U.S. senators on the chamber's Appropriations Committee are vying to keep NOAA Fisheries' Species Recovery Grants Program going, even though NOAA Fisheries has proposed ending the program due to budgetary concerns.
Launched in 2003, the Species Recovery Grants program provides funding to projects that support the conservation of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), species that were recently delisted, and species under consideration for ESA protections. The funding can be used for research, monitoring, outreach activities, or management efforts.
In May, NOAA Fisheries recommended USD 5.5 million (EUR 5 million) in Species Recovery Grant funding for 22 projects.
Though the program has been distributing funding since 2003, NOAA has recently suggested suggested ending the program in fiscal year 2025. According to the agency’s budget justification, the agency has proposed zeroing out the USD 7.3 million (EUR 6.8 million) in base funding for the program in 2025, instead using that money to support other priorities.
Besides the prioritization of other areas to put the money, NOAA Fisheries also pointed out that it already receives large conservation funding support; for example, the agency has received USD 1.3 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to spend on habitat restoration, salmon recovery, and other conservation efforts.
Much of that funding has been used in support of conserving species that also receive Species Recovery Grant funding, such as North Atlantic right whales. NOAA has dedicated USD 82 million (EUR 76 million) in IRA funding to North Atlantic right whale conservation efforts. In 2023, NOAA granted the U.S. state of Maine USD 751,000 (EUR 695,000) in funding for right whale data collection.
The Species Recovery Grants Program already prioritizes its spending to not overlap too heavily with other conservation programs. For instance, projects focusing on Pacific salmon and steelhead are not eligible for funding since they are already financially supported through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund.
Now, some lawmakers are rejecting the agency’s proposal to zero out the program.
In its report on the annual appropriations bill that funds NOAA, senators on the Appropriations Committee rejected terminating the program. Instead, the committee recommended USD 8 million (EUR 7.3 million) for the program, a USD 750,000 (EUR 694,000) increase from fiscal 2024. The House Appropriations Committee has also recommended funding the program, albeit at a lower level. The House committee report recommends USD 5 million (EUR 4.6 million) for the program.
Those recommendations may not be enough to save the program as the House and Senate prepare to battle over funding for NOAA Fisheries. The Senate has recommended fully funding NOAA Fisheries in 2025, but House Republicans are advocating a 22 percent cut to the agency’s budget. Lawmakers will have to bridge that divide before 2025 appropriations are approved by Congress and sent to the president for approval.
