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News for Immediate Release
Mar. 02, 2016
Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org
Energy, business, and outdoor industry leaders release recommendations for funding conservation through a portion of development revenues from public lands
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today a task force of conservation, business, and energy industry leadersrevealed its strategy for proactively investing in fish and wildlife resources to combat habitat loss and species decline while boosting American participation in the outdoors.
The Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish & Wildlife Resources has recommended reallocating $1.3 billion in revenue from energy and mineral development on federal lands and waters to the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program. These funds would go toward state-based conservation projects that could benefit thousands of species and ensure that Americans continue to have access to our unmatched wild places.
“This is a very diverse group that realized very quickly we should be redefining how we support efforts to maintain diverse wildlife populations,” said panel co-chair David Freudenthal, the former Wyoming governor, during a media event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “The principle is that America has something to treasure and pass on to the next generation, but we have to realize it’s not free, and we don’t have sufficient funding from sportsmen and sportswomen spending alone in order to do that. We believe we have a sound proposal to address this.”
Annual investments from these development revenues would allow state fish and wildlife agencies to proactively manage species, rather than spend taxpayer dollars to bring endangered species back from the brink—a process that typically also creates red tape for local businesses and outdoor recreationists.
“Something we’ve known, but certainly proved true earlier this year when the greater sage grouse was not listed for Endangered Species Act protection, is that proactive conservation is effective, less costly, and more flexible for local communities than reactive conservation measures launched when a species is already in crisis,” said Steve Williams, president and CEO of the Wildlife Management Institute. “But we need a better way to fund these efforts proactively, too.”
Panel co-chair John Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops reiterated that state fish and wildlife agencies are being asked to do more with less, and there is a tremendous need for new funding solutions that don’t rob from conservation work already being done for game species.
“As the original conservationists, America’s hunters and anglers should celebrate this kind of collaboration on real solutions for fish and wildlife,” said Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “This funding program is inspired, in part, by the way sportsmen have invested in conservation through our license, ammunition, and firearms purchases for decades, and we’re grateful for the panel’s efforts to highlight the benefits that proactive conservation would provide our entire country.”
Sportsmen had a strong voice on the Blue Ribbon Panel, with representatives from the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Outdoor Industry Association, Ducks Unlimited, American Sportfishing Association, National Wildlife Federation, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Wildlife Management Institute, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, and Pure Fishing, Inc. Created in 2014, the panel was charged with recommending a new funding mechanism to support state fish and wildlife conservation and ensure the sustainability of these resources for future generations.
“This recommendation is an incredible opportunity for individual states to strengthen their already existing public and private lands partnerships that have proven critical for overall wildlife management efforts in the United States,” said Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “Hunting access, wildlife populations, and future generations of sportsmen and women stand to benefit greatly from full funding of the Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program.”
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.
The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress
The Senate will be in session Monday through Friday. The House will be in session from Monday through Thursday.
A House divided over finances is nothing new. House GOP leadership had planned to hold floor votes on a fiscal year 2017 budget in early March, but an intra-party squabble—between those who want to stick with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 agreement and those who want a new budget with deeper cuts—seems to be preventing lawmakers from moving forward. Any attempt at additional cuts could threaten spending levels for sportsmen’s access and programs that conserve and restore fish and wildlife habitat. Many members of the TRCP Policy Council are going on the record this week to encourage Congress to adhere to the budget agreement struck in October 2015.
Weeks ago, the fate of the bipartisan Senate Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 was inextricably linked to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Mich., as several Senators insisted that energy legislation could not move forward without an aid package included. Now, many in the upper chamber have publicly indicated that an agreement on Flint has emerged, though the path forward for the energy bill is still unclear. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), and lead author of the Energy Policy Modernization Act, has pledged to keep working to move the legislation to the Senate floor, where she remains confident it could be passed rapidly, along with a short list of amendments.
One of those amendments just might be a portion of the Senate Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act that recently passed out of the ENR Committee. That portion of the bill includes some key provisions, such as Making Public Lands Public and reauthorization of the Federal Land Transfer Facilitation Act, but doesn’t include important conservation reauthorizations like the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Fish Habitat Conservation Act, which are included in the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee portfolio. If the ENR-only portion moves forward, sportsmen’s groups will have to devise a strategy for getting the EPW provisions over the finish line.
And ICYMI, the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act passed the House in a 242 to 161 bipartisan vote. This legislation would promote and enhance sportsmen’s access to hunting, fishing and recreational shooting areas. If the Senate energy bill is amended to include Sportsmen’s Act provisions, it is possible that the House-Senate energy bill conference could also serve as the conference on the Sportsmen’s Act. Read more about the SHARE Act here.
What We’re Tracking
Conservation funding, as budget requests are examined for the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Energy, and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
International fisheries management, in a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans hearing regarding the Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act
Voluntary conservation efforts, to be discussed in a House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry hearing regarding technology and innovation
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Invasive species and coastal restoration, to be taken up by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. They will mark up legislation for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, plus a bill that would deal with oil spills from foreign offshore facilities.
Renewable energy, in a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development hearing on technology, renewable energy, and climate change funds for Fiscal Year 2017
Coal mine cleanups, in a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Federal fisheries management and small businesses will be discussed by the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in a hearing
News for Immediate Release
Feb. 26, 2016
Contact: Kristyn Brady, 617-501-6352, kbrady@trcp.org
Vote marks next step in effort to pass broader package that benefits fish, wildlife, and America’s sportsmen
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act (H.R. 2406), also known as the SHARE Act, to require federal land managers to promote and enhance sportsmen’s access to public hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting areas. Final passage of this bill is a critical next step towards sending a comprehensive sportsmen’s package to the president’s desk.
“We’re happy to see this legislation clear the House and move forward with bipartisan support—it’s a step in the right direction for what we hope is a truly comprehensive final package that the president can sign into law,” says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
“What’s important now is Senate action on a suite of sportsmen’s priorities, including provisions aimed not only at expanding access but also at investing in key habitat conservation programs. Open gates aren’t much good if there isn’t quality habitat behind them. We’ll continue to emphasize this point with Congress and America’s hunters and anglers,” says Fosburgh.
The SHARE Act was introduced in May 2015 by the bipartisan leadership of the House Sportsmen’s Caucus: Representatives Robert Wittman (R-Va.), Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), and Gene Green (D-Texas). It also passed in the last Congress but failed to reach the president’s desk.
Two Senate committees recently passed portions of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act which would provide the investments in habitat conservation that the House package currently lacks. Read more about those bills here and here.
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.
From now until January 1, 2025, every donation you make will be matched by a TRCP Board member up to $500,000 to sustain TRCP’s work that promotes wildlife habitat, our sporting traditions, and hunter & angler access. Together, dollar for dollar, stride for stride, we can all step into the arena of conservation.
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