Defenders Condemns Administration's Dangerous Proposed Budget Cuts to Wildlife Conservation

Defenders of Wildlife condemns the Trump administration’s dangerous budget proposal asking Congress to cut significant resources for vital wildlife conservation. The proposed budget would shrink and consolidate critical federal agencies, open federal land and waters to development and move management of an unspecified number of national parks to the state level.  

“This budget proposal is another clear signal of how far this administration is willing to go to demolish the critical infrastructure that supports our cherished public lands and wildlife,” said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders. “The Trump administration is making a grievous error by slashing programs and staff in the name of efficiency and would be striking a disastrous blow to the agencies charged with conserving imperiled species and habitats. Through and through, this budget is a reckless and irresponsible attack on America’s lands and wildlife.”

Among other harmful provisions, the budget proposes to:

• Merge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species programs and layer on a massive $37 million cut. These programs are already significantly underfunded, and the consolidation will result in a loss of crucial conservation expertise that will lead to further declines of the more than 1,600 U.S. species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
• Eliminate FWS grant programs that support conservation of migratory birds, iconic international species and other crucial wildlife conservation efforts by states, tribes and other stakeholders on the ground.
• Transfer unidentified National Park Service lands to state-level management and reduce the agency’s budget by 900 million dollars.
• Threaten the removal of certain national monuments and open them to energy development and resource extraction.  
• Cut Bureau of Land Management conservation programs by nearly $200 million, including specifically targeting BLM’s Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Management program, which is responsible for managing threatened and endangered species and plays a crucial role in leading the nation’s seed strategy and generating millions of pounds of native seed urgently needed for land management activities every year.  
• Slash the budget of the National Forest System, including its highly regarded research program, while increasing timber production.  
• Eliminate unidentified programs in the U.S. Geological Survey that provide grants to universities, or address climate change and environmental research. The USGS is regarded as a world leader in biological, ecological, and geological research.

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For inquiries, please contact Communications Director, Maggie Dewane at mdewane@defenders.org