LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS by Greg Schildwachter WSF Lobbyist
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THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF 2022
his is the last year of the 117th Congress. It will take us to the mid-point of the Biden Administration’s term. “Mid-term” years are a good time to assess the agenda because time is short for final action on issues. The possibilities for final passage of bills in Congress narrow as the days pass, and the Administration begins to bear down on the issues that will define their time in office. The entire House and one third of the Senate will stand for election in November. Presidential campaigns will begin to form soon after. Your policy agenda is based on your conservation agenda. The most recent version is the WSF Conservation Vision 2025. Goal #1 is to enhance wild sheep habitat. The highest policy objective for Goal #1 is to reduce the risk of disease transmission. Disease is one of the “special factors” that together with food, water, shelter and space define habitat quality. Advancing toward this objective through policy is a tough slog, but necessary. We could use—and have proposed—that the Forest Service create a new coordinator position because it is hard for us, woolgrowers, and the agency itself, even to know when and where a grazing permit or forest plan is being revised. When we can more clearly line these up, we can deploy our strengths in solutionoriented, science-based, self-funded working relationships with agencies and woolgrowers. We are also pursuing changes in law, regulation and other policy to make this winning
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formula the standard operating procedure. Mitigating invasive weeds and developing water sources are other important policy issues. Wilderness Area rules and practices have been obstacles to both. As we have overcome some of them, we have gathered the best ideas for improving wilderness rules to make it easier. We are promoting these ideas with the sponsors of new wilderness designations. Many other active issues also contribute to CV2025 goals. On the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, our success in protecting the joint management authority of FWS and the Air Force has fallen into a lull. We are still building the ideal cooperative program that includes NDOW and tribes. The US Sheep Experiment Station has moved to step two in the direction of a new mission for that facility. The most immediate risks of disease transmission have been addressed and we are now advocating in partnership with woolgrowers for a broader research agenda. We are teamed with effective partners on several bills that would reopen hunting on the Castle Mountains National Monument, eliminate unfair permitting rules for film crews on Federal land and improve the Qualified Volunteer Program by which hunters can participate in wildlife population control interventions. The November 2021 “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” opened several opportunities that will begin
to ripen in the remainder of this year. This bill committed significant funding to conservation. The most direct effect for wild sheep will be funding for highway crossing projects and some flexibility for the Forest Service to resume efforts on issues other than fire. As more crossing projects proceed, we may see renewed momentum on the larger issue of migration corridors. USDA Farm Production and Conservation, led by Undersecretary Robert Bonnie, is developing a program to bring a share of the Farm Bill’s $60 billion conservation program to bear on migration habitats. This may help boost the commitment of the Forest Service. USDA’s focus is likely to be in Wyoming. Compared to the wide-ranging Department of Interior program which focused on a few species, the USDA program will be narrow geographically, but for a wider range of activities and species. Either way, this initiative is a base to build on. Longer-term developments are also in play, such as the Administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative (which is headed in a positive direction) and the push for wind and solar energy (which may incidentally make wildlife a stronger consideration in the early steps of energy project development on Federal land). Your Legislative Affairs Committee is homing in to complete work on as many of these as possible. We are eager to have your ideas and help in advancing the agenda. WS
