Number: 2017-13
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has a long and proud history of supporting the federal, state and local agencies and those who work in/for them that act as the stewards of our natural resources, as the defenders of our wildlife and habitat and as the guardians of air and water quality; and
WHEREAS, the breadth of mission for public agencies continues to grow as the nation secures more public lands and open space, and protects the ecosystems needed to sustain wildlife; and
WHEREAS, scientists continue to identify risks from an ever growing list of toxins and the pressures of development that can impact wildlife, ecosystems and people; and
WHEREAS, the challenges posed to our land, water, air and wildlife are increased by our changing climate and its impacts; and
WHEREAS, public lands, open space, and waterways are needed to improve and sustain human health and public agencies are the caretakers of the same; and
WHEREAS, federal, state and local agencies must have adequate resources to assess emerging threats, to protect public resources and enforce environmental statutes; and
WHEREAS, nearly a decade of federal budget austerity has done little to ease America’s wildlife crisis, and recent broad-ranging, proposed cuts to environmental agencies and key conservation programs will only worsen this decline; and
WHEREAS, state and local environment and conservation agencies depend on financial resources from the federal government to implement delegated programs such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure adequate oversight, to maintain research and monitoring activities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual convention assembled June 8-10, 2017 in Stevenson, Washington, urges the Administration and Congress to ensure balance of federal funding across both defense and non-defense discretionary program lines and to provide robust resources to environment, energy and natural resource stewardship agencies.