Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: Restrictions on Sunday hunting are one of the last remaining examples of the puritanical blue laws that were initially designed to encourage church attendance. Unfortunately, individuals who are unable to head afield during the normal work week due to conflicts with jobs, school, and extra-curricular …
Contact: Keely Hopkins, Pacific States Assistant Manager The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) Pacific States Assistant Manager Keely Hopkins joined the newly appointed Co-Chairs of the Alaska Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus and members of the Advisory Council on February 26 for a kick-off luncheon to celebrate the new leadership team and to discuss the upcoming year. …
Why it matters: There are many forms of gear employed by commercial fisherman to harvest target species of fish. However, some gears such as large-mesh drift gillnets often result in unintended bycatch, most of which is discarded dead and left to waste. For this reason, large-mesh drift gillnets have been eliminated as a commercial gear …
Bill to Remove Harmful Gill Nets Nears Finish Line Read More »
Why it matters: The enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November represented one of the most significant commitments to fish and wildlife conservation and hunting, fishing, recreational shooting access in decades. While the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was a tremendous victory for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, it is …
Contact: Kent Keene; Assistant Manager, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Why it Matters: Opportunities to permit the use of new technologies among sportsmen and women are exciting. However, such opportunities also carry considerations that must be addressed to ensure that the integrity of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the American System …
NASC Executive Council Member Leading Airbow Bill in Oklahoma Read More »
Contact: Keely Hopkins, Pacific States Assistant Manager Why It Matters: Since 1999, Washington state has offered a spring black bear hunting season. This season is a fine-tuned conservation and wildlife management tool utilized by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in the implementation of their overall game management plan, which is executed in pursuit …
Public Hearing Set for Washington Spring Bear Hunting Season Read More »
Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: Sportsmen and women have played a crucial role in funding conservation efforts in the United States for over 80 years. The American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF), a “user pays – public benefits” structure in which those who consumptively use public resources pay for the …
The Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget in Massachusetts Just Got Sweeter Read More »
Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Why It Matters: Senate Bill 8 is the fourth public lands Sunday hunting bill introduced in three years. The legislation passed the Senate 29-11 on January 24, and the Committee and House of Delegates were the final hurdles before the bill could be sent to the Governor’s desk. …
Virginia Public Lands Sunday Hunting Headed to the Governor’s Desk Read More »
Contact: Kent Keene, Assistant Manager, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy Why It Matters: The opportunity to facilitate open communication and collaboration is one of the primary purposes for the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) network. The conversations around Kansas House Bill 2456 have highlighted the value of such collaboration. Introduced as a very …
Youth Lifetime License Bill Passes House, Gains Community Support Read More »
Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Rocky Mountain States Senior Coordinator Why it Matters: By giving public schools the opportunity to offer hunter education as an elective with parent approval, fewer students will be inadvertently excluded from taking hunter education based on parent work schedules or socioeconomic limitations, providing many students with a learning opportunity that they would …
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Why it Matters: The Endangered Species Act was created to help species at risk of extinction and whose future is uncertain in the United States. Species on the list are provided with protections and funding for conservation efforts to ensure their recovery. Since its inception, 54 species have been …
CSF Continues to Fight for Wolf Hunting and Trapping in the Great Lakes Read More »
Contact: Nick Buggia, Upper Midwestern States Manager Why it Matters: Several large banks currently institute restrictions on the firearm and ammunition industry. Examples of such restrictions include prohibiting retailers who are customers of the banks from selling long guns to anyone under 21 years of age (despite the federal age of legal ownership being 18), ceasing …
CSF Stands Against Financial Discrimination of Firearms Industry Read More »
Why it matters: Despite their legal classification as “wild” on federal land, unbranded and unclaimed free-roaming horses and burros are non-native, feral livestock that lack natural predators. Wild horse and burros can, and often do, have a significant negative impact on native ecosystems and habitat. There are an estimated 86,000 wild horses and burros on …
CSF, Partners Express Support for Sustainable Wild Horse and Burro Management Read More »
Why it matters: FLTFA helps advance local community, conservation, and recreation needs by addressing land ownership patterns that can cause problems for landowners, sportsmen and women, and public land managers. Now, officially reestablished, the FLTFA program will help increase access opportunities for sportsmen and women across the West. Earlier this year, the Department of the …
Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Why it Matters: Trapping is an effective tool that aids in managing a myriad of different wildlife species. CWD is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease that occurs in farmed and free-ranging deer and has recently been confirmed in neighboring Alabama. Lastly, lack of access to hunting lands is cited …
Numerous Pro-Sportsmen Bills on the Move in Georgia Read More »
Contact: Joe Mullin, Assistant Manager, Northeastern States Why it Matters: Without question, fish and wildlife management authority should and must remain within the respective state agency’s purview. They are unequivocally the best entities equipped to address fish and wildlife management issues within their respective borders. Recent efforts in the northeast region, such as S. 281, …
Why it matters: The Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council is a unique opportunity for leaders in the outdoor sporting-conservation community to provide recommendations and advice directly to the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture on issues that are most important to sportsmen and women. On February 17, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture announced …
Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Rocky Mountain States Senior Coordinator Why it Matters: With so much attention being paid to the multitudes the species and habitats that we are losing to urbanization, invasive species, climate change, disease and more, we need to celebrate the conservation wins, no matter how big or small. Once on the brink of …
Gould’s Turkey Could be the Next Conservation Success Story in New Mexico Read More »
Why it matters: The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Reauthorization has provided approximately $31 million in federal funding to conduct roughly 185 research, restoration, and regional conservation projects, making this program critical for fish and wildlife within the Great Lakes region. These projects include waterfowl monitoring, wetland restoration, culvert improvement, dam removal, among many other …
House Natural Resources Committee Passes Important Great Lakes Conservation Bill Read More »
Contact: Ellary TuckerWilliams, Rocky Mountain States Senior Coordinator Why it Matters: One needs to look no further than the current COVID-19 pandemic to understand the benefits of getting outside for peoples mental and physical health. While there are many outdoor activities that provide mental and physical benefits, there are few that also directly benefit conservation …
Hunter Education Could Be an Elective for Colorado’s Seventh Graders Read More »
