Extreme House clips the wings of bird habitat programs

If birds were humans, they would be pretty worried right now about the upcoming migration across America.  The House voted for massive budget cuts to the agencies responsible for protecting the continental flyways on which wild birds depend.

The House Majority’s bill  zeroes out funding for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants used to protect threatened birdlife and wildlife. It zeroes out the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund.  It removes legal protections of wetlands and waters under the Clean Water Act. It cuts deeply into the budgets of the Fish and Wildlife Service used to manage critical refuge areas for birds and wildlife, and for the Land and Water Conservation Fund used to acquire and protect key properties otherwise slated for development.

Cuts to these programs cut into the benefits that these lands have for people too.  The wetlands that ducks and geese rely on for habitat are the same wetlands that provide clean drinking water for the rest of us.  The forests that are home to songbirds provide clean air and the headwater streams for people across the nation. 

And it is an attack on a big source of revenue for communities with bird habitat – bird and wildlife watching contributes nearly $46 billion to the US economy EVERY YEAR.

Now is the time to stand up for our fine feathered friends and the benefits that their homes provide us.  Tell the Senate that this extreme de-funding bill will have extreme effects on both the human family and the biodiversity which supports all human life, and cuts to these programs should be restored.