Crucial Bird Conservation Programs Cut 50% by The House

Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) photo by Larry Jordan

(Washington, D.C., June 22, 2012) American Bird Conservancy

In a move attacked by bird conservation groups as “one of the most regressive wildlife appropriations” ever, crucial conservation programs were slashed by 50%  of FY 2012 funding levels in a funding bill approved by the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee for Fiscal Year 2013.  The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) – a major source of funding for conservation programs that benefit migratory birds –was also cut in half.

Also sliced in half were funding for State Wildlife Grants, the nation’s core program for preventing birds and wildlife from becoming endangered in addition to supporting strategic conservation investments in every state and territory, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which provides funding for conservation projects that benefit wetland birds. Read the full article here.