Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal to promote voluntary, collaborative species-conservation work could help strengthen the effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act and give private landowners and others the certainty they need to restore habitat and recover wildlife.

“With more than one-third of America’s wildlife at heightened risk of extinction, we need to leverage every tool available to recover species. Private landowners have an essential role to play in ensuring wildlife thrive, and these regulatory changes may help promote collaborative, voluntary conservation efforts,” said Mike Leahy, director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “Improved, accessible conservation programs coupled with the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will help ensure our wildlife thrive whether they are listed or at risk of decline.”