extra moment to call your Representative. You can be instantly connected to your Representative by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. If you’re not sure who your Representative is, you can look it up by your zip code here: http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Deadline for action: 3/9/2013.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5774 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5774 Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:21:47 GMT
As the Refuge System is about to celebrate it’s 109th birthday, it faces unprecedented challenges. But right now we have an opportunity to demonstrate the level of support for the Refuge System and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. To demonstrate that support your U.S. Representative needs to sign onto two Dear Colleague letters and make a personal appeal to appropriators to provide $494.8 million in funding for the Refuge System in FY 13. During the budgeting process each member of Congress can make a specific funding request to an Appropriation Subcommittee. Ask your Representative to further demonstrate their support of the Refuge System by submitting a letter to the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to provide $494.8 million in funding for the Refuge System during FY 13. Congressman Gregorio Sablan from the U.S. Territory of the Northern Mariana Islands is circulating a Dear Colleague letter to the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson of Idaho and Ranking Member Jim Moran of Virginia, urging them to support the President’s budget request of $494.8 million for the operations and maintenance of the National Wildlife Refuge System. While this is an increase of $8.8 million over FY 12 budget it only covers inflation and it will allow the Refuge System to maintain current management capability. Finally, the Refuge System is mandated to grow strategically to protect important habitats. Congress established the LWCF in 1965 to meet the nation’s growing desire to preserve natural areas, culturally and historically significant landmarks, and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. A portion of receipts from offshore oil and gas leases are placed in LWCF to fund state and local conservation, as well as for the protection of our national treasures such as national wildlife refuges, national parks and forests. LWCF is one of the primary sources of land acquisition funding for the Refuge System. Please urge your Representative to sign a Dear Colleague letter supporting $450 million in LWCF funding LWCF for FY 13. The letter’s eight co-leaders are: Mike Thompson (CA-D) Charles Bass (NH-R) Christopher Murphy (CT-D) Rush Holt (NJ-D) Jim Gerlach (PA-R) Robert Dold (IL-R) G.K. Butterfield (NC-D) James McGovern (MA-D) NOTE: If your Representative is a member of the subcommittee, they will likely not sign the letters as it goes to them but you can always thank them for their support! Members of House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies: Mike Simpson (Chair – ID), Jerry Lewis (CA), Ken Calvert (CA), Steven LaTourette (OH), Tom Cole (OK), Jeff Flake (AZ), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Jim Moran (Ranking Member-VA), Betty McCollum (MN), Maurice Hinchey (NY), Jose Serrano (NY)

Deadline for action: 3/1/2013.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5853 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5853 Fri, 9 Mar 2012 14:18:55 GMT
The LWCF was established by Congress in 1965 to meet the nation's growing desire to preserve natural areas, culturally and historically significant landmarks, and provide opportunities for outdoor recreation. The Act designated that a portion of receipts from offshore oil and gas leases be placed into a fund annually for state and local conservation, as well as for the protection of our national treasures such as national wildlife refuges, national parks and forests. The LWCF program has added millions of acres to all our public lands - approximately 1.5 million acres of the NWRS were acquired through the LWCF. Despite LWCF's strong track record of success over the past 44 years, the program faces enormous challenges. Lands with significant historic, cultural, and wildlife values are rapidly being converted to other uses. Factors that are responsible for this trend include increasing land values, population growth, and the development of the rural-urban fringe. Yet, in the face of escalating development pressures, funding for the LWCF declined precipitously for years until recent funding increases brought revitalization into the program. Funding History LWCF is authorized at $900 million annually, a level that has only been reached once during the program's 40-year history, and adjusted for inflation, would be north of $3 billion. The program is divided into two distinct funding pots: State grants and Federal acquisition funds, with funding for land acquisition in the NWRS only a portion of that. Until FY 09, program funding followed a dramatic decline, with a total of only $138 million in fiscal year (FY) 2008. The recorded balance in offshore oil revenues credited to, but not appropriated to, the LWCF is approaching $17 billion. LWCF funding for federal land acquisition fell from $445 million in FY 2001 to $138 million in FY 2008.

Deadline for action: 12/19/2012.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5662 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5662 Fri, 9 Dec 2011 20:12:14 GMT
Senate Refuge champions, Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have introduced a resolution to designate the week beginning on October 9, 2011, as “National Wildlife Refuge Week” but we need your help to ensure the Senate passes it. This non-binding resolution states that the Senate: (1) designates the week beginning on October 9, 2011, as ‘‘National Wildlife Refuge Week’’; (2) encourages the observance of National Wildlife Refuge Week with appropriate events and activities; (3) acknowledges the importance of national wildlife refuges for their recreational opportunities and contribution to local economies across the United States; (4) pronounces that national wildlife refuges play a vital role in securing America’s hunting and fishing heritage of the United States for future generations; (5) identifies the significance of national wildlife refuges in advancing the traditions of wildlife observation, photography, environmental education, and interpretation; (6) recognizes the importance of national wildlife refuges to wildlife conservation and the protection of imperiled species and ecosystems, as well as compatible uses; (7) acknowledges the role of national wildlife refuges in conserving waterfowl and waterfowl habitat pursuant to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (40Stat. 755, chapter 128); (8) reaffirms the support of the Senate for wildlife conservation and the National Wildlife Refuge System; and (9) expresses the intent of the Senate to (A) continue working to conserve wildlife, and (B) to manage the National Wildlife Refuge System for current and future generations. It is important to pass this resolution to bring to the Senate’s attention the Refuge System and the leadership it provides in conserving wildlife for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans as well as the contributions of volunteers and “Friends” organizations in helping refuges achieve their goals. This is a list of current Senators who signed the 2010 Resolution: Senator Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] Senator Alexander, Lamar [TN] Senator Bennet, Michael F. [CO] Senator Bingaman, Jeff [NM] Senator Cantwell, Maria [WA] Senator Cardin, Benjamin L. [MD] Senator Casey, Robert P., Jr. [PA] Senator Corker, Bob [TN] Senator Crapo, Mike [ID] Senator Feinstein, Dianne [CA] Senator Inouye, Daniel K. [HI] Senator Kerry, John F. [MA] Senator Landrieu, Mary L. [LA] Senator Levin, Carl [MI] Senator Murray, Patty [WA] Senator Pryor, Mark L. [AR] Senator Reed, Jack [RI] Senator Shaheen, Jeanne [NH] Senator Stabenow, Debbie [MI] Senator Udall, Mark [CO] Senator Udall, Tom [NM] Senator Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] To read the full text of the this resolution click on "more".

Deadline for action: 9/26/2012.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5515 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5515 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:26:20 GMT
Fifty years ago, on December 6, 1960, President Eisenhower created the Arctic National Wildlife Range at the urging of such visionaries as Mardy and Olaus Murie. And twenty years later on December 2, 1980, President Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) which enlarged the Range to its current 19 million acres, designated much of it as Wilderness and officially changed its name to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, also included in ANILCA was a provision that Congress could go back and open the Coastal Plain to oil and gas drilling. For 30 years advocates have successfully relied on simple grassroots mobilization to bar powerful oil and gas lobbies from spoiling this national treasure. Now is the time to permanently protect the Arctic NWR by designating the Coastal Plain as Wilderness – the highest level of protection in the United States. While such a designation allows for visitation and recreation, the goal is to leave no trace of human impact. Federal Wilderness designation requires action by Congress and applies only to public lands: National Parks, Forests, Bureau of Land Management lands and of course, National Wildlife Refuges. Within the National Wildlife Refuge System there are approximately 21 million acres designated as Wilderness on 65 refuges; across all federal lands, there are more than 105 million acres of designated wilderness. Wilderness designation of the Arctic NWR would forever protect this land, not only for the wildlife that depends upon its health and vitality for survival, but for each and every one of us. WHAT’S AT STAKE? The Arctic NWR, among the best-known refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, is home to musk ox, polar bears, wolves, shorebirds and many other diverse species of wildlife. The 100-mile coastal plain of the refuge plays a critical role as the calving grounds for 129,000 caribou that make up the Porcupine herd. Arctic NWR also provides vital nesting habitat for millions of migratory birds representing 135 species from all over the United States and other countries – there’s a good chance, no matter where you live in the U.S., that you’ve seen birds that spend time in this pristine wilderness. The Arctic Refuge coastal plain represents the last 5% of Alaska’s north coast that remains legally closed to oil and gas exploration and development. The other 95% of Alaska’s coastal plain is already open to potential oil and gas development. Interestingly enough, this same 5% is also considered the biological heart of the 19-million-acre refuge. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would introduce a spider web of roads and pipelines across hundreds of thousands of acres on the coastal plain. HOW YOU CAN HELP! Use the Refuge Action Network (RAN) to contact your two U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and urge them to permanently protect the Arctic NWR by passing the Arctic Refuge Wilderness Act (H.R. 139 & S. 33).

Deadline for action: 7/20/2012.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5427 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5427 Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:14:27 GMT
Congress is currently assembling their funding bills for next year and they need to hear from constituents that our National Wildlife Refuge System and associated conservation programs such as the Land and Water Conservation Plan, State Wildlife Grants should not be gutted or eliminated. Please ask your U.S. Representative and Senators, via NWRA’s Refuge Action Network, to support and defend funding that will protect America’s wildlife. The Refuge System saw meaningful funding increases from FY 2008 – FY 2010, but unfortunately, the final appropriation for FY 2011, an $11 million cut, is in actuality a $19 million reduction when factoring in the amount the System needs annually to maintain existing management capabilities such as rising fuel costs, rents, etc... The overall budget plan from the House of Representatives would drastically reduce conservation programs by approximately $2 billion – and the Refuge System would not be immune. We urge Congress to reject drastic cuts to refuges and fund the Operations and Maintenance accounts of the Refuge System at $511 million for FY 2012, essentially flat funding from FY 2010. We estimate the refuges need at least $519 million to maintain management capabilities from FY 2010; our request represents a sacrifice as we deal with our nation’s fiscal crisis. Please urge Congress to support and defend funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System, Land and Water Conservation Fund, North American Wetlands Conservation Act and State Wildlife Grants Program in the FY 2012 Interior Appropriations Bill.

Deadline for action: 5/31/2012.]]> http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5321 http://refugenet.e-actionmax.com/takeaction.asp?aaid=5321 Thu, 26 May 2011 19:49:15 GMT