Why It Matters: South Carolina, like many other southern coastal states, continues to see dramatic increases in new residents. Protecting access to quality public land hunting areas should be top of mind for policy makers in South Carolina, especially as populations increase and private land hunting opportunities become harder to come by. Efforts to establish a no net […]
Why It Matters: Last week, the Utah Legislature wrapped up the 67th General Session. During the state’s 45-day legislative session, one of the shortest in the nation, several bills impacting sportsmen and women passed through both chambers and now await action from Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus member Governor Cox, who has until March 26 to sign or veto the bills. Highlights: Utah has one of the […]
Why It Matters: Across the Midwest, public hunting opportunities are particularly limited. Given that the vast proportion of midwestern states are held in private ownership, many sportsmen and women are relegated to hunting state and federal lands that are suffering from increased competition and, as a result, decreasing hunter satisfaction. For the sporting-conservation community, increasing…
Why it Matters: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) provides important hunting and fishing opportunities across the country. Despite the importance that FWS lands, particularly through the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) and the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS), play for sportsmen and women, there are often inconsistencies between state and federal regulations, as…
Why It Matters: The Wyoming Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee’s upcoming meeting will shape legislation for the 2026 short session, impacting outdoor recreation, wildlife conservation, and some hunting license updates. Public input on proposed bill drafts is critical to ensure these policies reflect Wyoming’s values and priorities. Highlights: Several bill drafts were…
(June 29, 2025) – Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the language to dispose of certain federal lands across 11 western states was committed to be removed from the Senate budget reconciliation bill, delivering a big win for sportsmen and women across the nation. Since the proposal was first made public, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has…
(June 26, 2025) – Washington, D.C. – Earlier this week, the Senate Parliamentarian determined that the mandate to sell-off at least 2 million acres and up to 3 million acres of federal public lands under the Senate budget reconciliation bill, as originally proposed and written, was incompatible with rules of the U.S. Senate and cannot be included…
(June 12, 2025) – Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee released their provision of the budget reconciliation bill, the large and comprehensive bill that has been consuming most of the oxygen in the nation’s capital for much of the 119th Congress. Included in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s…
(May 15, 2025) – Washington D.C. – From mule deer and pronghorn on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in the West to wild turkeys and trout on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands in the east, for many of us, America’s federal public lands are the bedrock of our access to our sporting traditions. For…
Why It Matters: America’s federal public lands face a significant headwind of deferred infrastructure maintenance (roads, bridges, trails, campgrounds, etc.), which can ultimately limit access for sportsmen and women. This legislation will help provide federal land agencies much-needed financial resources to turn the corner on deferred maintenance. Highlights: Last week, Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Member…
Why It Matters: The western states have been long celebrated by the outdoor community as being a mecca for outdoor recreational opportunity thanks in part to the vast amounts of state and federal land open to the public. Over time some states have become segmented into a patchwork of public and private land. This leads…
Why It Matters: Across the country, hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and trappers shoulder the responsibility of funding state fish and wildlife agencies through the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). However, due to constantly increasing staffing and programmatic costs, supplemental funding sources outside of the traditional ASCF model are critical to these agencies’ ability to…