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Thanks to Addie Rolnick for research contributions to this piece.

If sequestration goes into effect, $1.8 million will be cut from Yellowstone, the only place in the lower 48 states where a population of wild bison has persisted since prehistoric times. Our national parks are crucial to protecting American wildlife: one-third of endangered and threatened species in the U.S. can be found within park boundaries. (Debra Boucher)

Last month, we finally got a peek at what exactly sequestration might mean for America’s habitats and ecosystems—and it’s not pretty.

A setback for conservation and the economy

According to a January 25 National Park Service memo obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, sequestration will have a disastrous impact on parks and all those who enjoy them.

This is not mere speculation: in the memo, National Park Service director Jon Jarvis explicitly said that sequestration will force them to delay permanent and seasonal hiring—perhaps indefinitely, if the budget situation is not resolved—and limit access to cherished national treasures:

“We expect that a cut of this magnitude, intensified by the lateness of the implementation, will result in reductions to visitor services, hours of operation, shortening of seasons and possibly the closing of areas during periods when there is insufficient staff to ensure the protection of visitors, employees, resources and government assets.”

And there’s more: according to additional information obtained by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees last week, sequestration will directly impact more than 1 million visitors to 12 of the nation’s leading national parks.  In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar warned that, in addition to the steps above, the Department of the Interior will have to close 128 wildlife refuges and discontinue visitor services at all 561 national wildlife refuges.

If the Department of the Interior is forced to enact these cuts, it will not only undermine our rich national conservation legacy and restrict the activities of hunters, anglers, hikers, boaters, and all outdoor enthusiasts, it will have a serious economic impact. America’s 37 million sportsmen spent $90 billion in 2011 alone.  And 140 million Americans spend $646 billion a year on outdoor recreation, an industry that employs 6.1 million Americans.

Sportsmen agree: don’t cut conservation funding

In NWF’s 2012 national poll of sportsmen, 84% of respondents said that the federal government should make it a priority to conserve fish and wildlife habitat and manage public lands for fishing, hunting, and other outdoor recreation.

Don’t let Congress shirk their responsibility to our public lands. Indiscriminate cuts to discretionary programs that devastate our public lands and wildlife are not the solution.

Act now: click here to tell Congress  not to let the budget crisis devastate wildlife.

But today we got some good news: according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center, only 22% of Americans think we should cut spending for environmental protection, and 77% think spending on the environment should either increase or stay the same.

Investing in Conservation Gets Results

In 2011, there were 435 million visits to lands managed by the Department of Interior (DOI) — visits that supported 403,000 jobs and contributed $48.7 billion to local economies.  Clean air and water, access to public lands, and protected wildlife habitats are critical to the 37 million hunters and anglers who spent $90 billion in 2011, and to the $646 billion outdoor recreation industry, which employs 6.1 million Americans.  The National Park Service has already said that sequestration will force them to reduce visitor services and hours of operation, delay seasonal hiring indefinitely, and possibly close some or all of certain parks.

Act now — don’t let budget negotiations harm wildlife.  Click here to tell Congress that indiscriminate cuts to crucial conservation programs are not the solution.

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund

Many of North Americans’ favorite fish—rainbow trout, smelt, striped bass, bonefish,  scamp, Alabama cavefish, snapper, black grouper, yellow perch, blackspotted stickleback, flounder, monkfish, and gefilte, to name a few—will be at risk if the sequester budget cuts go into effect. National Wildlife Federation’s four million members love to fish. And fishing and hunting are on the rise: according to the 2011 national survey released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, there has been a 9% increase in hunters and an 11% increased in anglers over the last five years.

Protect America’s fishing legacy!
Photo: Colorado Division of Wildlife

The WSFR exists thanks to two pieces of legislation: the 1937 Pittman Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, which put an excise tax on sporting guns and ammunition in order to fund wildlife restoration, and the 1950 Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act, which applied the same principle to fisheries restoration. Together, the two funds offer one of the most successful examples of the “user pay/user benefit” principle: the funds come entirely from a modest excise tax on fishing and hunting equipment, and are distributed to states by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be used for conservation projects that enhance wildlife recreation and hunting and fishing opportunities.  Nevertheless, these funds already reserved for conservation will be subject to deep and catastrophic cuts under sequestration.

A Legacy of Conservation

The WSFR has had perhaps more impact than any other single conservation program. The flexible distribution of the funds means that states have considerable agency in deciding how best to use them, and WSFR has been used for an incredible variety of conservation programs. Over the past 75 years, it has helped restore countless wildlife populations and habitats, supported outdoor recreation and education program, and assisted states in acquiring delicate wetlands.

In 2012, the WSFR gave out about $720 million to states for conservation and restoration programs, funding that is crucial to the day-to-day operation of state fish and wildlife agencies.

Under sequestration, however, spending by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund will be cut by a total of $65 million—funds that would otherwise go towards restoring critical wildlife habitats and fisheries.

What is more, the continued funding of sportsmen-valued programs like the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program is incredibly important to our economy:  in 2011, over 37 million hunters and anglers spent $90 billion in recreational expenditures nationwide.  The recent sportsmen’s poll released by National Wildlife Federation showed that, regardless of political affiliation, America’s sportsmen are committed to conservation programs like WSFR.

At a time when climate change was almost completely absent from the presidential election , it is more important than ever to fight for the crucial conservation programs we rely on to protect wildlife for our children’s future. Click on the button to contact your Senators and Representatives today to let them know that sequestration will have a huge impact on the conservation programs you care about, and urge them to work towards a balanced approach to raise revenue, reduce the deficit, and prevent these cuts. 

If only our lobby day was this fun.
Photo: Susan McElhinney/NWF

• Further cuts to the National Wildlife Refuge System—already operating on a budget of just $3.24 per acre—will result in closed refuges and lost revenue, among other impacts.

• The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program, which provides crucial funding for preventing wildlife from becoming endangered, will be cut by about $5 million, leaving only $56 million to protect wildlife in all 50 states.

• The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has provided funding for countless National Parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands, will be cut by about $20 million, almost certainly delaying or halting crucial conservation projects.

• The Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Programs and Management funding, which supports a variety of environmental protection and restoration programs—including critical Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act protection programs—will be cut by $220 million, undermining fundamental federal regulation and putting our access to clean air and water at risk.

• The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program, which makes investments in clean energy essential to our nation’s environment and economy, will be cut by $148 million.

• The Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Funds—which are used to support wildlife and fisheries conservation—will be cut by $34 million and $31 million respectively, endangering countless species and restricting the activities of the 37 million hunters and anglers who contributed $90 billion to our economy in the past year alone.  These come from a trust fund paid into by sportsmen for sportsmen via an excise tax on fishing, hunting, and boating equipment; that even funds already reserved for conservation are subject to deep cuts demonstrates the fundamental unfairness of sequestration.

Very rarely are our legislative fights this black and white: we compromise, we battle over minutiae, we strive to see strong conservation policies implemented, yet so often settle for good enough.  In this case, however, our message is crystal clear: the sequestration cuts cannot happen.

Here in D.C., NWF’s crack team of conservation advocates is doing their best to put pressure on Congress. But we need your help and your voices—act now by contacting your Senators and Representatives today to let them know that sequestration will have a huge impact on the conservation programs you care about, and urge them to work towards a balanced approach to raise revenue, reduce the deficit, and prevent these cuts.

Since starting at NWF’s D.C. office in September, I’ve come to enjoy visiting Capitol Hill: testing which offices have the best local souvenirs (personally, it’s a close call between Alabama’s peanuts and Pennsylvania’s Hershey chocolate), which offices feature the most surprising wall décor (a polar bear skin and a functioning canoe are just the tip of the iceberg) and get the most into the holiday spirit (currently, the office of Guam’s at-large congressional district is putting everyone else to shame). But my favorite part is knowing that I am speaking on behalf of the over 4 million gardeners, hikers, boaters, sportsmen, and wildlife enthusiasts that are members and supporters of NWF.

A report released today by the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), a diverse coalition of sporting, conservation and scientific organizations representing 15 million Americans, warns that unless Congress abandons the automatic “sequestration” cuts scheduled to occur in January, the Refuge System could be forced to close refuges and eliminate popular recreational opportunities which many communities depend upon as economic drivers.

Evidence of sea level rise at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware. Photo taken in early spring of 2012 — before Hurricane Sandy. Credit: Bentley Johnson

1. Closed refuges and visitor centers;
2. Loss of hunting and fishing opportunities;
3. Volunteers turned away;
4. Lost revenue to local economies;
5. Increased poaching, vandalism and drug smuggling;
6. Lost opportunities for birding and wildlife watching;
7. Spread of invasive species;
8. Halted habitat restoration and fire management;
9. Delayed response to natural disaster devastation; and
10. Terminating a newly initiated inventory and monitoring program.

Already we are seeing wildlife refuges struggle to keep up with existing challenges, such as sea level rise and damage from extreme weather as a result of climate change (check out this story from the Washington Post on how Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on East Coast refuges). Any further cuts will leave refuge managers with hard decisions and no-win scenarios. Refuges aren’t alone: the conservation of wildlife and America’s public lands in general (including National Parks) is at risk.

Banking on Refuges

Wildlife refuges don’t just provide habitat for migratory birds or endangered species: they are drivers for our economy.

“The 560 national wildlife refuges that make up the 150-million-acre Refuge System generate more than $4.2 billion annually for local economies and create nearly 35,000 U.S. jobs annually.” says David Houghton, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and Chair of the CARE coalition.

Connecting People to Nature

Much of this economic activity is generated by the refuge system’s nearly 45 million visitors each year.  Activities like wildlife-watching, hunting, fishing, photography, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and environmental education programs may be curtailed if America’s refuges go over the Fiscal Cliff.  As Larry Schweiger, National Wildlife Federation’s President & CEO, gave a sense of urgency to the sequestration situation after the CARE report was released:

“Wildlife refuges give Americans fantastic opportunities to get outside and connect with nature as well as providing critical habitat for wildlife, which is vital in a warming world. Continued investment in our refuges will also drive our recreation economy through activities like hunting and fishing. The CARE coalition’s Fiscal Cliff report details the potentially devastating consequences to America’s wildlife refuges if our elected leaders do not put aside differences and agree on a budget solution. It’s critical that we all work together to conserve and protect wildlife for future generations.”

You can make a difference to help prevent the budget crisis from devastating wildlife and our shared National Wildlife Refuge System by clicking on the link and sending a message to your elected official now.

To learn more about the sequestration process AND look at adorable wildlife photos at the same time, check out this blog post in which wildlife complain about the fiscal cliff budget cuts: http://bit.ly/T5qywI

Brought to you by National Wildlife Federation.

It’s time to talk about

Photo by Theodore Mattas

In the summer of 2011, the federal government very nearly defaulted on its loans.

Photo by Nathan Meadows

It was.  So the President and Congress reached a deal: Congress agreed to increase the debt ceiling  (and prevent the government from defaulting on their loans) in return for a guarantee that the federal deficit would be reduced. A bipartisan

Photo by NSF

made up of six members of the House and six of the Senate—with each delegation evenly split between Democrats and Republicans—was formed to figure out a plan.

But things didn’t work out quite as they hoped.

Photo by Mike Bender

Yeah, it gets worse. To make sure they reached a deal in time, the

Photo by NSF

put a failsafe in place: if Congress failed to enact a bill reducing the deficit by January 15, 2012, a series of automatic spending cuts—called “sequestration”—would begin in 2013.

Photo by Vishal Bhav

But Congress DID fail to reach a deal.

Photo by James Turner

 And now unless Congress acts before January 2, mandatory spending cuts will slash $109 billion from the next year’s budget and $1.2 trillion over the following nine years.  This will have a devastating impact on key conservation programs and the wildlife and ecosystems they protect.

Photo by Mary Ellen Carter

I know. It’s a mess.

What’s worse, these cuts will have a disproportionate impact on conservation programs cherished by all those who enjoy access to our rich natural resources.

Many of these programs are already

Photo by Scott Landseidel

Like the EPA’s Environmental Programs and Management funding—crucial to Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act protection programs—which would be cut by $220 million.

And the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program, which provides crucial funding for preventing wildlife from becoming endangered, and which could be cut by about $5 million, leaving only $56 million to protect wildlife like:

Photo by Bala K. Srivinas

Photo by Gregory J. Fisher

Photo by USFWS

in all 50 states.

Funds that are supposed to be dedicated to restoring land, water, and wildlife resources—like the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which stands to be cut by about $20 million, and the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Fund, which would be cut by $65 million—will be 

Photo by Christine Haines

with everything else that’s being cut, endangering the conservation of critical wildlife habitats.

Tax breaks for oil aren’t affected, yet millions of dollars that protect clean air and water, wildlife conservation, alternative energy subsidies, and environmental remediation programs will be slashed.

Photo by Corel

I wish I was, believe me.

What is particularly awful about the sequestration cuts is that federal departments and agencies have no discretion about where to make the cuts: non-defense discretionary spending—which encompasses virtually all environmental programs—is subject to a cut of 8.2% at the program level.

Photo by Christopher Willis

OK, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, say, has a whole array of programs they fund, like the Multinational Species Conservation Fund and the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund. In this case, they can’t decide to keep the Multinational Species Conservation Fund intact and cut the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund by 16.4%; every program must be cut by 8.2%.

Photo by Dave Menke/USFWS

Basically,

Photo by Adam Davis

A TON.

Photo by Neil McCulloch

Not so fast!

Tell Congress to:

Photo by Adam Davis

on partisan bickering, and to

Photo by Howard Sheridan

Photo by Joe Robertson

To come up with a balanced approach to raise revenue and reduce wasteful spending to save the programs American wildlife (and people) count on to ensure clean air and water and habitats.

Because

Photo by Brett Klaproth

Do you really want to sequester that face?

Protect ocelots and more endangered wildlife by telling your members of Congress to preserve funding for vital conservation programs.

Action alert updated 11/20/12.