The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.
The House is in session through Wednesday of this week, while the Senate has recessed for the Easter holiday. Both chambers will be out next week, and there will be no Glassing the Hill blog.
Ah, Congressional appropriations in springtime—but nothing’s fresh or blossoming here. What should have been a fairly easy path forward for funding bills, thanks to the two-year budget agreement that Congress reached in October 2015, is turning into quite the quagmire, particularly in the House of Representatives. There is not enough agreement within the Republican caucus to ensure a smooth road toward a budget. In fact, last week the House Budget Committee passed a budget that implied deep cuts to non-defense discretionary programs—like many conservation priorities—as well as entitlement programs, in a 20-to-16 vote. Two Freedom Caucus members voted against the measure for not making enough cuts, while many more moderate members, who will face the voters in November, worry that the budget cuts too deep. That budget would normally have been on the House floor this week, but with a fractured caucus and unanimous opposition from the Dems, it simply doesn’t have the votes on the floor, sending GOP leadership back to the drawing board.
However, several House appropriations subcommittees are pressing forward with mark-ups of their individual appropriations bills, using the topline allocations agreed to in the October budget accord.
Long term outlook: With so much fluidity in the funding process, it looks as though government funding may coast from the end of September into the lame duck session on a continuing resolution.
What We’re Tracking
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Appropriations hearings on EPA and Forest Service budgets
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Energy leasing on public lands, to be discussed by the Subcommittee on the Interior in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing
The TRCP’s scouting report on sportsmen’s issues in Congress
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.
The House is in session through Wednesday of this week, while the Senate has recessed for the Easter holiday. Both chambers will be out next week, and there will be no Glassing the Hill blog.
Ah, Congressional appropriations in springtime—but nothing’s fresh or blossoming here. What should have been a fairly easy path forward for funding bills, thanks to the two-year budget agreement that Congress reached in October 2015, is turning into quite the quagmire, particularly in the House of Representatives. There is not enough agreement within the Republican caucus to ensure a smooth road toward a budget. In fact, last week the House Budget Committee passed a budget that implied deep cuts to non-defense discretionary programs—like many conservation priorities—as well as entitlement programs, in a 20-to-16 vote. Two Freedom Caucus members voted against the measure for not making enough cuts, while many more moderate members, who will face the voters in November, worry that the budget cuts too deep. That budget would normally have been on the House floor this week, but with a fractured caucus and unanimous opposition from the Dems, it simply doesn’t have the votes on the floor, sending GOP leadership back to the drawing board.
However, several House appropriations subcommittees are pressing forward with mark-ups of their individual appropriations bills, using the topline allocations agreed to in the October budget accord.
Long term outlook: With so much fluidity in the funding process, it looks as though government funding may coast from the end of September into the lame duck session on a continuing resolution.
What We’re Tracking
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Appropriations hearings on EPA and Forest Service budgets
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Energy leasing on public lands, to be discussed by the Subcommittee on the Interior in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing
In round one of our annual tourney, the largemouth bass shut down hopes of a Cinderella sequel for the brook trout
The first round of Critter Madness 2016 has come to a close, with some very intense battles keeping us on the edge of our seat through the very last vote. So how did your favorite critter do? Let’s break it down.
Big Game Region
True to their dominant form in the field, the reigning champion elk cruised past fourth-seed bighorn sheep with ease. Elk are poised to make a run deep into the tournament and likely have what it takes to go all the way. The second match-up in the Big Game Region went to the third-seed whitetails, as the second-seed mule deer fell to their eastern counterparts. While on paper this may seem like an upset, in reality the two are evenly matched.
Round two preview: Arguably the two most sought after big game animals in the country, elk and whitetails face off with an east vs. west storyline. It’s anyone’s game to win—or lose.
Upland/Waterfowl Region
The feather-and-fowl section of your bracket brought out some exciting match-ups: The mallards didn’t have what it takes to fly past the pheasants. Though duck fans are surely disappointed, the mallards will be back next year—you can count on that. Meanwhile, the turkeys strutted their way past the sharptail grouse—no surprise there. Gobblers tend to heat up just in time for this tournament.
Round two preview: Gobblers and ringnecks face off. Experts believe this may be one of the most closely contested match-ups in round two. This rivalry plays out on CRP habitat, where both critters have a huge flock of fans.
Saltwater Region
Chinook salmon easily swam past yellowfin tuna and are eyeing a spot in the final four offshore. The match-up between the blue marlins and tarpons, though, came down the buzzer. With just a few hours left, this game was all tied up, but at the last minute, the marlins barely “nosed” past the tarpons to advance.
Round two preview: Chinook salmon meet the blue marlins, and this match-up could go either way. The marlins proved they have what it takes in a close battle, but will it be enough to swim past the top ranked chinook? It may come down to endurance for these fighters.
Freshwater Region
I’m renaming this region Upset City! These are the moments we love in March, when true underdogs prove that any critter can win on any given day. Just a year after making a historic run to the finals, the top-seed brook trout was taken down by fourth-seed largemouth bass. Experts at Bassmasters were confident in their pick, and it paid off. Elsewhere in Upset City, the third-seed rainbow trout easily swam past second-seed steelheads. The colorful competitor showed they are ready for the next round.
Round two preview: It’s a classic battle between the largemouths and the rainbows.This is the match-up that I’m looking forward to most. Could bass be a tournament one-and-done? Or do the rainbow trout have what it takes to slow their momentum? Only time will tell which fins will advance to the Final Four.
Colorado County Opposes Transfer of America’s Public Lands to the State
This is the ninth Colorado county to pass a resolution opposing public land transfers that would block sportsmen’s access
Image courtesy of Jasen Miller/Flickr.
Today, the Board of Park County Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the effort to transfer or sell national public lands to the state of Colorado or local governments. This decision supports every American’s ability to hunt, fish, and recreate on public lands and underscores the conservation legacy of leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, who helped create a public lands system that is the envy of the world.
The county’s resolution recognizes the importance of public lands for:
Providing fish and wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation—including hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife-watching, horseback riding, and bicycling—that is essential to residents’ quality of life.
Attracting outdoor recreation tourism that drives local spending and employs hundreds of county residents.
Preserving historically significant and irreplaceable cultural sites and landscapes.
“Park County is cherished for its top-notch fisheries, beautiful open landscape, and exceptional wildlife habitat,” says Nick Payne, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Colorado field representative. “There’s no doubt that the county is doing the right thing for its residents, and all Americans, by supporting one of our nation’s greatest treasures—our public lands.”
The resolution is only the most recent indication of the Park County Commissioners’ dedication to public lands and real land management solutions. Park County has also been at the table with a wide range of stakeholder groups involved in developing a master leasing plan that ensures the Bureau of Land Management develops oil and gas resources responsibly.
“This resolution highlights the immeasurable value of these lands to the county—the same value that has driven a real spirit of collaboration around the master leasing plan process,” says Suzanne O’Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation. “We’re pleased to see the BLM initiate the next step in that process this summer and have this serve as a model for others to adapt.”
Image courtesy of Brian Gautreau/Flickr.
Currently, Park County joins seven other Colorado counties that have formally opposed the seizure of BLM and National Forest lands, but three counties have made moves in favor of the idea. In the Four Corners region, the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners has been outspoken in their support for land transfer and even made a $1,000 donation—on behalf of county taxpayers—to the American Lands Council, an organization dedicated to the disposal of America’s public lands, in 2015.
Today, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and 12 other hunting and fishing organizations and businesses sent a letter to Montezuma County Commissioners asking them to reverse their position on the idea of national public land transfer, which threatens the future of sportmen’s access in Colorado and across the country.
“My business in Cortez provides outdoor gear for outdoor enthusiasts who rely on public lands,” says Heather Mobley, co-owner of Colorado Love Outdoors, one of the businesses behind the letter. “It makes me cringe to think that taxpayer dollars have been spent on the effort to dismantle those lands and opportunities—they are critical to my business and our local way of life.”
“Most mule deer hunters rely on public lands, but beyond that, this bad idea threatens the habitat that is critical to mule deer populations already declining across the West—the state doesn’t have the resources to manage these areas or protect them from wildfire,” says Scott Hampel, director of Colorado operations with the Muley Fanatic Foundation. “Opportunities for the average hunter will be diminished if the habitat suffers and access is eventually sold off or privatized.”
A growing number of Western counties in states like Wyoming and Arizona have recently taken formal positions to oppose the sale or seizure of America’s public lands. To learn more or take action, visit sportsmensaccess.org.
A national holiday to recognize and celebrate agriculture producers who do plenty of good for wildlife, fish, and sportsmen
You may not know that each American farmer feeds more than 144 people, while growing fiber for our clothes and fuel for our cars. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack likes to point out that just three million U.S. farmers and ranchers grow freedom for 320 million Americans: Because of their abundance, the rest of us are untethered from the farm, free to pursue our dreams and passions. Earlier this month, Vilsack also said that “we are the greatest nation on earth, for one simple reason…because we have the greatest farmers.”
Image courtesy of USDA.
It’s an overwhelmingly patriotic, positive, and optimistic message—one that’s quite appropriate today on National Ag Day, “a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture.” Today we’d like to take a page from the Secretary’s book and point out some of the amazing reasons that sportsmen should celebrate America’s agricultural producers.
Farmers grow habitat.
Great hunting spots require purposeful management, and no one knows better how to manage the land than those who work it every day. Many farmers control for invasive species, maintain healthy wetlands and streams, and continually strive to improve their soil. Thoughtful ranching can create and sustain incredible grassland habitat. And timber forests, when they are properly harvested, can support wildlife in need of a wide range of cover and food.
Farmers help recover threatened species.
Just last week, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced that the Louisiana black bear was being removed from the endangered species list, thanks to two decades of hard work by farmers who restored difficult-to-farm cropland back into forested wetlands to create bear habitat. In 2015, we also learned that at least two other species wouldn’t be needing Endangered Species Act protection—the New England cottontail and the greater sage grouse—because of farmers, ranchers, and foresters who understand that for any landscape scale initiative to succeed private landowners need to lead the way.
Image courtesy of Linh Nguyen.
Farmers provide access.
Over two-thirds of America’s land is in private hands. Unless you’re lucky enough to live near a great expanse of public land in the West (and even then), chances are you’ve knocked on your neighbor’s door once or twice to hunt their property. Chances are also good that your neighbor makes at least a partial living off their land. Whether you negotiatied access with a handshake and a six pack, or through a program like North Dakota’s PLOTS or Missouri’s MRAP, agricultural producers are often to thank for our quality days afield.
Farmers are sportsmen.
A 2015 survey of farmers showed that 83 percent of respondents hunt at least once a year. There are certain threats to wildlife and habitat from agriculture, but 87 percent of farmers surveyed agreed with the statement, “As a farmer, it is important to develop wildlife habitat to improve hunting opportunities.” Love of the land means farmers and sportsmen share common ground.
So, in honor of National Ag Day, say “thank you” to a farmer you know. And if that farmer is you, give yourself a pat on the back. We appreciate everything you do.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
CONSERVATION WORKS FOR AMERICA
In the last two years, policymakers have committed to significant investments in conservation, infrastructure, and reversing climate change. Hunters and anglers continue to be vocal about the opportunity to create conservation jobs, restore habitat, and boost fish and wildlife populations. Support solutions now.
