The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act introduced in U.S. House of Representatives

[Laura Bies]

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The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (H.R. 9135) was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Ron Kind and Maria Elvira Salazar. The bill would amend and improve the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, which provides matching grants for bird habitat conservation and other activities in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Under the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, federal grants are matched three to one by partner organizations. The  Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Grants Program for the next five years and would lower the cost share ratio to two to one, with the goal of making the NMBCA’s competitive grants more accessible to smaller conservation organizations. The Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act would also increase the annual funding that is authorized for the program, from $6.5 million to more than $20 million.

A similar bill was introduced earlier this year in the Senate.

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