President Signs Bipartisan ACE Act into Law, Supporting Wetlands and Bird Conservation
Legislation reauthorizes habitat conservation funding for several programs
WASHINGTON (December 23, 2024) – Vital programs for conserving bird habitats and ecosystems across the country were reauthorized with President Biden signing into law the bipartisan America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act – also known as the ACE Act. This legislation, which was introduced by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) earlier this year, along with Representatives Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), and Jen Kiggans (R-Fla.) in the U.S. House, reauthorizes funding for programs to conserve wetlands across the country and North America, conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay region, partnerships to protect fish habitats, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and more.
“The ACE Act promotes vital programs that help support the stability of our nation’s bird populations, improving the livable environments for both birds and the fish that help sustain them,” said Jesse Walls, senior director of government affairs at the National Audubon Society. “By reauthorizing this funding, wetlands and other habitats will benefit from important resources to help conserve and enhance them for both birds and the tens of millions of Americans who enjoy them. We thank Senators Carper and Capito, as well as Representatives Wittman, Dingell, Thompson, and Kiggans, for introducing this legislation and shepherding it through Congress and President Biden for signing it into law.”
With its passage into law, the ACE Act reauthorizes key wetland conservation programs in the Chesapeake Bay and reauthorizes the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), a popular program that conserves and restores wetlands and associated habitats. It has successfully utilized more than $2.2 billion in grant funding, with $4.5 billion in matching funds, to restore and conserve more than 32 million acres from a total of 3,300 projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico, aiding in the recovery of many wetland-dependent birds.
Additionally, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act, as well as the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) program are also reauthorized under the ACE Act. Since its establishment in 2006, The NFHP has funded more than 1,100 aquatic conservation projects across the United States. This reauthorization will provide the program with $10 million annually for the next five years, allowing the NFHP to continue its mission of benefitting aquatic and coastal habitats that are critical for nesting, wintering, and migrating bird populations.
About Audubon
The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.
Media Contact: Jeff Billington, jeff.billington@audubon.org