WASHINGTON— More than 115 conservation groups urged Congress today to significantly increase the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s budget for endangered species conservation from $329 million to $857 million — nearly a three-fold increase over the fiscal year 2024 budget that would more accurately reflect the severity of the joint biodiversity and climate crises and the needs of the agency.

Today’s letter notes that the Service currently receives approximately one-third of the funding required to properly implement the Endangered Species Act’s mandate to protect and recover listed species. Record-high inflation rates combined with a $7.7 million funding cut to key program functions in the FY24 budget has resulted in even more reduced capacity at the agency, which already routinely struggles to perform its most basic duties under the Act.

“It’s gut wrenching to watch our natural world collapse and our most imperiled animals and plants decline knowing Congress could stop the extinction crisis if it just mustered the political will,” said Stephanie Kurose, government affairs deputy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Fully funding our most successful conservation law is a small price to pay for saving life on earth.”