Earlier Monday, Secretary Tom Vilsack of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a Secretary’s Memorandum that will direct agencies within USDA to improve and conserve terrestrial wildlife habitat connectivity across the country.

This effort will help bolster the conservation of migratory wildlife habitat by providing direction to enhance interagency coordination within the USDA as well as interdepartmental coordination with other important entities such as the Department of the Interior and state fish and wildlife agencies. This memo provides direction to important USDA agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to implement science-based decision-making as it relates to conserving and restoring wildlife habitat connectivity. This effort builds upon other actions by USDA to conserve migratory wildlife habitat such as the USDA Migratory Big Game Initiative, which has leveraged existing programmatic funding to conduct voluntary conservation efforts in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

“CSF thanks the USDA for initiating this effort that will help enhance conservation for migratory wildlife and their associated habitats,” said CSF President and CEO Jeff Crane. “CSF will continue to prioritize wildlife connectivity through Interior Secretarial Order 3362, the Wildlife Highway Crossings Pilot Program, USDA’s Migratory Big Game Initiative, the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act, and now the USDA Secretarial Memo.”

Wildlife migration and habitat connectivity continues to be a top priority of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). In September, CSF’s Director of Federal Relations, Taylor Schmitz, testified before the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries on the Wildlife Movement Through Partnerships Act (H.R. 8836). This legislation seeks to solidify Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3362, which seeks to conserve big game migration corridors and winter range across 11 western states, by providing much-needed funding and expanding this effort nationwide. Additionally, CSF was a main driver behind the Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which marked the first time that federal funding was dedicated by Congress to build critical infrastructure for wildlife across roads and highways. Additionally, Taylor Schmitz serves as the Chairman of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners. During his chairmanship, AWCP released Wildlife for the 21st Century, which includes a standalone recommendation related to the issue of wildlife migration.

CSF looks forward to continuing to work with USDA through the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council to which Jeff Crane is a member of, and other venues, to deliver conservation for our nation’s wildlife.