As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to sign important letters supporting international conservation in the House’s FY2025 appropriations legislation.

The ties between international conservation and security have become increasingly clear in recent years. Illegal exploitation of natural resources—such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing—has been linked to large-scale transnational criminal activities, fostering corruption, undermining the rule of law, and robbing developing countries of natural wealth and economic opportunities. The bottom line is that they threaten U.S. national and economic security. Programs such as the USAID Biodiversity Program, programs at USAID and the Department of State to counter wildlife trafficking, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), USAID Sustainable Landscapes, USAID Global Health Security, the Multinational Species Conservation Fund (MSCF), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) International Affairs program and Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) are all important parts of the U.S. government’s response, providing on-the-ground resources in many of the most fragile ecosystems.

Congress has consistently recognized the value of these programs for combating wildlife trafficking and protecting wildlife and biodiversity as a form of “natural security” as it makes budget decisions. The biodiversity and climate crises go hand in hand—if we don’t work to protect high ecological integrity, we will fall short on global goals to build resilience and mitigate temperature rise. These programs also conserve vulnerable species in the wild, protect the landscapes and seascapes that represent the last remaining wild places on the earth, and provide security and livelihoods to local and Indigenous Peoples who directly depend on natural resources for their survival and economic growth.

Several letters are circulating in the House asking for funding for these programs that I urge you to sign. To State and Foreign Operations appropriators, I ask that you sign letters led by:
- Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Grace Meng, are collaborating on a letter to SFOPS appropriators supporting USAID Biodiversity programs, counter wildlife trafficking efforts at State, USAID, DOI, USFWS, and the Department of Justice, Global Health Security program at USAID, and for the GEF; supporting all of the above programs;
- Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Maria Salazar are leading a bipartisan letter in support of bilateral and multilateral International Climate Finance.
- Reps. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon and Jim Costa, supporting the MSCF and USFWS International Affairs accounts in the Interior bill; and,
- Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Ted Lieu, advocating for the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement.

I urge you to support funding for the USAID Biodiversity Program, programs at the Department of State and USAID to combat wildlife trafficking, the GEF, USAID Sustainable Landscapes, and USAID Global Health Security in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. I also urge you to support the MSCF and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service International Affairs program, and Office of Law Enforcement in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

I understand that the deadlines to sign onto these letters are approaching quickly and urge you to reach out to the offices of the letter leaders to join the effort as soon as possible. Thank you for your consideration.