Following the request of several federal and state sportsmen-legislators, Governor Jerry Brown recently appointed Russell Burns, an avid hunter and outdoorsman, to the California Fish and Game Commission.
In late 2015, when two Commission seats became vacant, the California sportsmen’s community urged Gov. Brown to ensure that hunters and anglers would continue to have a strong voice on the Commission. On April 18, 11 Members of the California Congressional Delegation, including seven bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members, formally asked Gov. Brown to consider appointing a member of the state’s outdoor community to the Commission. Leaders of the California State Legislature’s Outdoor Sporting Caucus also submitted a similar request in March.
Both letters requested that the new Commissioners be active supporters of the outdoor sporting community, including hunting and angling, strong advocates for science-based natural resource management, and understand the economic and conservation contributions that sportsmen and women make in California.
There are currently more than 1.8 million hunters and anglers residing in California who contribute upwards of $3.5 billion to the state’s economy every year, supporting nearly 56,400 jobs across the Golden State.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
