Why It Matters: Natural Resources Commissions throughout the country provide a dedicated forum for hunters, anglers, and trappers to voice their opinions to an appointed body that is specifically comprised of individuals that are knowledgeable about sporting-conservation issues. In many cases, such as Indiana, the Commission also serves as the regulatory entity charged with working with the Department to adopt science-based regulations on hunting, fishing, and trapping, among other fish and wildlife management decisions.
Highlights:
- Indiana House Bill 1003 passed out of its originating chamber (67-29) and now heads to the Indiana Senate.
- The bill stands to remove a wide range of government boards and commissions and includes the Indiana Natural Resources Commission (NRC).
- Removing the NRC would eliminate a well-informed decision-making body as well as the dedicated forum that sportsmen and women rely on to voice their opinion on key conservation issues.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) advocated against the bill’s passage and will continue to do so as the bill is heard in the Senate.
Last week, the Indiana House of Representatives passed HB 1003, which seeks to eliminate or consolidate more than sixty boards and commissions in the Hoosier State. This includes the Indiana Natural Resources Commission, which was established in the 1960s alongside the Department of Natural Resources and serves as the rulemaking authority. Without a clear path forward for replacing the rulemaking process, fish and wildlife regulations stand to lag behind what is needed for sound, science-based management.
Regularly scheduled NRC meetings provide Hoosier hunters, anglers, and trappers a dedicated forum to discuss and provide input on fish and wildlife management decisions. Given that sportsmen and women are the primary funders of fish and wildlife conservation efforts through license purchases and the revenue generated by purchases of firearms, ammunition, fishing rods, tackle, and other sporting goods, their voice holds the utmost value in conservation decision-making. Eliminating the NRC also eliminates the ability of sportsmen and women to participate in the decision-making process concerning the traditions that they directly fund and support.
CSF delivered a letter to each member of the Indiana House of Representatives urging that the NRC’s elimination be removed from the bill. As HB 1003 moves to the Senate, CSF will continue to work with national and in-state partners to express the importance of the Indiana Natural Resources Commission and its impact on protecting our time-honored outdoor traditions.
