U.S. Senators from Michigan Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow — both Democrats — are among the co-sponsors of a bipartisan wildlife protection bill.
The Recovering America's Wildlife Act which would put $27 million a year toward species recovery efforts in Michigan. The money would be integrated into an already-existing wildlife action plan.
Nationwide, the bill is designed to help 301 species of concern. In Michigan, those include animals like lake sturgeon, marbled salamander, monarch butterfly, and northern flying squirrel.
Drew YoungeDyke, a spokesperson for the National Wildlife Federation, said the bill is based on similar legislation passed 85 years ago. "Back in 1937 the same model was adopted with the Pittman-Robertson [Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration] Act that provided funding for state wildlife agencies, and so game species, through that funding, have actually done really well," he said.
The idea behind the current bill was to address emerging problems for at-risk species before they become endangered and saving them gets prohibitively expensive.
The House version of the bill was introduced by Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12).
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