Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Reauthorization Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be the co-lead of H.R. 5009, the WILD Act. I want to start by thanking my partner, Representative Joyce, for his hard work on this bipartisan bill. The WILD Act would authorize and amend several wildlife conservation laws, making it easier to support long-term conservation in the United States and abroad.

The multinational species conservation funds, which are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, support five programs that help conserve iconic wildlife species, including elephants, rhinos, tigers, great apes, and turtles.

Grants awarded through these programs can be used to secure additional matching funds, increasing the impact of U.S. dollars. Awards made through these funds support synchronized aerial surveys, increasing habitat connectivity, reducing poaching and wildlife crime, community engagement activities, and breeding and reintroduction programs.

The WILD Act also would reauthorize the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, which supports habitat restoration efforts across the United States and territories.

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs biologists who work with private landowners to help them conserve and improve wildlife habitat.

Program staff provide free technical and financial assistance to plan, design, supervise, and monitor customized habitat restoration projects ranging in size from a few acres to hundreds of thousands of acres.

The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is an important component of our Nation's collaborative conservation efforts for endangered and threatened species.

Mr. Speaker, the WILD Act is a bipartisan win for conservation.

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Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to strongly support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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