Position on H.R. 2748, H.R. 2918 & H.R. 4348

H.R. 2748 – Safeguarding America’s Future and Environment Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would establish an integrated national approach to respond to the climate crisis by protecting, managing, and conserving fish, wildlife, and plants across the country. National parks provide habitat for over 600 threatened and endangered species as well as hundreds of other species that will all need to adapt to a changing climate. This legislation provides the framework necessary for federal land managers, states, tribes and other partners to move forward with coordinated and proactive planning to ensure these species have the best possible chance of survival.

H.R. 2918 – Extinction Prevention Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would create grant programs to help states, tribes and local communities protect vulnerable species that don’t always get the protection and funding they need to recover. National park species that could benefit from this bill include the Karner blue butterfly at Indiana Dunes National Park, freshwater mussels at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, and the ‘Ahinahina at Haleakala National Park.

H.R. 4348 – Protect America’s Wildlife and Fish in Need of Conservation Act: NPCA supports this legislation which would reverse the damaging changes to Endangered Species Act regulations recently implemented by the administration. The regulations gut critical endangered species protections by making it much more difficult to extend protections to threatened species and to protect species impacted by the effects of climate change, allowing economic factors to be analyzed when deciding if a species should be saved and making it easier for companies move forward with development projects in critical habitat areas. This legislation would put science back at the lead of the decision-making process and ensure vulnerable species remain on the path to recovery.