Why It Matters: Since 1950, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program has provided vital funding to state natural resources agencies for fisheries conservation and boating access. Amended in 1984 (known as the Wallop-Breaux Amendment), the Program got a significant boost in the form of excise taxes on marine and small engine fuels. Now called the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, tit must be reauthorized every five years along with the Highway Bill. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has been, and continues to be, a leading advocate for reauthorizing and safeguarding this incredibly important Program.
Highlights:
- In 2025, the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (SFRBTF) generated more than $750 million for fish and aquatic conservation, boating access, and boating safety.
- The SFRBTF represents the most successful “user pays – public benefits” aquatic resource conservation and boating infrastructure program in the world.
Last week, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure advanced H.R. 8870, the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act (BUILD America 250 Act). Title IX of the bill will reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund (SFRBTF), a keystone component of the American System of Conservation Funding. CSF is an active member of the Angling and Boating Alliance, a collection of angling and boating organizations tasked with working with Congress to reauthorize and safeguard this critically important program for the nation’s anglers, boaters, and fisheries and aquatic resources.
“The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, together with fishing license sales, serves as the foundation of state-based fisheries conservation and boating infrastructure in America. This ‘user pays – public benefits’ model has proven to be the most successful aquatic conservation and boating access funding program in history,” said Taylor Schmitz, Senior Vice President of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “We sincerely thank the members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for recognizing the importance of this program and including the reauthorization of the Fund in the Highway Bill.”
The SFRBTF was established by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, also known as the Dingell-Johnson Act, in 1950. The program was amended in 1984 to expand the list of taxable items, including marine and small engine fuels. The fund is the premier “user pays – public benefits” model program in the world, relying on excise taxes on fishing equipment, electric trolling motors, and motorboat and small engine fuels to fund fisheries conservation and aquatic habitat improvements, fishing and boating access and boating safety. The program currently generates around $750 million per year and is critical to ensure the state agencies have the funding they need to fulfill their obligations to anglers, boaters, the public, and to conserve our natural resources.
CSF, along with members of the Angling and Boating Alliance, will continue to work with Congress on the process of reauthorizing the SFRBTF and ensuring this critical conservation funding for our fisheries resources, as well as funding for boating safety and infrastructure, can endure.