Why It Matters: Recreational anglers in North Carolina generate over $40 million in funding for conservation through the “user pays – public benefits” structure of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). Therefore, ensuring access for recreational angling is critical to maintaining sustainable fisheries. Recreational anglers are also a potentially strong resource for collecting biological …
CSF Weighs in on the Closure of Recreational Flounder Season in North Carolina Read More »
Why It Matters: The pipeline of college graduates entering a field of natural resource management with a state or federal agency and who also come from an angling or hunting background has gone from a gush to a trickle in recent decades. Biologists and managers who grew up hunting and fishing tend to have a …
CSF’s Chris Horton Assists BFHOF With Supporting Future Conservation Leaders Read More »
Why It Matters: Learn to hunt programs offer great opportunities for individuals who have little to no experience with hunting to learn new skills that are needed for hunting. Not having the proper knowledge when it comes to hunting can be a barrier for youth or first-time hunters. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have …
Why It Matters: Congressionally designated Wilderness oftentimes reduces access for sportsmen and women and limits natural resource management capabilities in favor of preservation over conservation. Establishing Wilderness designations within the Big Cypress National Preserve (BCNP) would negatively impact science-based management practices to improve wildlife habitat as well as quality hunting opportunities in southern Florida. Highlights: …
Why it Matters: The America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act (ACE) reauthorizes nearly a dozen provisions that will bolster the conservation of fish, wildlife, and their associated habitats across North America and provides an important protection for America’s anglers. The ACE Act has been a long-standing priority for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) since first enacted with …
House Natural Resources Subcommittee Hears Important CSF Priority Read More »
Why It Matters: The National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Executive Council is a bipartisan group of state sportsmen-legislators who lead the NASC network by providing advice to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) on the administration of the NASC program. Representing states from Alaska to Maine, and South Carolina to New Mexico, Executive Council Members collectively possess decades of …
NASC Executive Council Holds Successful Mid-Year Meeting in Maryland Read More »
Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies throughout our country are tasked with the difficult job of balancing recreation with conservation and wildlife management. Extra work goes into special hunts and the raffle permit systems. The carefully planned 2024-2025 special hunt season in Washington State was thrown into chaos after a software error was …
Computer Glitch Impacts Washington State Special Hunt Permits Read More »
Why It Matters: Each year, hundreds and sometimes thousands of pieces of legislation are introduced in each respective state during their legislative session, including numerous bills that will impact conservation and/or your right to partake in our time-honored traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting. Legislators are the backbone of the legislative process, so …
Why It Matters: Through the unique “user pays – public benefits” structure of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), recreational shooters are an unsung hero of conservation funding. Manufacturers of firearms and ammunition supported the passage of Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, redirecting an existing manufacturer-level excise tax on their products to be …
Home on the Range: Recreational Shooting is an Unsung Hero of Our Sporting Traditions Read More »
Why It Matters: The use of ballot initiatives to ban hunting circumvents the legislative and regulatory process that provides the opportunity for input by professionals, for revisions, and considerations of broader impacts within the Colorado’s overall science-based management plan. These initiatives can allow wildlife management decisions to be made based on emotion rather than scientific …
Why It Matters: Last Friday, July 12, 2024, Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Chair, Governor Chris Sununu signed New Hampshire House Bill 1186 (HB 1186) – An Act Relative to Firearm Purchaser’s Privacy into law, protecting the privacy of Granite Staters and individuals shopping in New Hampshire. Highlights On July 13, 2024, Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Chair Governor …
Granite Stater’s Privacy Protected with Governor’s Signature Read More »
Why It Matters: July 12th marked the beginning, and the end, of the 2024 South Atlantic red snapper season. Unfortunately, we are stuck under a federal management paradigm in the South Atlantic that rewards a rapidly rebuilding red snapper population with fewer red snapper fishing opportunities, with the season totaling one day this year. Sound …
Temps Rise on Atlantic Red Snapper Season, While Florida Experiments with a Better Way Read More »
Why It Matters: Earlier this year, Rhode Island Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair, Sen. Gordon Rogers introduced Senate Bill 2154 (SB 2154)– An Act Relating to Fish and Wildlife – Birds, which allows the taking of wild turkeys by using a crossbow in compliance with rules and regulations promulgated by DEM.) SB 2154 increases opportunities for …
New Opportunities for Ocean State Turkey Hunters Read More »
Why It Matters: In states like North Carolina where land is primarily privately owned and the population is increasing rapidly, proactive efforts such as offering financial incentives to private landowners to conserve property are essential to ensuring the future success of wildlife management efforts. These incentives, such as offering state income tax credits to landowners …
CSF-Supported Land Conservation Legislation Signed into Law Read More »
Why It Matters: Often the last line of defense against attempts to undermine our time-honored outdoor traditions, the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) is a critical component of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) three-pronged approach to our mission. By joining the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders once again demonstrates both her personal passion for …
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Joins Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus Read More »
Why It Matters: As the 118th Congress enters the fourth quarter, much of which will be occupied by campaigns and the election, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is pushing hard for our remaining priorities to be in a position for passage before everything wraps up. Four such bills were heard in a House Natural Resources …
House Natural Resources Holds Lively Hearing on Four CSF Priority Bills Read More »
Why It Matters: New Jersey Assembly Bill 2920 (AB 2920) would increase the minimum age for the issuance of a trapping license from 12 years of age to 18. Increasing the minimum age for someone to be eligible to participate in trapping would be extremely detrimental to the recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of trappers, …
Legislation Seeks to Increase the Minimum Age for Trapping in the Garden State Read More »
Why It Matters: Despite the need for additional conversations surrounding recent management decisions made by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Arkansas General Assembly returned for a brief special session which saw them approve the Commission’s budget without much debate. This move ensures that the Commission can carry out their mission as they transition …
Arkansas General Assembly Approves Budget for Game and Fish Commission Read More »
Why It Matters: This past week, the fish and game Commissions for both Montana and Washington State reviewed their mountain lion quotas and hunting seasons. Montana took an ecosystem approach and aimed for harvests that were sustainable for both mountain lions and ungulates while maintaining hunting opportunities. Washington focused solely on mountain lion populations with …
Why It Matters: Wild pig populations are continuing to explode across the country. With an estimated 6 million individuals nationwide, they’re having a profound impact on crops and privately owned property, causing an estimated $2.5 billion worth of damage annually while also negatively impacting native wildlife and their habitats. Subsequently, this is a big problem for …
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