Recovering America's Wildlife Act | Daniel Schwab Wyoming

Biologist Michelle Herman is currently working with hellbenders, a rare, giant salamander. By swabbing the animal, she is looking for invasive fungus that can be found in a tributary of the Susquehanna River in New York. 

Hellbender numbers have declined greatly and Herman is part of a small group of biologists, state wildlife technicians, and volunteers who support the hellbender in this area.

According to Herman, amphibians are facing extinction due to habitat destruction from climate change. Hellbenders live under large rocks in clean, fast-moving streams where they feed on crayfish. Conservation resources are scarce for less known species as federal funding typically goes towards big game species. Herman is advocating for hellbenders, eager to conserve them. 

According to Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife, existing federal conservation funding only covers about 5% of what is needed to help more than 12,000 “species of greatest conservation need,” which includes the hellbender.

Since the 1930s, the United States raised money for conservation with taxes on hunting, licenses, guns, ammunition, and other equipment. In 1950, the Dingell-Johnson Act allowed the model to expand by including fishing licenses and equipment.

Director at National Wildlife Federation, Mike Leahy, says this money often goes towards popular species like deer and elk, creating a gap in funding for species that aren’t hunted or fished.

Wildlife advocates are hopeful this imbalance could change with a bill called Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, which would provide more funding. The bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this summer.

Money from this Act would go to states and tribal governments to decide how to spend. It will be required that 15% of the amount would support federally listed endangered species. As of now, it is not clear if it will be voted on this year, as a funding source to offset the cost of increased conservation spending has yet to be established.

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About Daniel Schwab Wyoming

Based in Afton, Wyoming, Daniel Schwab is an incredibly talented businessman, passionate about his community and the environment around him. Having lived in Wyoming's Star Valley for most of his life, Daniel Schwab is someone who knows the ins-and-outs of the land. As a child, he spent his hime fly-fishing and adventuring in spring creeks, which gave him a foundation of his passion for the environment. He takes these memories with him on every professional venture he makes.

After graduating from Utah University with a degree in financial management and business, Daniel started a number of successful start-up companies. One of these focuses on preserving and restoring ranch land areas, specifically focused on fish and wildlife habitat restoration.

More recently, Daniel Schwab Wyoming is the Founder and Director of TerraWest Conservancy. TerraWest is a company specializing in helping private landowners protect the habitats that endangered or threatened species call home. Not only that, But Daniel also owns Feathered Hook of Jackson Hole, a private fly-fishing club with over 100 miles of premier water. In 2019, Daniel opened a conservation-based property in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Renegade Wyoming.

When he's not working in the environment, Daniel Schwab Wyoming loves to photograph different landscapes and wildlife. One thing he truly believes is that the photographs he takes are a gift from God-- he never sells any of the photographs for profit. Instead, he donates the photos to charities or gifts them to family and friends. One of his main goals in taking photos is to help show other people the beauty of the world that God gave us.

To learn more about Daniel Schwab Wyoming and his endeavors, be sure to visit his websites!