News Category: Federal Policy

Why It Matters: Habitat is the driving force behind healthy fish and wildlife populations. At a time when fish and wildlife habitats across the nation continue to become fragmented and degraded, the America’s Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act authorizes crucial funding to proactively conserve species before more costly measures are necessary. This legislation also codifies existing…

Why It Matters: Public access to public lands and waters is critical to maintaining opportunities for hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting. GPS and other technologies have significantly changed how sportsmen and women navigate public lands as well as their ability to identity new lands for recreational access that may previously have been unknown or…

Why It Matters: There are seven federal agencies under four different cabinet-level secretaries that have some degree of jurisdiction and regulatory authority over what hunters, anglers, and boaters can or cannot do on navigable waters. As a compliment to the MAPWaters Act for the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, the MAPOceans…

Why It Matters: The America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Reauthorization Act includes nearly a dozen provisions that seek to enhance the conservation of fish, wildlife, and their associated habitats across North America, while also providing an important protection for our nation’s anglers. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) served as a driving force behind the enactment of…

Why It Matters: The committee passage of the EXPLORE Act, the Coastal Habitat Conservation Act, and the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act marks an important step in the advancement of these priority bills for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF). These bills seek to improve outdoor recreational access and to enhance fish and…

Why it Matters: To date, the Pittman-Robertson Act has generated over $15 billion in critical funding to conserve wildlife, improve recreational shooting and hunting access, fund hunting education programs, and support other programs that are vital to our hunting and recreational shooting heritage. Building on this foundation, the Tax Stamp Revenue Transfer for Wildlife and…

Why it Matters: Scientifically driven and regulated hunting is the linchpin of conservation both domestically in the United States and across the world. A permitting process is part of ensuring sustainable and healthy populations across the globe. Given the importance of hunting-conservation programs, permit determinations are often made on an application-by-application basis, which can require…

Why It Matters: Suppressors are federally regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, which is the same law governing machine guns and short barreled rifles. Currently, the process to purchase a suppressor is an overly arduous task, despite wide-spread evidence of the value of suppressors to protect against hearing damage. The Centers for…

Why It Matters: The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) provides an opportunity every two years to enhance the Corps ability to provide public recreational activities like fishing and boating, as well as authorizing projects that improve fish habitat, water conservation, coastal resiliency, and curtail the threats of invasive species. WRDA 22, now a part of…

Why It Matters: The Range Access Act is an essential piece of legislation to increase access opportunities for America’s hunters and recreational shooters. As recreational shooting continues to grow in popularity, this legislation will help increase opportunities for hunters and target shooters to participate in this time-honored tradition. At a time when lack of access…

Highlights Why it matters:  The Veterans in Parks Act recognizes the commitments and selfless contributions made by our nation’s Veterans and servicemembers by establishing free lifetime and annual America the Beautiful passes to access our National Parks and federally managed public lands. In many cases, outdoor recreation, particularly hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting, plays…

Highlights Why it matters: There are 13.3 million hunters and 32 million target shooters across the country, many of whom rely on public target shooting ranges. Through the excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, these individuals helped contribute $702 million just last year for state-based conservation and access funding under the Pittman-Robertson Act….