The conservation title of the Farm Bill represents the single-largest federal investment in private lands conservation in the nation. Photo courtesy nysenate.gov.
A vital part of U.S. private-lands conservation, the Farm Bill has helped conserve and enhance millions of acres of fish and wildlife habitat and the hunting and fishing opportunities they provide. Congress is currently working on the next Farm Bill, and our elected officials must receive a strong message of support for key farm conservation programs from sportsmen across the country.
The conservation title of the Farm Bill represents the single-largest federal investment in private lands conservation in the nation. The legislation includes conservation programs such as the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program and the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, which comprise the foundation of America’s successful private lands conservation legacy.
The time for Congress to reauthorize the Farm Bill is now. Waiting only serves to increase budget pressures, while pressures on the rural landscape continue to grow. Send a letter to your members of Congress urging them to pass a strong conservation title in the next Farm Bill.
Outdoor recreationists spend nearly $4 billion annually and support more than 27,900 jobs in the Chesapeake Bay region. Photo courtesy fws.gov.
According to a new TRCP report, outdoor recreation activities in coastal areas of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, also known as the Delmarva Peninsula, drive an economy valued at nearly $4 billion per year and support tens of thousands of jobs.
“The Economics Associated with Natural Areas in the Delmarva Peninsula” shows the importance of outdoor recreation, commercial fishing and ecosystem services in the Chesapeake Bay. Highlights from the report include the following statistics:
“The Delmarva Peninsula is a place where outdoor traditions run strong,” said Steve Kline, who runs the TRCP’s Chesapeake Bay initiative. “Waterfowl hunting in the fall and early winter gives way to spring gobbler hunting and fishing in the spring and summer, with hiking, cycling, camping and boating available virtually year round.”
Conducted by Southwick Associates, the TRCP report concludes that hunting and angling are critical economic engines and that, consequently, conserving key fish and wildlife habitat and enhancing public access are important to sustaining and growing regional economies.
Learn more about the TRCP’s work in the Chesapeake Bay.
New legislation could jeopardize public lands fishing, hunting and recreation. Photo courtesy blm.gov.
According to a coalition of hunting and angling groups led in part by the TRCP, three bills introduced in April by members of Colorado’s U.S. House delegation would undermine energy development leasing reforms implemented by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in 2010 to encourage responsible planning and reduce the number of protests of public lands energy leases.
Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development strongly criticized the proposed legislation, which would expedite the process by which energy projects are permitted and developed on public lands. The leasing reforms encourage responsible planning and require federal officials to address potential conflicts upfront when considering the impacts of projects on fish, wildlife and habitat.
“Common-sense leasing reforms have helped restore balance to energy development on public lands,” said Brad Powell, energy director for Trout Unlimited. “We’ve seen how facing potential conflicts head-on has reduced the number of lease protests and has given the industry more certainty. We shouldn’t roll back the safeguards for our public lands.”
Besides jeopardizing public lands fishing, hunting and recreation that help sustain rural economies, provisions in the bills would restrict the public’s ability to weigh in on decisions affecting public lands, said Michael Saul, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. Saul noted that under the bills, it would cost a person $5,000 for every protest of a lease or permit.
Included in the bills is a provision that would allow development to advance without revising or adjusting resource management plans that analyze ways to develop energy while considering potential effects of energy projects on resources such as air and water quality, fish and wildlife.
Learn more about Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development.
The Farm Bill is the single largest source of federal funding for conservation on private lands. Photo courtesy of MeatEater.
Did you know that the Farm Bill is the single-largest source of federal funding for conservation on private lands in our country?
Watch the latest episode of “TRCP’s Conservation Field Notes” as Steven Rinella, host of the hit TV show “MeatEater,” talks about how hunters and anglers worth their salt should stand up for the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill provides an unparalleled opportunity for sportsmen to partner with farmers, ranchers and other private landowners to encourage conservation of fish and wildlife habitat.
Urge Congress to strongly fund important conservation programs in the next Farm Bill.
Be sure to tune in Sundays at 9 p.m. E/P on the Sportsman Channel to catch the latest episode of Rinella’s TV show “MeatEater.”
Sportsmen delivered a letter to the Obama Administration from more than 500 groups who want the EPA to take action to conserve Bristol Bay. Public Domain.
Forty hunting and angling leaders from 17 states recently traveled to the nation’s capital to press Congress and the administration to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska, and its unrivaled salmon fishery from the proposed Pebble Mine. The sportsmen delivered a letter to the Obama Administration from more than 500 hunting and angling groups around the country who want the EPA to take action under the Clean Water Act to conserve Bristol Bay.
“Bristol Bay is exactly the kind of place that Theodore Roosevelt was talking about when he said it’s our responsibility to conserve great habitat and wildlife,” said Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the TRCP. “Protecting Bristol Bay is a bipartisan issue, with supporters ranging from catch and release anglers to big game hunters.”
Bristol Bay in southwestern Alaska is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. Fed by nine major rivers and a wetland the size of Kentucky, Bristol Bay supports 12,000 commercial fishing and industry jobs and more than 800 sport fishing and tourism jobs. The Pebble Mine, pursued by two foreign corporations, would be 20 times larger than all of the mines in Alaska combined, and would produce up to 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste that must be treated and stored in perpetuity.
Contact President Obama and the EPA today and tell them to protect Bristol Bay!
“Sportsmen and -women across the country are saying no to the Pebble Mine,” said Tim Bristol, director of Trout Unlimited’s Alaska program. “They have made it clear that nothing less than EPA action to initiate a 404(c) process is acceptable. Opposing Pebble Mine is about the only thing that the late, conservative Senator Ted Stevens and Washington’s Senator Maria Cantwell ever agreed on, and that speaks volumes to the widespread support Bristol Bay enjoys.”
Joining the call to action is Rick Halford, who served 24 years as a Republican in the Alaska Legislature, including as senate president and majority leader. Halford says he never encountered a mine he didn’t like until Pebble – simply because the mine poses too great a threat to Bristol Bay and the fisheries it supports.
The TRCP’s signature event honored the achievements of today's conservation leaders. Photo by Ben Zweig.
At its fourth annual Capital Conservation Awards Dinner, held this month in Washington, D.C., the TRCP celebrated the achievements of leaders in the sportsman community and brought together influential policymakers and conservationists to pay tribute to the TRCP’s work in guaranteeing all Americans quality places to hunt and fish.
The TRCP’s signature event honored the conservation accomplishments of Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, Berkley Bedell, former congressman and founder of Pure Fishing Inc., and Tom Bedell, former chairman of the board of Pure Fishing Inc.
Lead sponsors of the 2012 Capital Conservation Awards include Bass Pro Shops, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Outdoor Industry Association and Pure Fishing.
Send your answers to info@trcp.org. We'll send the winner a TRCP hat.
Congratulations to Pat Person for answering last month's question correctly.
The question: What was the name of the book written by Kermit Roosevelt after his father’s death?
The answer: The Happy Hunting Grounds
Erica and her daughter, Portland, ice fishing this past winter. Photo courtesy of Erica Stock.
Current location: Denver, Colo.
A self-proclaimed “native trout freak” Erica Stock has been working in the conservation arena for more than 10 years. Erica got her start on the water in Oregon where she fell in love with salmonids. She currently resides in Colorado with her daughter, Portland, and husband, Tim. When she's not out bow hunting or fly fishing, Erica spends her time rallying for native trout restoration and habitat conservation projects throughout the west.
What are you up to right now?
I like to joke that I have two full-time jobs. I’m working as the outreach director for Colorado Trout Unlimited and the director of strategic partnerships for the Western Native Trout Initiative.
Why are you so passionate about native trout?
Native trout are majestic fish. Each one is distinct and beautiful. Once they are gone you can’t go into a lab, re-create them and put them back in a river somewhere.
Native fish have been reduced to such a small fraction of their historical range that some species have been lost all together. It would be a shame to see this trend continue, but, given all the threats faced by native trout, it is a very real possibility.
That’s where groups like WNTI and TU come in. Both of these organizations have been integral in uniting the community and developing the National Fish Habitat Action Plans. These plans give us a glimmer of hope.
Tell us a little bit about National Fish Habitat Action Plans.
These plans encourage collaboration between different state agencies, federal agencies, local partners and non-profit organizations that have an interest in fish conservation and management. These plans allow for much more progress than if all these groups were working separately.
Prior to the establishment of these plans, there was so much fragmentation and inefficiency. Everyone was out doing what they thought were the top priorities – using their own science or no science at all. NFHAPs provide a game plan so individuals and groups can work together toward the common goal of rebuilding some of these fish populations.
Tell us about what you do for TU.
I work with our grassroots; Trout Unlimited has 23 chapters and 10,000 individual members in Colorado. I work with these partners on some great native trout projects and projects that benefit local communities directly – regardless of whether there are native trout involved.
How did you get into fishing?
I was on the Deschutes River in northwestern Oregon doing invasive plant removal. We were just getting off the river for the day when I decided to pick up my friend’s fly rod. It was on an Orvis four-piece rod. I was immediately hooked.
What are some of the greatest threats faced by fish populations?
There are 15 native trout for which WNTI works. Seven of these are threatened and the remainder are species of concern. Development has degraded important habitat for a long period of time. The introduction of non-native species like rainbow and brown trout has caused serious competition between native and non-native species. These non-native fish will hybridize with the natives, destroying their genetic purity.
Climate change is another big threat to native trout. We need to make sure these fish are going to have habitat as the climate shifts. Fortunately these fish are in headwaters and roadless areas on public lands – and that’s no coincidence. The best hunting and fishing are found in roadless areas. We need to be sure these areas remain pristine and relatively untouched.
Check out “TRCP’s Native Trout Adventures,” a video series featuring native trout fishing expeditions in spectacular landscapes across the Rocky Mountain West.
Learn more about the Western Native Trout Initiative.
Roosevelt called often at my office to discuss the broad country we both loved, and we came to know each other extremely well. Though chiefly interested in big game and its hunting, and telling interestingly of events that had occurred on his hunting trips, Roosevelt enjoyed hearing of the birds, the small mammals and the incidents of travel of early expeditions on which I had gone. He was always fond of natural history, having begun, as so many boys have done, with birds; but as he saw more and more of outdoor life his interest in the subject broadened and later it became a passion with him.
- George Grinnell
Excerpt from American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation by John F. Reiger.
Portland Stock Cleaver with a moose shed found on a recent camping trip. Photo courtesy of Erica Stock.
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Learn about the local and state level clubs and organizations that work with the TRCP to guarantee all Americans a place to hunt and fish. Learn More
