Why It Matters: As efforts to undermine the ability of sportsmen and women continue across the country, Iowa is working to constitutionally enshrine the rights of Iowans to hunt, fish, and trap. Constitutional amendments to protect the right to hunt, fish, and trap represent one of the strongest safeguards for our time-honored outdoor traditions. Highlights:…
Why It Matters: On February 10th, the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife) concluded a public comment period to help manage black bear populations in the commonwealth. Agency staff presented a detailed map and timeline of black bear population growth which has grown from isolated areas in the northwest of the Commonwealth and…
Why It Matters: In a world where it seems to be increasingly easier for kids to be completely disconnected from nature and our time-honored traditions, efforts to bring awareness and hands-on training into schools would positively impact today’s youth on multiple fronts. Additionally, efforts specifically targeted at bringing hunter education programs to schools would play…
Why It Matters: Maryland House Bill 741 and Senate Bill 634 contain a provision that will require the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create a lead hunting ammunition phase-out plan on or before July 1, 2029. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) encourages the legislature and the Department of Natural Resources to work together…
Why It Matters: Hunters are the backbone of conservation and to continue carrying that banner, new sportsmen and women must be exposed to the woods and fields. However, as fewer folks dress themselves in camouflage and orange, there are fewer to pass on our time-honored outdoor traditions to new generations. Allowing schools to instruct safe…
Why It Matters: As Americans realize the lure of living in a coastal state, like South Carolina, that provides seemingly limitless opportunities for outdoor recreation, it is critical to keep public access front of mind both now and into the future. South Carolina, like many other states on the East Coast, has been faced with…
Why It Matters: Every year bills are introduced that would allow individuals to purchase a free or heavily discounted hunting and/or fishing license. Legislators tend to target deserving groups. However, if passed, these bills could have a significant impact on conservation funding for their respective state’s fish and wildlife agency. That is where legislation that reimburses the…
Why It Matters: The 2025 legislative sessions are in full swing in the Great Plains as legislation pertaining to the sporting-conservation community continues to be introduced. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has already engaged on several of these bills as they’ve begun to make their way through the legislative process. Highlights: Iowa has introduced Houe…
Why It Matters: Hunting is a primary tool in maintaining safer populations of wild game, such as the white-tailed deer. As some states have increased the number of deer a hunter can take, or the “bag limit”, it has become ever more important to provide outlets for that harvest. There are state and nonprofit programs…
Why It Matters: Each year, legislators across the country introduce well-meaning legislation that provides free and discounted hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses for certain qualified individuals/groups. However, these initiatives have the potential to have negative impacts on the state’s fish and wildlife agency’s budget. To prevent the loss of sportsmen-generated dollars for conservation funding, Virginia…
Why It Matters: Poaching – the illegal take of game – stands in the way of professional science-based wildlife management and remains among the greatest threats to the social acceptance of hunting. Proactive measures to increase penalties for those found guilty of poaching would disincentivize bad actors from interfering with science-based wildlife management and would…
Why It Matters: Thanks to the conservation management efforts of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and their partners, the Louisiana black bear’s population has rebounded to feature a harvestable surplus – resulting in one of the greatest conservation success stories in the South. The 2024 Louisiana bear hunting season, which ran from Dec….