Last week, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) led a group of 20 members in introducing H.R. 7408, the America's Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act.

"The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies appreciates Chairman Westerman’s commitment to providing funding to state fish and wildlife agencies for wildlife habitat restoration in the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act. This bill is a positive step forward to providing funding that state agencies can use to deliver habitat conservation for fish and wildlife on public and private land. It is clear that the Chairman has a vision for conserving habitat, and we appreciate that his legislation will provide states with a set of tools to help us accomplish this work." - Chuck Sykes, president, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

"The Boone and Crockett Club applauds Chairman Westerman’s leadership in addressing nationwide issues in managing and conserving wildlife habitat. His leadership in authoring the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act is a positive step towards securing dedicated funding for state and tribal wildlife agencies. We remain committed to working with the Chairman and his counterparts in the Senate to support a bipartisan, bicameral solution to the complex issues of wildlife conservation as well as the loss and degradation of their habitat." - Tony Schoonen, CEO, Boone and Crockett Club

"The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation thanks CSC Co-Chair Rep. Westerman for introducing the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act. This legislation provides innovative solutions to improving habitat across the nation and bolstering the active management of nation’s lands and water, a critical management practice to conserving and restoring at-risk as well as threatened and endangered species." - Jeff Crane, president and CEO, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation

"Local communities should be at the center of wildlife and habitat conservation efforts. ConservAmerica thanks Chairman Westerman for championing a common-sense approach that prioritizes local leadership, fiscal responsibility, and streamlining counter-productive regulations." - Jeff Kupfer, president, ConservAmerica

"Delta Waterfowl appreciates Chairman Westerman bringing forth the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act. This legislation will provide new, incremental investment in locally delivered conservation, that will yield important benefits for ducks, many other species and ultimately duck hunters." - John Devney, chief policy office, Delta Waterfowl

"America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act follows a tried-and-true formula of state-led habitat conservation. Working in tandem with federally approved State Wildlife Action Plans, this legislation would fund the restoration of important habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife and help recover and manage previously identified species of greatest conservation need. We thank Chairman Westerman for his leadership and encourage his colleagues to support it." - Adam Putnam, CEO, Ducks Unlimited

"When it comes to wildlife, we can and should do better. With wildlife conservation, the 'how' is just as important as the 'how much.' By improving incentives for proactive species recovery and habitat restoration, America's Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act contains several smart ideas for making conservation dollars go further for wildlife. Congressman Westerman gets to the 'how' by coupling more resources with innovative policies that both reward wildlife recovery and break down burdensome barriers to forest lands restoration." - Brian Yablonski, CEO, Property and Environment Research Center

"Litigation based on the wrongly-decided Cottonwood precedent contributes mightily to the backlog of needed forest management and fuels reduction projects across the National Forest System. These cases force the Forest Service and Fish & Wildlife Service to squander limited resources engaging on meaningless 'consultation' on outdated forest management plans, after both agencies have found no impacts from proposed management projects. Urgently needed fuels reduction projects wait months of years for these processes to wrap up. That’s too slow in the face of today’s wildfire crisis. We applaud Chairman Westerman for his leadership on this key issue." - Bill Imbergamo, executive director, Federal Forest Research Coalition

"We thank Chairman Westerman for including policies in the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act to advance voluntary, collaborative wildlife conservation. As a forester himself, Chairman Westerman’s first-hand experience and leadership give him unique insight into the powerful role of sustainably managed private working forests as a conservation solution. Our experience demonstrates that proactive partnerships between private forest owners, federal and state agencies, conservation groups, and other stakeholders achieve positive, enduring results for wildlife. We look forward to working with Chairman Westerman and his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advance all efforts that support voluntary, collaborative conservation." - National Alliance of Forest Owners