On April 6, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted the “”Maryland Sportsmen’s Reception”” to celebrate the time-honored traditions of hunting and angling in the Old Line State.
Over 60 guests, including more than 25 members of the General Assembly, gathered in celebration of the various social, cultural, economic, and ecological benefits hunting and angling provide for all Marylanders — consumptive and the non-consumptive users alike.
Several members of the Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus were in attendance, including two of the Caucus Co-Chairs: Senator John Astle and Delegate Wendell Beitzel. Since its inception in 2001, the Caucus has acted as a voice for the sportsmen and women of Maryland.
The 445,000 sportsmen and women in Maryland support more than 10,700 jobs across the state and contribute $815 million to the state’s economy, generating $84 million in state and local taxes. Further, through the American System of Conservation Funding, a “user-pays, public-benefits” program that started 80 years ago, sportsmen and women provide the vast majority of critical conservation dollars in Maryland. In 2015, nearly $26 million from the sportsmen’s community went directly to conservation efforts in the state.
Host Sponsor of the event was Reynolds American, Inc., and Co-Host Sponsor was Ducks Unlimited.
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?
