House Appropriations Orders Use of State Wildlife Data by Federal Agencies

The House Appropriations Committee directed federal agencies on Wednesday (July 31) to use state fish and wildlife data as a principal source to inform decision making. That request, in a report accompanying the House’s Appropriations Bill for Interior and the Environment, is in line with previous testimony before the committee by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA).

The report highlights the opportunity to save federal funds by maximizing the use of state data and analysis, and directs agencies to avoid duplicative analysis of raw data prepared by the states, who are the primary managers for wildlife within their borders. More broadly, the report says that data and analyses from states should be used in land use, land planning, and related natural resource decisions by the Department of the Interior and its bureaus, as well as the U.S. Forest Service.

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