Martin Heinrich

05/15/2026 | Press release | Archived content

On Endangered Species Day, Heinrich Introduces Legislation to Protect At-Risk Wildlife

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Extinction Prevention Act, legislation that will provide much-needed funding for some of the country's most imperiled and vastly underfunded wildlife species.

Specifically, the legislation creates four separate funds of $5 million per year through Fiscal Year 2032 with the purpose of providing financial assistance to projects that help conserve and recover four groups of species: Southwest desert fish, North American butterflies, Pacific Island plants, and freshwater mussels. Habitat protection for these species is chronically underfunded despite them being among the species most at risk of extinction:

  • Southwest desert fish are being threatened by drought and water scarcity, resulting in significant population and habitat reductions. Currently, over 45 species are listed as endangered or threatened, including the Gila trout and Rio Grande Silvery Minnow.

  • North American butterflies - one of the fastest declining groups of all endangered species - have not seen a single species improve among the 39 listed and includes the Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly and silverspot in New Mexico

  • The situation is equally dire in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, where nearly 400 plant species are threatened or endangered, representing almost a quarter of all listed species. In Hawaii, over 200 plant species have dwindled to fewer than 50 wild individuals.

  • Freshwater mussels are currently the most imperiled animal group in the country, with 70 percent of U.S. species at risk of extinction and 38 species already lost.

  • Targeted funds under the legislation will support on-the-ground conservation projects to stabilize and save from extinction the most critically endangered species from each of the four groups. States, Tribes, research institutions, nonprofit organizations, wildlife management authorities, and others may apply for these funds.

The legislation is led by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) Alongside Heinrich, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). The legislation is led by U.S. Representative Adelita S. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) in the House.

The bill is endorsed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Animal Welfare Institute, the American Bird Conservancy, the Endangered Species Coalition, and the Sierra Club.

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Martin Heinrich published this content on May 15, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 19, 2026 at 18:18 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]