Senator Feingold Continues Effort To Preserve National Wildlife Refuge System

Upholds Wisconsin Tradition to Protect Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Lands

April 2, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is continuing his strong support for the National Wildlife Refuge System by calling for an increase in funding to help meet the tremendous budget shortfalls the refuges face.

Feingold and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) were joined by 33 other senators in writing to the Senate Appropriators requesting a modest increase in funding for necessary operational and maintenance costs of the Refuge System. Each year, rising costs and inadequate funding for the Refuge System create huge maintenance backlogs and lead to staffing cuts.

The National Wildlife Refuge System’s financial challenges undermine its ability to provide habitats for wildlife and wildlife-dependent recreation for nearly 40 million Americans who visit the Refuge System each year. In order to get the Refuge System’s funding back on track, the Senators are requesting $514 million for fiscal year 2009, which would be an $80 million increase over fiscal year 2008. Last year, Feingold and Snowe led a successful effort in the Senate to increase funding for the Refuge System by nearly $40 million.

“The Refuge System faces immense challenges in maintaining our refuges, which over a thousand wildlife species call home and millions of Americans visit every year,” Feingold said. “I will continue to work in the great Wisconsin tradition of protecting the environment by ensuring adequate funding is available to restore and protect our treasured refuges.”

The travel and recreation of the nearly 40 million Americans who visit the Refuge System each year generates $1.7 billion in sales for regional economies and creates more than 27,000 jobs and $543 million in employment income. While the Refuge System is the premier wildlife system in the world, accumulating debts are putting this national treasure at risk. The Refuge System faces an operations and maintenance backlog in excess of $3 billion and a devastating 20 percent cut in staff. In response to budget shortfalls, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a massive restructuring plan for the Refuge System that, if fully implemented, would result in a loss of law enforcement, staff, invasive species control, species restoration, environmental education, and public use programs for the refuges.

In August 2007, Feingold was presented with an award for his leadership in supporting the National Wildlife Refuge System by the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), a coalition of more than 20 conservation, sporting and scientific organizations that range from the Defenders of Wildlife to the National Rifle Association.

Source: Senator Russ Feingold

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