Warnock, Ossoff co-sponsor bipartisan wildlife bill
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From staff reports
COVINGTON — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., has joined Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in cosponsoring the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a bipartisan bill that will dedicate $1.4 billion annually to locally-led efforts to help at-risk wildlife species.
“Thanks to support from Sens. Warnock and Ossoff, we have the opportunity to get this bill signed into law this summer,” Mike Worley, president and CEO of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, said. “Georgians can take pride in the fact that we are doing our part to avert a looming wildlife extinction crisis. This bold, bipartisan bill will tackle the problem at the scale that is needed, without raising taxes or creating new regulations.”
The bill would provide $27.4 million for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to fully implement the state’s Wildlife Action Plan. More than 640 Georgia species would benefit, from bobwhite quail and gopher tortoises to Georgia aster and Cherokee darters.
Jon Ambrose, chief of DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section, explained that the plan is a statewide, partner-supported strategy to conserve native wildlife and natural habitats before these animals, plants and places become rarer and more costly to save or restore.
“Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will provide critical funding to protect that heritage and help ensure that future Georgians can also experience the wildlife we enjoy today,” Ambrose said.
The Senate bill currently has 36 co-sponsors, including 16 Republicans. The Senate bill has notably strong support in the Southeast: Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Arkansas all have at least one Senator backing the effort.
“The Georgia stamp of approval from both Sen. Ossoff and Sen. Warnock will be a key reason why this bill makes it to the president’s desk,” Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said. “There’s no such thing as a Republican white-tailed deer or a Democratic brook trout, and this bill shows that wildlife conservation can still bring Congress together, even in these divided times.”
A companion bill passed the House with bipartisan support on June 14.
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