Kurt Thiede, Government Affairs Director at the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), talks with host Mike Leonard about a once-in-a-generation wildlife bill, Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA), and the ongoing implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Thiede worked with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for 18 years. Before starting with AFWA, Thiede served as the Regional Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5. His experience working at the state and federal level makes Thiede especially attuned to the needs of North America's fish and wildlife agencies. Among AFWA's top policy priorities is RAWA, which would dedicate $1.3 billion to state wildlife agencies to implement science-based recovery plans. An additional $97.5 million would go to Tribal agencies. These conservation and restoration efforts will help ensure fish and wildlife species do not become endangered, saving tax dollars along the way by avoiding expensive "emergency-room" actions. In the process, cleaner waters and healthier fish habitat will be generated, ultimately benefitting fishing opportunities.
For more information about RAWA visit https://keepamericafishing.org/recovering-americas-wildlife-act/ and https://ournatureusa.com/
For more information about AFWA visit https://www.fishwildlife.org/
And for ways to get involved in sportfishing policy visit https://asafishing.org/
