National Wildlife Federation Calls for Increased Conservation of Iconic Species, Places, Ecosystems
- Meshal DeSantis
- Jun 09, 2025
RESTON, Va. — The National Wildlife Federation urged federal and state leaders to strengthen their commitments to recovering iconic species, conserving and restoring vital habitat, and safeguarding the experts and agencies that steward natural resources and conduct scientific research.
The resolutions, adopted by the National Wildlife Federation and its 52 state and territorial affiliates at its 89th Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minn., highlighted funding and resources shortages throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System as well as the importance of the staff and agencies who engage in natural resource conservation.
“Federal natural resource professionals—scientists, land managers, park rangers, conservationists, researchers, and support staff—perform critical work that upholds the public trust, ensures scientific integrity, and promotes resilience to climate change, biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, water scarcity, and the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters,” one of the resolutions read.
Resolutions also specifically called for restoration of the Ohio River Basin, which supports more than 30 million people across 14 states and sustains a huge diversity of wildlife species. Additional resolutions called for protective measures for pollinators, particularly the threatened monarch butterfly, including measures to support and increase native seed supplies and suspending general agricultural and horticultural usage of neonicotinoid insecticides.
The National Wildlife Federation’s 52 state and territorial affiliates adopted other resolutions calling for:
- The shipping and cruise ship industries to transition to cleaner fuels by ending the use of heavy fuel oil and exhaust gas scrubbers, which create large volumes of wastewater pollution.
- The International Seabed Authority and the United States government to enact a precautionary pause or moratorium on deep-seabed mining internationally and domestically until certain conditions are met.
- The nullification of outmoded resolutions passed in the 1970s.
The National Wildlife Federation’s affiliates lead critical wildlife conservation efforts in their states and territories and pass conservation policy resolutions each year that guide the National Wildlife Federation’s work.
