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<p class="MsoNormal">Each year at the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) annual meeting, the Federation’s state and territorial affiliates propose and adopt a slate of policy resolutions. At this year’s meeting—held virtually in Milwaukee, WI—one of those
resolutions was focused on plant conservation. The resolution highlights the disparities in conservation attention and funding for at-risk plant species, and advocates for strengthening plant conservation efforts, particularly in state and federal programs.
Given its focus, I thought this resolution would be of interest to our partners in the Plant Conservation Alliance. Since I don’t think that I can send around attachments to this listserve I’ve pasted the text of the adopted resolution below.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bruce<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Bruce A. Stein, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Chief Scientist and Associate Vice President<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">National Wildlife Federation<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1200 G Street NW, Suite 900 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Washington, DC 20005<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">202-797-6602 office<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">202-420-0998 cell<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:steinb@nwf.org"><u><span style="color:#0563C1">steinb@nwf.org</span></u></a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.nwf.org/climatesmart"><u><span style="color:#0563C1">www.nwf.org/climatesmart</span></u></a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">Strengthening Plant Conservation in State and Federal Conservation Programs<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F2"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F2">National Wildlife Federation June 12, 2021 Resolutions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F2">Number 2021-04<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, plants represent a major component of the nation’s biological heritage, with nearly 19,000 species of native vascular plants
in the United States compared to approximately 2,700 species of native vertebrate animals; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, this diverse array of native plant species serves as the foundation for virtually all other lifeforms, provides indispensable
value and ecosystem services to people and wildlife, and embodies a unique reservoir of wild genetic material; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, many U.S. plant species are of conservation concern with about one-third (34%) at elevated risk of extinction (imperiled or vulnerable
as assessed by NatureServe and its state natural heritage partners), and 140 plant species classified as presumed or possibly extinct; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, out of the 1,666 species federally listed as Threatened or Endangered in the United States, 943 (57%) are plants; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, of the approximately 12,000 “species in greatest conservation need” (SGCN) identified by State fish and wildlife agencies in
their state wildlife action plans nearly 4,000 are plants; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, plants receive less protection than animals under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA): for example, listed plant species
are not protected from “take” or harm on private lands, and plant species are less likely than vertebrate animals to be listed and receive protection under the Act before reaching critically low population levels; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, those plant species that are federally listed receive far less endangered species recovery funding than listed vertebrates: although
plants represent 57% of all federally listed species, they receive less than 5% of federal recovery funding; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, plants are not well protected through many state endangered species acts: for instance, plants are afforded state-level protection
or recognition in just 32 states, either through state endangered species acts or other statutes, but in about half of those states<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">safeguards for plant species are distinct from, and often weaker than, those afforded to animals; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, plant species receive relatively little attention and funding in federally mandated State and Tribal Wildlife Action Plans: although
plants may be included in these plans as “species of greatest conservation need” only 15 states have chosen to do so; additionally, current U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidelines preclude the use of State Wildlife Grant (SWG) funds for the conservation
of plant SGCNs, with plants eligible for SWG funding only when considered as “habitat”; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would dramatically increase funding for the implementation of State and Tribal Wildlife
Action Plans and offers an opportunity to reduce the disparity in conservation and recovery of native plant species and provide incentives to strengthen state-based plant conservation efforts; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has a strong commitment to the conservation and protection of all biodiversity, including plants,
and has a long history of promoting the conservation and cultivation of native plants through its certified wildlife habitat and Garden for Wildlife programs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled June 8-12, does hereby recognize
the need to strengthen plant conservation efforts in the United States and globally, and reduce the disparity in protection, conservation, and funding for plant species in state and federal wildlife conservation programs; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates urges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to substantially
increase the funding allocated for recovery of listed plant species, and to ensure that imperiled and declining plant species receive a fair share of ESA listing resources and attention; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates call on state and tribal wildlife agencies to include
plants as “species of greatest conservation need” in the 2025 revisions to their wildlife action plans, incorporate plant-focused conservation actions in those plans, and urges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift the prohibition on the use of SWG funds
for plan implementation actions specifically targeted toward plant SGCNs; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates support passage of federal legislation, such as the Recovering
America’s Wildlife Act, that would provide incentives for states to voluntarily strengthen their commitment to and funding for declining and at-risk plant species, and that other new funding sources, including but not limited to possible climate change-related
legislation, not perpetuate the exclusion and disparities in funding for native plant conservation; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates advocate for the strengthening of plant-related state
legal authorities, such as: inclusion of plant species in state endangered species laws where such laws exclude them; bolstering of plant species protections in states where plants have state legal status but protections are weak; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates support efforts to increase and rebuild botanical and
plant conservation capacity in federal wildlife (i.e., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and land management agencies (e.g., U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management) to ensure that plants can be adequately addressed in ESA listing and implementation
decisions and in federal land management planning, implementation, and monitoring; and
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates urges state and federal management agencies to increase
support for public-private partnerships and encourage voluntary private conservation of plant species to ensure that imperiled and declining plants are protected wherever they are found; and<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:CIDFont+F1">BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation and its affiliates encourage federal and state agencies including U.S. Geological
Survey to increase funding in support of research to improve the monitoring and assessment of U.S. plant species to better document their conservation status and conservation needs, focus additional research on understanding the impacts of climate change and
other emerging threats to the nation’s plant biodiversity, and explore new approaches for effectively conserving and recovering at-risk plant species in a changing climate.</span><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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