Proposed Budget Blueprint, Disaster for Wildlife, Should Be Dead on Arrival

WASHINGTON, March 16 -- The National Wildlife Federation issued the following news release:

The Trump administration released its budget blueprint today, with massive cuts to a wide range of programs that protect wildlife, public lands, clean air and water, and public health and safety.

Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, said:

"America's wildlife are facing an unprecedented crisis, battered by challenges of habitat degradation and impaired water quality, exacerbated by disease, drought, invasive species, and climate impacts, all at a scale inconceivable thirty years ago. Nearly a decade of budget austerity has done little to ease this crisis and the massive cuts outlined in this budget would be the opposite of what scientists say is needed to reverse America's wildlife decline.

"These cuts would be devastating for America's outdoor economy, which supports 6.1 million jobs and generates $646 billion in consumer spending every single year. America's National Parks and Refuges -- indeed the very legacy of Republican conservationist President Teddy Roosevelt -- would see mass layoffs and perhaps even closures, sending shockwaves through the local communities that depend on these special places to support hotels, outdoor shops, and guide businesses.

"I hope this budget starts a national conversation about the kind of conservation legacy we want to leave. Do we want to tell our children and grandchildren we stood by while monarchs, moose, and Florida panthers die off? Will we tell them that we fulfilled President Roosevelt's challenge 'of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us?' Will we tell them that when the world came together to curb climate change, unlike every crisis of the last 100 years, this time America wouldn't do its part? We hope Republicans and Democrats can work together on developing a sensible spending blueprint that makes smart investments to build a better America."

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