NWF News: Conservation Wins in a Tough Climate

Despite federal budget cuts, NWF affiliates saw big conservation successes in 2025; plus, policy resolutions and what’s new in Wisconsin

By Delaney McPherson
NWF News
Dec 17, 2025

New Conservation Resolutions

At the National Wildlife Federation’s Annual Meeting last June, NWF’s 52 affiliates voted to approve the following nine resolutions guiding federation policy and decision-making:

Urging Congress to address the lack of funds and staffing in the National Wildlife Refuge System (including Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, above).
Advocating for the International Seabed Authority to issue a pause on deep-sea mining until safeguards can be put in place, including fully understanding the environmental risks and a framework to uphold Free, Prior and Informed Consent principles when engaging with Indigenous communities.
Supporting federal employees and agencies in the natural resource conservation space in the aftermath of recent budget cuts and firings, and calling for the reinstatement of wrongfully terminated employees.

An image of a monarch butterfly on a Montauk Daisy.

Supporting efforts to recover monarch butterfly (pictured) populations, including protecting migration corridors, promoting private lands conservation programs and educating the public on monarch conservation best practices.
Supporting initiatives to increase the usage of native seeds and plants, and acknowledging traditional Indigenous ecological knowledge.
Nullifying a handful of outdated resolutions from the 1970s that no longer align with NWF values.
Advocating for the protection of the Ohio River basin, which spans 14 states, provides water to millions of people and sustains a high diversity of wildlife, including migratory birds, freshwater fish and mussel species.
Calling for a ban on the use of exhaust gas scrubbers in oceangoing vessels due to the toxic wastewater pollution the scrubbers produce.
Acknowledging the threat that neonicotinoid insecticides pose to aquatic invertebrates, including mayflies and caddisflies, and calling for states to reassess their usage.

An image of Wisconsin Wildlife Federation tabling.

Welcoming All in Wisconsin

Last June the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation (WWF), an NWF affiliate, celebrated a major win-win for wildlife and renewable energy in a settlement with Vista Sands Solar over a proposed solar energy development near the Buena Vista Wildlife Area in Portage County, Wisconsin. Conservationists were concerned the development could threaten local populations of greater prairie-chicken but were able to come to an amicable agreement with Vista Sands, including promises to set aside key acres from development, to restore native grasslands and to fund research on solar development’s impacts on wildlife.

“Where WWF shines in Wisconsin is we have that statewide, holistic, not species-specific approach,” says Cody Kamrowski, executive director of WWF. “We care about the betterment of wildlife habitat and outdoor activities.”

That big-tent approach is reflected by WWF’s leadership role in multiple groups—including the Coalition to Protect Wisconsin’s Lakes, which has more than 90 member organizations—and participation in numerous conservation advisory committees.

It also shows up in WWF’s newly completed five-year plan, which identifies broadening outreach (tabling at an expo, above) and education programs as two key goals. Current efforts include the Wildlife Traveling Trunk program, in which the group loans trunks stocked with resources on whooping cranes, bears, wolves and small mammals to schools at no cost, because WWF staff say finances should not be a barrier to wildlife education. Kamrowski also hopes to revive WWF’s Conservation Leadership Corps program for college students, of which he was an inaugural graduate in 2013.

“We’re really trying to focus hard on branching into new audiences and engaging birders, outdoor users, hikers, bikers, you name it,” he says.

Donor Spotlight: Linda Swanson of Lake Bluff, Illinois

WHY I GIVE “I’ve always loved animals and been kind of animal crazy. I don’t remember not being that way. In general, I wish people understood the value of animals.”

Interested in learning more about the impact you can have on wildlife? Please visit nwf.org/donate.

An image of a manta ray swimming.

NWF Affiliates, Persevering and Prevailing

In the first year of its second term, the Trump administration significantly cut federal conservation funding and proposed a 22 percent reduction in the budget for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Even with fewer resources at their disposal, NWF affiliates have been working to protect wildlife and lands and have seen major wins in the past 12 months. A few examples:

In March, Virginia Conservation Network saw the passage of bills in the state legislature targeting invasive plants, requiring retailers to clearly label invasive plants.
In May, Colorado Wildlife Federation supported passage of the Protect Wild Bison bill, which creates safeguards for wild bison that move into Colorado from neighboring states.

Conservation Northwest, in Washington state, successfully convinced the state legislature in May to appropriate $31 million in funding from greenhouse gas permits toward forest carbon sequestration projects.
In response to increasing cases of chronic wasting disease in deer (pictured)—and pressure from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation—the Louisiana state legislature formed a statewide chronic wasting disease task force in June.
Missouri enacted a law in June banning the sale of six invasive plant species in the state, a decision heavily supported by the Conservation Federation of Missouri.
In August, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i and partners won a lawsuit against the Trump administration, shutting down a proclamation that would have allowed commercial fishing in the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (including Palmyra Atoll, top).
Environmental League of Massachusetts provided key comments during the implementation of a major climate bill that passed in 2024, prioritizing environmental justice provisions that would center the perspectives of communities potentially affected by new clean energy projects.
West Virginia Rivers Coalition halted numerous environmental policy rollbacks, including blocking attempts to expand motorized vehicle access on public lands.

Learn more about all NWF affiliates.

An image of a volunteer with a monarch habitat sign.

Bulletin: Impact Report

NWF’s annual Impact Report covers conservation successes, from certifying wildlife habitats to safeguarding species. The 2025 report releases in mid-January. Learn more.