WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following the release of the Make America Beautiful Again midterm report, the National Wildlife Federation issued the following statement highlighting the administration's progress on key conservation priorities and the opportunities ahead for habitat restoration:

“Wildlife and wild places are at the center of our shared heritage,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “We appreciate the steady progress made by the president and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to advance several elements of the Make America Beautiful Again Executive Order, including addressing the National Park maintenance backlog and conserving important habitat through the implementation of the Great American Outdoors Act, accelerating the restoration of the Everglades, tackling invasive carp, reconnecting big game migration corridors, advancing private-land conservation, and expanding hunting and fishing access.

“As we look to the year ahead, our greatest opportunity lies in supercharging collaborative, voluntary efforts to recover at-risk wildlife before they require emergency room protections under the Endangered Species Act. By providing resources and tools that empower States, Tribes, and private landowners, we can proactively restore essential habitat through collaboration and innovation. We can also restore America’s grasslands by replicating the incredibly successful efforts for wetlands, provide new financial incentives and regulatory certainty to encourage habitat restoration on private lands, and make strategic investments in our National Wildlife Refuge System as we approach its 125th anniversary. We look forward to building  upon these accomplishments and working together deliver historic wins for wildlife and people.”