Recovering America's Wildlife Act

Funding from the Recovering America's Wildlife Act would augment traditional wildlife revenue streams such as state hunting and fishing licenses and taxes on hunting and fishing gear. It is expected to create thousands of jobs both at wildlife agencies and in the outdoor recreation industry. But we are running out of time to get RAWA passed this legislative session — if our representatives don't act, we'll have to wait till 2023 to try again. Wildlife needs action now.

Update on RAWA - 12/20/22

Unfortunately, RAWA did not make it onto the end-of-year package due to disagreements on a fiscal offset. The National Wildlife Federation has pledged to keep working with its 52 state and territorial affiliates, more than 6 million members, states, territories, and Tribal Nations, and allies in the nonprofit and private sectors to pass the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act into law. Although we are disheartened with this result, we will continue to work tirelessly to get this crucial act made into law. Read the National Wildlife Federation's press release.

Urge your representative to support RAWA to save America's vulnerable wildlife.

Email your representative today!

One-third of all U.S. wildlife species are already imperiled or are vulnerable—and nearly one million species worldwide are at risk of extinction.

Plants and animals become threatened or endangered due to:

Loss of habitat due to climate change, drought, invasive species, disease and severe weather
Illegal or unregulated hunting or collection
Competition from non-native species
Pollution.

The rapid decline of so many species of wildlife and the habitats they depend on threatens our quality of life and our outdoor recreation economy, which contributes $887 billion to our national economy annually, creates 7.6 million direct jobs, and generates $124.5 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.

Hunters and anglers, outdoor recreationists, and conservationists agree:

We need a solution that can cross the political isle to protect wildlife and their habitat in Arizona and across the nation.

What is RAWA, and what does it do?

The House bill would provide $1.4 billion in annual funding over five years for proactive, collaborative efforts by the states and tribes to recover wildlife species at risk.
The state agencies have identified 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of conservation assistance in their federally-approved State Wildlife Action Plans. These plans would guide spending from the bill.
The Tribal Nations would receive $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation efforts on the more than 140 million acres they manage.
At least 10 percent of the resources would be used to recover species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
A 2018 report, Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife, found that one-third of America’s wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction. More than 150 U.S. species already have gone extinct. Nearly 500 additional species have not been seen in recent decades and are regarded as possibly extinct.

Read our recent Op Ed:

Read the RAWA Arizona Factsheet:

Previous news on AWF's and other conservation organizations' support of RAWA:

AZ Conservationists Back Bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

Protecting wildlife and their habitats through education, inspiration, advocacy, and action since 1923

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Arizona Wildlife Federation

PO Box 1182, Mesa, AZ 85211
(480) 702-1365
awf@azwildlife.org

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