Why It Matters: The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the most critical federal departments for sportsmen and women. DOI manages roughly 500 million acres of surface land across the country, much of which is open to hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting, which makes the DOI a key facilitator of access…
January 23, 2025 (Washington, DC) – This week, three top priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the Modernizing Access to Our Public Waters (MAPWaters) Act, the Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue (SHARKED) Act, and the Fix Our Forests Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Thanks to…
Why It Matters: Access to firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition is critical to most hunters and every recreational shooter in America. Federal legislation that protects and expands that access is beneficial to the sporting-conservation community, not just from a practical perspective, but an economic one as well. Increased sales of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition…
Why It Matters: While the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) finished the last Congress on a very strong note with the enacting into law of three priorities that passed Congress in December, there is still significant work that needs to be done for sportsmen and women. CSF hit the ground running on day one of the…
Why It Matters: Federal public lands offer critical opportunities for sportsmen and women to participate in our time-honored traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting. Despite this, in late 2024, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sought to ban recreational shooting across the entirety of the 1.3-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument (BENM). Thanks to…
Updated January 6, 2025 (Washington, DC) – Recently, the President added the final signature to H.R. 6492, the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. This legislation is the most comprehensive public lands package to pass Congress since 2019 and includes a number of longstanding priorities for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). This legislation…
Updated January 6, 2025 (Washington, DC) – The America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act (S. 3791), a bipartisan bill to bolster fish, wildlife, and habitat conservation, and to protect access for anglers across the nation, was recently signed into law by President Biden. Notably, this was one of four Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) priorities that cleared the House…
Why It Matters: After more than two decades of work, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, a bipartisan effort to reduce burdensome roadblocks to restoring mine sites that can pollute streams, is headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The passage of the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock…
The American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) – comprised of the nation’s top 52 sporting-conservation organizations that represent America’s hunter-conservationists, professional wildlife and natural resource managers, outdoor recreation users, conservation educators, and wildlife scientists – released Wildlife for the 21st Century, Volume VII (W-21). This comprehensive publication focuses on solutions to conserve wildlife and their habitats…
Why It Matters: Recreational shooting is a longstanding and highly popular activity on our federal public lands. For many sportsmen and women, including target shooters, public lands are the only venue that they can participate in our time-honored outdoor traditions. Furthermore, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) intent to close the entire 1.3 million acres…
Why It Matters: The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, which grants authority to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to acquire public land, is up for reauthorization and will be a focal point of the Badger State’s upcoming legislative session. Access to public lands and waters that are open to hunting and fishing is critical for the…
September 10, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Earlier today, Taylor Schmitz, Director of Federal Relations for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries as the sole representative from the sporting-conservation community on three CSF-priority bills. As the sole representative from the sporting-conservation community on all three…