I don’t do this too often, but it’s time to get real serious and bring the big dogs into what we all love. I’m talking about the government, so get ready.

All hunters and anglers have a passion for wildlife and public land conservation. It’s second nature (just like the acts of hunting and fishing). And when I say wildlife, I don’t just mean the animals we love to pursue out there in the wild, I mean every little critter that makes the circle go ’round. A girl’s gotta be a butterfly fan, right?!

I hate to bring up a scary statistic but one-third of all wildlife is at risk of extinction.

ONE-THIRD! How is that even real?

Need some more statistics on those at risk that need our help?

• 40% of freshwater fish species
• 1/3 of North America’s birds
• 17% of US native butterfly species
• 42% of amphibians
• 33% of turtles (So should we just be banning the straw? What about everybody else?)
• 1/4 of bumblebees
• 31% of bats
• 70% of freshwater mussels

This endangerment risk is the result of a number of things including habitat loss–which I have to say, this makes me not proud to live in one of the fast-growing cities in the country–climate change, disease, just to name a few. So if we want to fix this, something big has to be done. That’s where the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742) comes in.

So what’s it going to actually do? Here’s the nitty-gritty directly from the National Wildlife Federation:

• The House bill would provide $1.4 billion in dedicated annual funding for proactive, collaborative efforts by the states and tribes to recover wildlife species at risk.
• The state agencies have identified 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of conservation assistance in their federally-approved State Wildlife Action Plans. These plans would guide spending from the bill.
• The Tribal Nations would receive $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation efforts on the more than 140 million acres they manage.
• At least 10 percent of the resources would be used to recover species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Convinced you need to do your part now? Contact your local legislation and encourage them to vote for the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. It’s our duty to protect these animals and the future of conservation.

A huge thank you to MeatEater’s Cal’s Week in Review and the National Wildlife Federation for the information.