Over 100 conservation groups are urging Congress to increase the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget for endangered species conservation from $331 million to $841 million.
The groups claim the agency currently receives less than half of the funding required to fully implement the Endangered Species Act’s mandate to recover listed species.
“With time running out, we need our leaders to make bold investments in saving life on earth,” said Stephanie Kurose, senior endangered species policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “There’s no better way to honor this landmark law and its five decades of success than by fully funding it.”
The groups also request $66.3 million for the agency’s listing program, three-fold the current allocation. The organizations claim nearly 50 species have been declared exciting while waiting for protections because of funding shortfalls.
