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WICKER, HYDE-SMITH APPLAUD SENATE PASSAGE OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BILL
Miss. Senators Cosponsored the Bipartisan ‘America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today applauded Senate passage of conservation legislation they cosponsored that will reauthorize or establish programs important to sportsmen, hunters, and cattlemen in Mississippi.
The Senate approved the America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Reauthorization Act of 2024 (S.3791) by unanimous consent last week. The bipartisan ACE Act will help conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat across the nation, while also acting to combat emerging wildlife diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD), livestock predation, and invasive species.
“This legislation builds on our previous conservation efforts. We must make sure future generations of hunters, fishers, and wildlife enthusiasts can enjoy the outdoors. America’s natural resources are worth preserving,” Wicker said. “The legislation also ensures the continuity of agriculture programs important to Mississippi’s farmers and cattlemen.”
“This well-balanced legislation is critical for the continuation of programs that influence wildlife habitat, hunting and fishing, and livestock production in Mississippi. I’m very pleased it passed with unanimous Senate support, which I hope bodes well for it eventually being enacted into law,” Hyde-Smith said.
Among other things, the Senate-passed legislation would reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, which is important to duck hunters, and the CWD Task Force, which is an interagency effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of the Interior to combat the disease.
S.3791 would also formally authorize a Black Vulture Livestock Protection Program, which is currently a Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) pilot program allowing FWS personnel to issue permits to cattle producers to kill black vultures. The pilot program could end in 2026 without formal congressional authorization.
The ACE Act, which is now available for consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives, is endorsed by Ducks Unlimited, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the National Wildlife Federation, American Sportfishing Association, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
A section by section of the bill is available here.
The full text of the bill is available here.
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