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Challenge:
For many sportsmen, the impacts of climate change already are becoming evident.
Waterfowl are exhibiting changes in seasonal distribution. Higher water temperatures and diminished stream habitat are threatening coldwater fish such as trout and salmon. Big game species are shifting to more northerly latitudes and higher elevations to escape summer heat and find suitable forage. In the future, the prairie pothole region could lose up to 90 percent of its wetlands, reducing the number of the continent’s breeding ducks by more than two thirds. Increases in invasive species, parasites and disease-causing organisms may profoundly affect habitat and challenge the survival of upland game birds.
Consequently, hunting and fishing opportunities in places where we have enjoyed past successes and great memories are likely to be altered in the future. Some species may not exist in numbers that allow hunting. We can expect fewer upland birds and waterfowl in the bag. Elk may linger in the high country during hunting seasons in areas inaccessible to hunters. Trout fishing may be dramatically curtailed, and favorite fishing spots could change.
Maintaining ecosystems capable of supporting fish and wildlife populations is critically important to the nation’s health, economy and ecosystem services such as flood control, water filtration and groundwater security. Hunting and fishing are the dividends we reap when we exercise responsible management of our natural resources.
Outdoor recreation is also an economic engine that annually contributes $730 billion to the U.S. economy, stimulates 8 percent of consumer spending and provides 6.5 million jobs nationwide (one job out of every 20). Each year, 40 million Americans go fishing, 13 million Americans hunt, and national parks are visited 270 million times.
With each passing season, the need to develop strategies and invest in management practices to help fish and wildlife adapt to a warmer world becomes more imperative. The economic, ecological and recreational values of fish, wildlife and their habitats make a persuasive case for conservation, but the legal, moral and ethical responsibilities that humans have to the environment compel the American sporting community to take up this conservation challenge in the 21st Century.
Strategy:
How we address the challenges of global climate change now will dictate the sporting opportunities for future generations. In particular, securing funding for fish and wildlife management is critical. The proper tools will enable wildlife management agencies to monitor fish and wildlife resources and mitigate the effects of climate change. The TRCP remains an active participant in developing and promoting such responsible approaches and resources.
TRCP has established the Climate Change Working Group, comprising top scientists and fish and wildlife policy experts working to ensure that the issue of climate change is properly addressed in congressional legislation so that the resources that hunters and anglers use are conserved. The Climate Change Working Group has signed on to a set of principles to help guide federal decision makers as they craft policy to provide for wildlife adaptation in a changing climate. Read The Adaptation Answer.
 Published in 2008 by the TRCP and a number of other national sportsmen’s groups, Seasons’ End: Global Warming’s Threat to Hunting and Fishing details the predicted impacts of global climate change in the habitat and distribution of fish and wildlife in the United States and the implications for sustainable hunting and fishing. Since the report’s publication, the urgency to address the effects of climate change on fish and wildlife has become increasingly evident.
 A sequel, Beyond Seasons' End: A Path Forward for Fish and Wildlife in the Era of Climate Change, released in 2010, provides a path forward by
• Explaining how America’s quality of life and the survival of its fish and wildlife are connected and why the national annual expenditure of several billion dollars on landscape-scale fish and wildlife projects is a cost-effective investment.
• Showing field-tested adaptive management strategies for waterfowl, upland birds, big game and coldwater and warmwater fish that can be implemented to mitigate many of the adverse effects of climate change to conserve and restore fish and wildlife values.
• Demonstrating how dedicated funding for state and federal fish and wildlife and land management agencies is key to implementation of on-the-ground, field-tested adaptive management.
Beyond Seasons' End is a crucial tool for policy makers and land managers seeking ways to safeguard the resources and sporting traditions central to our national identity.
Legislative efforts:
U.S. House of Representatives: On June 26, 2009, the House passed
H.R. 2454, the American Clean
Energy and Security Act, a cap-and-trade bill that lays a broad
foundation for natural resources adaptation programs to ensure the
health and vitality of our fish and wildlife resources and the quality
of life for our citizens.
If passed as written, the ACES bill would limit the effects of
global climate change by imposing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions
while investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
It also would also create the Natural Resources Climate Change
Adaptation Fund to assist federal and state agencies in implementing
natural resources adaptation strategies and measures. The U.S. Senate,
however, has not yet voted to support the ACES bill.
U.S. Senate: On Oct. 27, 2009, Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Max
Baucus (D-MT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tom Udall (D-NM) introduced
S. 1933, the Natural
Resources Climate Adaptation Act, which would create a dedicated
funding mechanism to safeguard wildlife and natural resources threatened
by global climate change. This bill is not comprehensive climate
legislation in itself but rather comprises the natural resources
adaptation language that could be included in a bill such as the House
ACES bill. The Senate has not yet voted on S. 1933.
Sens. Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC) and Lieberman (I-CT) indicated
that they intend to introduce a comprehensive climate bill in the Senate
in spring 2010. The TRCP and its conservation partners are urging Sens.
Bingaman and Baucus to work with Sens. Kerry, Graham and Lieberman to
incorporate language reflective of that in S. 1933 into the this
legislation and stipulate that adequate revenues to be made available to
federal and state natural resource adaptation programs and placed in a
dedicated fund for fish, wildlife and habitat conservation.
Action:
Join Hunters and Anglers for Responsible Development.
Learn More:
On March 3, 2009, TRCP Director of Policy and Government Relations Tom Franklin testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee On National Parks, Forests And Public Lands. Read his testimony.
TRCP Center for Western Lands Director William Geer authored an article, “Helping Fish and Wildlife Adapt to Climate Change,” for the Republicans for Environmental Protection’s summer 2009 newsletter. Read the article.
On Sept. 21, 2009, the American Wildlife Conservation Partners, including TRCP, sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate in support of climate legislation. Read the letter.
For more information about our climate change initiative, contact William Geer, director, the TRCP Center for Western Lands.
For media inquiries, contact Katie McKalip, TRCP associate director of communications. |
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TRCP’s Franklin Appointed to Federal Council to Promote Hunting, Conservation |
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News for Immediate Release
July 23, 2010
Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
TRCP’s Franklin Appointed to Federal Council
to Promote Hunting, Conservation
Sportsmen’s priorities on hunting, fish and wildlife conservation to be represented
on Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council
 WASHINGTON – Tom Franklin, director of policy and government relations for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, has been appointed to a new federal advisory committee, the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, which will advise the government on wildlife and hunting issues and work to sustain America’s hunting heritage.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the 18 members of the federal council at a national teleconference this morning.
The Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council is an official advisory group under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that is tasked with promoting and preserving America’s hunting heritage for future generations. It also provides a forum for sportsmen to advise the federal government on policies related to wildlife and habitat conservation endeavors that (a) benefit recreational hunting; (b) benefit wildlife resources; and (c) encourage partnership among the public, the sporting conservation community, the shooting and hunting sports industry, wildlife conservation organizations, the states, Native American tribes and the federal government.
Franklin is a certified wildlife biologist and past president of The Wildlife Society. His decades-long career in conservation includes positions as conservation director of the Izaak Walton League of America, executive director of the Urban Wildlife Research Center and wildlife policy director of The Wildlife Society.
“The creation of this council indicates a commitment by the Obama administration that fish and wildlife habitat conservation and high-quality hunting opportunities for Americans will be priorities for the departments of Agriculture and Interior,” said Franklin. “I am enthusiastic about helping advance the sportsmen’s conservation agenda with the TRCP’s many partners in government, the conservation community and the outdoor industry.”
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the 18 members of the WHHCC at a national teleconference on July 23. Other appointees include representatives from TRCP partner groups such as John Tomke from Ducks Unlimited, Howard Vincent from Pheasants Forever, Robert Manes from The Nature Conservancy and Steve Williams from the Wildlife Management Institute.
Read the administration's announcement and full council roster.
Learn more about the TRCP’s goals and objectives as outlined in the TRCP 2010 Conservation Policy Agenda.
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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TRCP Hails USDA Decision to Release Open Fields Funds |
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News for Immediate Release
July 8, 2010
Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
TRCP Hails USDA Decision to Release Open Fields Funds
Hunting-access program provides $50 million in federal funds
to expand recreation opportunities on private lands
WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today praised a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release funding for the “Open Fields” Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program, a new effort to encourage owners and operators of privately held farm, ranch and forest lands to provide public access to their lands for wildlife-dependent activities such as hunting and fishing.
Open Fields was authorized by Congress for the first time in the 2008 Farm Bill following tenacious support by members of a TRCP-sponsored coalition. The sportsmen-conservation group has been frustrated by delays in the USDA finalizing the regulations but is optimistic that the program now can be implemented expeditiously so sportsmen and landowners can benefit beginning this year.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement this afternoon at a national press conference, at which other speakers included representatives from the TRCP, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Pheasants Forever.
“Open Fields is the first federal landowner incentive program of its kind to enhance access for hunting and fishing – and has been a flagship issue for the TRCP since our group’s inception,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh, who spoke at the event. “Today’s announcement by the federal government is an unqualified victory for fish and wildlife conservation and our hunting and fishing traditions.
“America’s union sportsmen, led by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, endorsed the Open Fields hunter-access program,” Fosburgh continued. “Many national unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO joined together to push for Open Fields, as did scores of rank-and-file union members from across the country. They have seen the declines in sporting opportunities in their backyards and did something about it.”
Open Fields provides states $50 million in federal monies to create or enhance voluntary hunter-access programs on private lands and encourages landowners who enroll their properties to employ best-management practices for fish and wildlife. Landowners can receive a financial incentive in exchange for opening lands to the public for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation.
“This administration is committed to preserving and enhancing the great conservation legacy of our nation’s hunters and anglers to benefit current and future generations,” said Vilsack. “This program will not only help achieve conservation goals, but also increase opportunities for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation by providing greater access to privately held lands for wildlife-dependent recreation.”
“American sportsmen are deeply invested in the Open Fields program,” said Pheasants Forever National President and CEO Howard Vincent, a speaker at today’s press conference, “and we appreciate the federal government’s willingness to expand public access to hunting and other recreational activities by assuring its implementation. Sportsmen now speak together in urging our nation’s decision makers to continue this record of support by retaining and funding Farm Bill conservation programs in 2012.”
The conservation title of the Farm Bill is the nation’s single-largest source of federal funding for private-lands conservation programs, and previous iterations of the bill have allocated billions of dollars toward landowner activities that sustain habitat and bolster fish and wildlife populations important to sportsmen.
Read frequently asked questions about Open Fields.
Learn more about the TRCP’s work on the Farm Bill.
Read the TRCP report “Growing Conservation in the Farm Bill.”
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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TRCP Commends Conservation Measures in Renewable Energy Bill |
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News for Immediate Release
July 14, 2010
Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
TRCP Commends Conservation Measures
in Renewable Energy Bill
Specific language would help sustain fish and wildlife, mitigate development impacts
and expand access for sportsmen
WASHINGTON – Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday stipulates planning and development practices for wind and solar energy projects on federal public lands and should facilitate the conservation of fish and wildlife resources and enhance sportsmen’s access, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.
The Clean Energy, Community Investment and Wildlife Conservation Act, introduced in the Senate by Harry Reid (D-NV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) and the House by Dean Heller (R-NV), would enact specific policies for renewable energy projects on public lands, including establishing a competitive leasing program, funding for fish and wildlife mitigation and best-management practices to ensure the responsible development of these resources. Sportsmen, who have been vocal in their support of federal energy projects that ensure multiple uses of public lands and waters, praised measures in the bill that should help safeguard prime habitat prized by hunters and anglers.
“The impacts of oil and gas development on public lands have degraded habitat and recreational opportunities when fish and wildlife were not adequately considered prior to leasing,” said TRCP Director of Policy and Government Relations Tom Franklin. “As renewable energy projects are inevitably increased to meet the nation’s energy needs, measures in this important legislation would promote the careful siting of projects, mitigate unavoidable impacts on fish and wildlife populations and help maintain public-lands access for sportsmen. These are huge issues for hunters and anglers and cornerstones of the TRCP mission.”
The TRCP is actively engaged in promoting a new model for energy development on public lands and waters that secures fish and wildlife populations and hunting and fishing traditions. In particular, the sportsmen’s group has pressed the federal government to engage in more comprehensive upfront planning in valuable habitat before allowing energy development.
The following TRCP partner organizations signed a letter in support of today’s energy bill: the American Fisheries Society, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Berkley Conservation Institute, the North American Grouse Partnership, the Quality Deer Management Association, Trout Unlimited and the Wildlife Management Institute.
“Sportsmen commend our Senate and House leaders for taking decisive action to assure the responsible development of wind and solar energy resources,” Franklin continued, “and we offer our support in promoting practices that bolster domestic energy production while at the same time sustain America’s unique hunting and fishing legacy.”
The TRCP and its partners believe that to better balance the concerns of fish and wildlife in the face of accelerating energy development, federal land management agencies must follow the conservation tenets outlined in the FACTS for Fish and Wildlife and the CAST principles.
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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TRCP Convenes Panel to Improve Marine Recreational Angling Data |
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News for Immediate Release
July 1, 2010
Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org
TRCP Convenes Panel to Improve
Marine Recreational Angling Data
Experts assess federal marine fishing data collection programs
and develop recommendations for improvements
WASHINGTON – Marine scientists and fisheries professionals from across the country are meeting today in Washington, D.C., to discuss recreational saltwater fishing data collection and the conservation of marine resources at a blue-ribbon panel hosted by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
During the daylong gathering, the fisheries experts, who represented state, federal, academic, conservation and recreational interests, are developing recommendations intended to improve the accuracy and timeliness of marine recreational fishing data collection. Federal efforts on this front are currently focused on the Marine Recreational Information Program.
MRIP was created to gather data about the practices of recreational saltwater anglers and help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration better manage fish populations so that the impacts of all marine angling sectors are more accurately considered when catch limits are determined for a particular fishery. The panel’s recommendations will include suggestions for how to improve MRIP but, perhaps more importantly, will challenge NOAA to look beyond this program to adopt a broader set of efforts on recreational data gathering that are commensurate with the popularity of saltwater fishing and the economic engine it represents.
“The TRCP is pleased to facilitate conservation of the nation’s marine resources – and sustain our unique recreational angling traditions – by convening this blue-ribbon panel of marine fisheries experts,” said Whit Fosburgh, TRCP president and CEO. “Conscientious, scientific management of America’s recreational fisheries will assure that factors such as a lack of timely catch information do not unduly limit saltwater angling opportunities for sportsmen.”
The recommendations developed by the TRCP panel are based on examples drawn from a range of alternative marine data-collection systems, including research and methods currently used in non-federal fisheries and by other natural resource management programs. They will be submitted for consideration by NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service in a workshop scheduled to take place later this year.
“For too long, recreational anglers have suffered from fishery closures because catch information comes in too late for managers to prevent quotas from being exceeded,” said TRCP Marine Initiative Associate Michael Misurek. “The goal of the sportsman-conservation community is to create a robust recreational data collection system that allows adjustments that don’t exceed annual catch limits and that sustain healthy fish populations.”
Learn more about the TRCP’s marine fisheries work.
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.
Return to press
releases.
Return to TRCP home.
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