Boone and Crockett Urges Support for Wildlife Migration Bill

The “Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act” introduced today is an important milestone in the improvement of habitat management.

Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Ryan Zinke (R-MT-1) lead the bill in each chamber and hold key committee seats to enact and fund the non-federal habitat improvement projects directed in the bill. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-8) is a consponsor with a long-time champion of wildlife migration.

The Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act transfers Interior funds from two agencies (Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management) to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for distribution as grants for improving habitat in areas where wildlife migrate or move regularly. This formalizes the discretionary program at Interior that began in 2018 under then-Secretary Ryan Zinke’s Order 3362.

The program has proven since its inception that non-federal habitat projects are effective and respectful of property rights and multiple-use management of federal lands.

“The Boone and Crockett Club strongly supports the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act”, said Tony Schoonen, CEO of the Boone and Crockett Club. “This bill is the natural next step to formally extend the last 5 years of successful habitat improvement under the Interior Secretary’s Order 3362. The bipartisan leadership of Senator Padilla and Representative Zinke is expanding the number of species and areas of habitat that will benefit. The Club is proud of the teamwork among sportsmen and other partners that helped develop this important bill.”

The bill also allows a share of the FWS Partners for Wildlife Program to be expended directly for eligible migration projects and for the US Geological Survey to assist states in developing maps of critical movement areas.

“Wildlife migration and movement have long been a priority,” said Schoonen. “In the West, big game is the biggest food source for entire ecosystems, and the movement of big game distributes protein like circulatory system. Ensuring habitat quality along these routes is the key to big game survival and their ecological role.”

The bill also outsources the work from federal agencies to state, tribal, and private habitat specialists – a successful developing pattern for efficient use of public funds. “This bill and parallel efforts with it are showing what bipartisanship and partnership can do for wildlife”, said Schoonen. “The main effort began under the Trump administration, has continued under the Biden administration, and runs in parallel with a 2021 pilot program at the Department of Transportation to fund the construction of wildlife crossings on federal highways. Many sportsmen and other wildlife group have worked together to make all these advances possible.”

Previous efforts to ensure habitat improvement in movement areas attempted top-down, restrictive rules until negotiations produced the more effective current approach.

“We celebrate the bipartisan leadership of Senators Padilla and Representatives Zinke and Beyer – and we urge strong support and quick enactment,” said Schoonen.