Bill would give state $60M for endangered species

Hawaii would receive $60 million in federal funds to protect endangered species under a new bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act allocates $1.3 billion for various wildlife conservation projects throughout the country, $60 million of which is earmarked for Hawaii.

The bill allows the funds to be used more freely, avoiding restrictions imposed by the Endangered Species Act. According to a statement from Hawaii Rep. Ed Case, this approach “supports the outdoor recreation economy and provides regulatory certainty for farmers, small businesses and industry.”

Case said in a statement that endangered species on the mainland receive, on average, 10 times more federal funding than those in Hawaii, despite the extreme fragility of Hawaii’s ecosystem: nearly 500 of the 1,600 species currently listed as endangered in the U.S. are in Hawaii. In 2021, nine more Hawaii species were designated extinct.

“The world is in the middle of an extinction crisis, and, unfortunately, Hawaii is at its center,” Case said in the statement. “As a result of climate change, invasive species and other environmental stressors, Hawaii has become the invasive species capital of the world. RAWA will help save countless species that would otherwise be lost.”

The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.