Pennsylvania is rewriting the blueprint it uses to keep native species off the endangered list, and the public gets a say until September 19.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Fish and Boat Commission are taking comments on the draft 2025-2035 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan through September 19. The plan and comment form are at pa.gov/wildlife-action-plan, and the final plan goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by October 1.
What the plan is
First developed in 2005 and required by Congress to be revised at least every ten years, the Wildlife Action Plan serves as the Commonwealth’s playbook for conserving native fish and wildlife, maintaining resilient habitat, and protecting Species of Greatest Conservation Need. It also carries a price tag worth understanding: an approved plan is required for a state to receive State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program funds, money that flows into the habitat and species work happening in our watersheds.
“This Plan provides the framework to fulfill that responsibility while keeping our efforts aligned with the federal government and other states.”
Steve Smith, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Game Commission
What watershed groups can add
This is a chance to make sure the streams, species, and stressors you know best are reflected in the state’s priorities for the next decade. If your group has monitoring data showing where hellbenders, native brook trout, or freshwater mussels are hanging on, or where they have vanished, that local knowledge is exactly what a statewide plan tends to miss.
Why it matters for the rest of us
The species our members celebrate when they return to a recovering AMD stream are the same ones this plan is built to protect. Comments are due September 19, 2026 through the form at pa.gov/wildlife-action-plan.
Details from the Pennsylvania Game Commission announcement, August 19, 2026.
