Congress Considers Establishing the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge

House Bill 972, the Wildlife Refuge Conservation and Recreation for the Community Act, would require the US Fish and Wildlife Service to establish the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge in California with the goal of conserving species listed under the Endangered Species Act and providing wildlife habitat migration corridors. The bill would preserve nearly 500,000 acres for 146 species, 33 of which are threatened or endangered, making one of the nation’s largest urban wildlife refuges. The bill was previously introduced in 2019.