Outdoor groups push for strategic use of infrastructure funding

Wednesday, 51 hunting, fishing, conservation, landowner, and business organizations representing the $689-billion outdoor recreation economy and millions of Americans wrote to the Biden-Harris Administration with several key recommendations for implementation of the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Enacted into law on November 15, 2021, the $1.2-trillion IIJA provides a critical infusion of resources to advance infrastructure solutions that recognize the value of natural systems and enhance climate resilience, while connecting Americans to their public lands and waters.

As the administration moves forward with IIJA implementation, the outdoor recreation community is making recommendations to the Biden-Harris Administration in several key areas:

• Building on existing partnerships
• Prioritizing durable conservation and outdoor recreation at the landscape- and watershed-scale
• Addressing capacity needs and other barriers
• Waiving match requirements
• Improving the NEPA process to get projects on the ground quickly
• Developing a national IIJA project dashboard and geospatial tool to track and monitor implementation

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership believes these recommendations will help to ensure this critical federal funding advances conservation and recreation at scale and results in lasting, durable solutions to address the most pressing infrastructure challenges facing our nation.

“The commitment that Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration made to our nation’s land, water, and wildlife through enactment of the bipartisan infrastructure package was a major victory, but how we put these critical investments on the ground matters just as much,” said Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “Our coalition includes organizations that do significant work to implement projects on-the-ground, and our partnerships can provide a lot of value to agencies that are rolling out these infrastructure dollars.”

“The states welcome the opportunity to collaborate with our federal partners on implementing the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA),” said Tony Wasley, director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “This infusion of federal funding will help us to strategically build upon existing fish and wildlife conservation efforts and expand outdoor recreational opportunities for all to enjoy.”

The letter is cosigned by the American Sportfishing Association, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Boone and Crockett Club, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Mule Deer Foundation, Outdoor Industry Association, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever, The Nature Conservancy, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Trout Unlimited, Wild Salmon Center, Wildlife Mississippi, and 36 other partner organizations. Read the full letter here.

Letter recipients include: the Secretaries of Interior, Transportation, Agriculture, and Commerce; Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality; and senior leadership at federal natural resource management agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Federal Highway Administration, and the Bureau of Reclamation.