On February 26, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) joined more than 200 organizations in submitting letters to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and related subcommittees in support of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services.
These letters highlight the important programs and efforts that Wildlife Services (WS) provides to wildlife related damages to natural resources, public infrastructure, private property and agriculture.
In Fiscal Year 2018, WS conducted 72,517 technical assistance projects, a 2% increase over Fiscal Year 2017 numbers, demonstrating financial investments to Wildlife Services are needed. A unique service provided by WS is their diverse array of partnerships with state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies, local governments, private industry, and many others, to address a variety of wildlife management issues that are unable to be solved by traditional management approaches alone, such as urban and suburban deer management in areas where hunting has been prohibited by law. Other examples include assisting ranchers and farmers with predator management for species that are presently protected, as well as assisting state fish and wildlife agencies with managing invasive species such as feral hogs and nutria.
CSF strongly supports the USDA Wildlife Services and the necessary appropriations to ensure the continuation of this important program.
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?
