Hello Minnesota birders, as President of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union it's one of my duties to promote the conservation and enjoyment of Minnesota's birds. In that light, it is of utmost importance that I share the reintroduction earlier this morning by Reps. Debbie Dingell and Jeff Fortenberry of a bipartisan, game-changing piece of legislation into the U.S. Congress: Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA). This legislation, supported by over 1,100 businesses and conservation interests throughout the country, would provide $1.4 billion annually to states, territories, and tribes for the implementation of conservation actions and strategies to help protect and maintain populations of over 12,000 species of animals and plants in the U.S. currently in need of protection measures. This number includes the more than 1,600 species already protected as Endangered or Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. For more information on RAWA, see https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Wildlife-Conservation/Policy/Recovering-Americas-Wildlife-Act <https://www.nwf.org/Our-Work/Wildlife-Conservation/Policy/Recovering-Americas-Wildlife-Act?fbclid=IwAR2aqS2-7Jph80H9fn9FMH3k4coKaL02dXIB1Atkvd8fPPsMyrZhdYVuQX0> . In Minnesota, over 25% of our annually occurring bird species are of conservation concern. One example is the Golden-winged Warbler, a songbird that is declining elsewhere in its North American breeding range; our state comprises one of the largest breeding populations of the species in the United States and Canada due to the amount of available habitat. The warbler's continued success in Minnesota is closely tied to our conservation and management actions now and into the future. The funds provided by RAWA to the state of Minnesota would greatly increase the capacity of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, under the direction of Minnesota's Wildlife Action Plan ( https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mnwap/index.html <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dnr.state.mn.us%2Fmnwap%2Findex.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2hPWcZPK3bIoULGy2JpUDAgcij1DCNscjFBx1Gr_ePwNrRLKIjZfTAXfM&h=AT2wLA-Mty1BSHUwNaV3f2W5Jxl-XAHidjsxpCN00kY53p6ytB6LwoI65zXWcKu9VAlDsJYUmUStlecIKMUm5WyWtpISBW9UfQJ5vez1BPe1Rcu7YH1GU2dRHuFI0w7lcyCaNJxvf2wx6T1mMg>) and in working with its conservation partners, to carry out its mission to conserve our state's natural resources, and that includes the myriad bird species and other wildlife that we all enjoy as birders. What I am asking of you, as a fellow birder, is to contact your legislators in the U.S. House and Senate, expressing both your support for RAWA and your desire to see them support it as well. You can find your representative in the U.S. House by entering your zip code here: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative <https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative?fbclid=IwAR2Gesi_bRvEyh8eByi9JwtC8mhzvLMjkoW79_5DalhSOhHI4CCkYnTCkWs>. You can find contact information for our two senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith here: http://www.senate.gov/states/MN/intro.htm <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.senate.gov%2Fstates%2FMN%2Fintro.htm%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0IzsaL2NOSA94UtxLkir5aWRLLX6X5m6YpjFFuiOtUKP9OwHBJdwdQJvc&h=AT02JOBcUSL5gDoldMV51BRqsAr4JvKPO3rv1xjSpPZzqMf5L12ypJgWMruoUdPU4OHjsExLJ4yg4vkXNKZLPUTj3mFxBErQIpmhAIr2vmd3Uh6gXcKR_vdaxQKIajw3LKXVHqsEIK3Gw7t-gA> . Please, make your voice heard, for the good of Minnesota's birds. Bob Dunlap
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