Photo Credit: Dusan Smetana
As a robust part of the $887-billion outdoor recreation economy in the U.S., hunters and anglers drive spending in local communities and fund conservation through our excise taxes and license purchases. That’s why lawmakers must prioritize investments in conservation, just as they would for other major economic sectors.
are the backbone of our hunting and fishing traditions. But over the last four decades, funding for conservation as a percentage of the federal budget has been cut in half. This is the money that pays for habitat protection and improvement on Forest Service land, National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management acres, and private lands enrolled in Natural Resource Conservation Service programs. Quality habitat creates quality hunting and fishing opportunities, and if this trend line continues to drop, we will lose both.
Because deer hunters contribute heavily to conservation through the purchase of licenses and gear, this disease could have major impacts on funding to improve fish and wildlife habitat.
Nearly 2,000 square miles of prime fish and wildlife habitat have vanished along Louisiana’s coast. But oil spill fines have created an opportunity to restore Louisiana’s coastal wetlands and fish habitat.
Like other small but critically important forage fish, Atlantic menhaden play a central role in the marine food web. But they are not currently managed with this in mind.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is supported through royalties from offshore oil and gas development and helps pay for the acquisition of new hunting and fishing areas, expansion of outdoor recreation facilities, and improvements to fish and wildlife habitat.
Recreational fishermen drive spending in coastal communities, but recreational fisheries haven’t been managed for their unique value to the economy until now.
Systematic underfunding by Congress has forced the federal agencies in charge of conservation to virtually halt active management, as available funds go to dealing with the crisis of the day, from wildfire to vandalism.
Tell Congress to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and invest in our public lands.
TAKE ACTIONYou can help us tell Congress to show conservation the money. Take action right here—it only takes a few clicks to send your lawmaker an email or tweet. And be prepared to hold them accountable for their votes. Sign up for TRCP email alerts to be the first to know about upcoming budget talks and funding battles—and what you can do to help. Then, get outside and take advantage of the conservation success we've already achieved. Take plenty of photos and share them with us @theTRCP.
Help the TRCP to keep public lands well-managed and accessible.
