86R11376 GM-D
By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 61
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, One-third of all wildlife and plant species in the
United States are experiencing population decline, and of these
more than 12,000 species in need of conservation, 1,310 are found in
Texas; and
WHEREAS, The federal government lacks a dedicated funding
system to conserve at-risk wildlife, but the Recovering America's
Wildlife Act would provide permanent federal revenue for each state
to enact its own plan for stabilizing and recovering its species in
decline; an annual block of $1.3 billion, financed by existing
royalties from energy and mineral production on federal lands and
waters and at no cost to taxpayers, would be dedicated to
state-based conservation; and
WHEREAS, With its passage, the Lone Star State would be
eligible for $63 million annually to implement its Texas
Conservation Action Plan, a preestablished strategy for conserving
and improving the status of flora and fauna designated as Species of
Greatest Conservation Need; administered by the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department, the funding would reduce the need for
regulatory intervention by empowering wildlife managers and
private landowners to address conservation issues at the local
level; and
WHEREAS, Texas would not only benefit ecologically, but also
economically through job creation, improved regulatory certainty,
increased nature tourism, and improved food production; and
WHEREAS, Conservation of at-risk wildlife is vital to our
future, and the passage of the Recovering America's Wildlife Act
would represent a transformative step in preserving the character
and beauty of our natural environment; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass
the Recovering America's Wildlife Act; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.