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January 20, 2016

Senate moves forward with Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act

Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act now poised for time on the Senate floor

Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to advance its portion of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act (S.659) that would renew important investments in conservation for fish, waterfowl, migratory birds, and other wildlife.

Image courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Combined with a bill that would enhance public access to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting, which passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in November 2015, today’s actions cement a path forward for a vote of the full Senate on the comprehensive Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act.

“Today’s vote was an important step toward improving habitat and access, which translates to more opportunities for sportsmen across the country to live out our unique outdoor heritage,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We’re very pleased to see that conservation has support in the Senate at a critical time for our nation’s land and water, and fish and wildlife resources.”

The committee approved reauthorization of two conservation grant programs with matched-dollar incentives: the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Each federal dollar invested in these grant programs is matched, on average, three times over by non-federal dollars that have major on-the-ground impacts for the conservation of wetlands, waterfowl, and other wildlife.

Senators also approved proposed amendments to the original bill that would reauthorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a congressionally-chartered grant-making organization that works with public and private stakeholders, and the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, created to foster partnerships to improve fish habitat and enhance recreational fishing opportunities.

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SENATE PANEL ADVANCES BILL TO INVEST IN WETLANDS CONSERVATION, MIGRATORY BIRD, AND FISH HABITAT

News for Immediate Release

Jan. 20, 2016

Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org

Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act now poised for time on the Senate floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to advance its portion of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act (S.659) that would renew important investments in conservation for fish, waterfowl, migratory birds, and other wildlife.

Combined with a bill that would enhance public access to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting, which passed the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in November 2015, today’s actions cement a path forward for a vote of the full Senate on the comprehensive Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act.

“Today’s vote was an important step toward improving habitat and access, which translates to more opportunities for sportsmen across the country to live out our unique outdoor heritage,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “We’re very pleased to see that conservation has support in the Senate at a critical time for our nation’s land and water, and fish and wildlife resources.”

The committee approved reauthorization of two conservation grant programs with matched-dollar incentives: the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Each federal dollar invested in these grant programs is matched, on average, three times over by non-federal dollars that have major on-the-ground impacts for the conservation of wetlands, waterfowl, and other wildlife.

Senators also approved proposed amendments to the original bill that would reauthorize the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a congressionally-chartered grant-making organization that works with public and private stakeholders, and the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, created to foster partnerships to improve fish habitat and enhance recreational fishing opportunities.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

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January 19, 2016

An Ode to Oregon, Access, and My Dogs

For our Oregon field rep, the events of the last three weeks are personal. So is her story

Oregon is my home, and it’s an incredibly special place, where I have access to hunting and fishing in rugged country with the most spectacular views, including more than 10 million acres of public land. Practically out my back door, I can float, fish a run, catch a steelhead, and then go for a hike with the dogs and gun searching for chukars on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) backcountry land. I’ve hunted places like the Deschutes River  for years, so I know exactly where to go to find the spots where sagebrush and bitterbrush intermingle and birds are abundant. I’ve crossed many a rusty fence and watched chukars dive from the breaks to escape #6-shot pellets by the dozen.

This is the ultimate opportunity to experience wide-open, undisturbed landscapes and watch my dogs work. Cedar, our 10-year-old veteran Pudelpointer, does most of the work while Eddy, the new Munsterlander pup, plays. We’re not even 15 minutes from the boat, at times, before Cedar smells the air vigorously and starts following the scent.

His tail starts wagging faster and faster, his shoulders drop, he points, and starts creeping in. Maybe he stops, moves in a little closer, and suddenly the birds flush, just out of range. No shots taken. We’ll keep working the sagebrush flat while the wind is in our favor. In the distance, I’ve noticed mule deer watching our every move. We hike back and float to the next corner, where we can cover new territory, that hasn’t been hunted today.

These areas—where muleys and bighorn sheep are more likely to be found than reporters and news-trucks—they’re mine and they’re yours. That’s why the last few weeks have been so frustrating. The disruption caused by the extremists occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is taxing for the people who live and recreate here. The Refuge is typically open to hunting and fishing—but not today. What they’re doing is at odds with everything I love about a day like the one I’ve just described.

I’m anxious to get back to the boat, and float to the next corner. I think we all are.

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Glassing The Hill: January 19 – 22

The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress

The Senate is in session this week. The House is not in session, but a field hearing is planned.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.

On your mark. Get set. And go, already. After many postponements, the mark-up of a portion of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act will proceed on Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. (Reminder: The other half of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act was cleared by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee by voice vote in November.) The bill before the committee includes a reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, TSCA reform related to lead fishing tackle, and several other provisions. Both bills are eventually expected to be considered on the Senate floor together.  

Potential positive amendments that may come up during the mark-up include reauthorization of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, reauthorization of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act. However, TRCP has joined many of our partner groups in opposing a very short-sighted trapping amendment that may be offered by Senator Booker (D-NJ).

It also looks increasingly likely that the Energy Policy Modernization Act, a bipartisan energy package passed by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July, will receive Senate floor time in the near future. Should this legislation pass, the Senate will be able to conference with the North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act, which the House passed in early December.

Last Wednesday, the House passed a resolution of disapproval of the Clean Water Rule that seeks to clarify the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. The President is expected to veto the resolution as early as this week.

Meanwhile, the Senate will spend the bulk of the week on legislation that would ‘pause’ the entry of Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States.

What We’re Tracking

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Energy of the near future, with a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on future outlooks for energy and commodity markets

Friday, January 22, 2016

Multi-use resource management on public lands. Local input on legal consistency and BLM planning will be heard in a series of House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands field hearings in St. George, Utah.

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January 14, 2016

Private Land Conservation Keeps Turkey Habitat from Getting Gobbled Up

Why CRP works for wild turkeys, farmers, and sportsmen

Image courtesy of Pheasants Forever.

The national Conservation Reserve Program is 30! The CRP was signed into law by President Reagan as part of the Farm Bill on December 23, 1985, to help agricultural producers to voluntarily conserve soil, water, and wildlife. The TRCP and our partners are celebrating the 30th anniversary of CRP throughout 2016, by highlighting the successes of this popular bipartisan program—regarded by many as the greatest private lands conservation initiative in U.S. history. Here on our blog, we’re devoting a series of posts to the critters that have seen tremendous habitat benefits: upland birds, wild turkeys, waterfowl, and freshwater fish. CRP works for wildlife, and it works for sportsmen.

Many readers will be familiar with the phenomenal comeback of the wild turkey in America, but considering how prevalent these big birds are in some parts of the country today, some may be shocked to learn that turkeys were widely extirpated by the beginning of the 20th century. While no one conservation innovation is responsible for the wild turkey’s rebound, the Conservation Reserve Program continues to ensure that a profound amount of turkey habitat is not lost or converted to crops.

Talking Turkey Restoration

According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, wild turkey populations began to shrink not long after the first Europeans arrived in North America. Native wild turkeys (of which there are five distinct subspecies) were an important source of food for a growing population of settlers, who hunted the birds year-round without regulation. Meanwhile, vast northern forests were being cleared for agriculture, industry, and other societal needs. As a result, by 1920 the wild turkey had all but disappeared from 18 of the 39 states in its historic range, and by the 1930s the continental population was estimated at fewer than 30,000 birds—found only in the most rugged and inaccessible environments.

Want more info? Watch Steven Rinella discuss the History of the American Wild Turkey.

Thankfully, early conservation laws—such as the 1905 Lacey Act and the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act—and the creation of our National Forest System resulted in the slow restoration of the landscape, and wild turkey populations increased substantially as a result. Successful trap-and-transplant programs were launched mid-century to help accelerate population growth, which reached a high of nearly 7 million wild turkeys across North America. Today, wild turkeys are found in every U.S. state except Alaska and, including populations in Canada and Mexico, the game bird now occupies more miles of habitat than any other in North America.

Still, Threats Exist

NWTF estimates that 6,000 acres of wild turkey habitat is lost each day to the development of roads, homes, and industrial agriculture, and the overall population has shrunk from 7 million to about 6.2 million birds in recent years. While there are other downward pressures on wild turkey populations (lack of rainfall in the West, severe winters up north, and even the widespread presence of feral hogs in the South), loss of turkey habitat, often due to poor farm and forest management, is the biggest threat to the gobbler’s success.

As we’ve explained before, rising prices for commodity crops, like corn, have motivated landowners to farm their old Conservation Reserve Program acreage and other marginal lands, in order to increase production. These marginal farmlands frequently include prime turkey habitat full of brushy cover and a variety of food sources. Once converted, a heavily-managed soybean field is no place to raise a brood.

Whereas today’s farmland is overly managed for production, forested land tends to be under managed for a turkey’s habitat needs: The amount of logging and thinning in many forests has decreased, which can result in a too-thick understory of young trees and invasive plants—once again, unsuitable habitat for turkey nesting, brooding, and roosting.

Wild turkey habitat is at risk not just because it’s disappearing by the acre—the acreage that does exist is frequently a victim of neglect.

CRP Can Help!

The home range of a wild turkey flock varies from 350 acres to more than 60,000 acres. Flocks need space to roam and a mixture of habitat components like fresh water, food, and diverse cover. In some areas of the country, it may seem impossible for one property to offer this much habitat, but landowners enrolling as few as 10 acres in CRP can provide crucial habitat support to wild turkeys. Just one component—like a CRP food plot—needs to be present on the land, as long as adjacent lands can address the others—water and cover. Even a few acres of CRP here and there, along stream beds, utility rights-of-way, or farm fields bordering forests, can help support habitat connectivity in fragmented rural areas.

In other parts of the country, where landowners are able to enroll vast parcels of land in the program, CRP has helped to convert large fields of production agriculture, like cotton in the Southeast, into bottomland timber forests or permanent native grasslands. These CRP areas make for excellent hunting grounds (with landowner permission, of course), especially when properly managed as part of a business plan. For instance, today, the commercial harvesting of southeastern CRP pine stands planted 20 years ago is increasing the value of those forests to wild turkeys.

Additionally, the slow-but-steady return of fire to CRP is a boon to turkeys and other wildlife. It has long been taboo to intentionally set fire to the landscape, even as part of a conservation management plan, but prescribed and rotational burning can clear downed trees from the forest understory, open the forest floor to promote new growth, control for invasive species, and help to diversify the number of native grasses, forbs, legumes, and shrubs on the ground. In many cases, landowners in CRP can receive cost-share funding to implement prescribed burns and other invaluable management practices.

As untouched native savannahs and forests give way to working landscapes, the importance of CRP to the wild turkey will continue to grow in importance. By enrolling in the program, landowners can help add habitat to the landscape and better manage their own private lands for wild turkeys, deer, and other game species.

‘Dead Turkeys Don’t Lie’

Unfortunately, it’s hard to find comprehensive, quantifiable data on the impacts of CRP for wild turkeys, but one wildlife biologist put it succinctly when he said, “I’m like the old fellow from East Texas, in that ‘I ain’t got no data, but I know what I’ve seen,’ and dead turkeys do not lie.” Here’s hoping that CRP continues to work for wild turkeys and wild turkey hunters, far into the future.

To read the other blogs in our series click here and here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

CHEERS TO CONSERVATION

Theodore Roosevelt’s experiences hunting and fishing certainly fueled his passion for conservation, but it seems that a passion for coffee may have powered his mornings. In fact, Roosevelt’s son once said that his father’s coffee cup was “more in the nature of a bathtub.” TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to bring together his two loves: a strong morning brew and a dedication to conservation. With your purchase, you’ll not only enjoy waking up to the rich aroma of this bolder roast—you’ll be supporting the important work of preserving hunting and fishing opportunities for all.

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