Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator
Highlights
Why it Matters: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has constitutional authority to manage Florida’s fish and wildlife. Two of the proposed constitutional amendments would supersede the FWC’s authority, undermine the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and threaten conservation funding for the FWC and its fish and wildlife conservation programs.
The five proposed amendments include:
Many of the “iconic species” listed in the proposed amendment, such as the Florida manatee and Florida panther, are already federally or state protected, and thus the inclusion of those species in the amendment is unnecessary. Moreover, the ability to petition for any native species to be added to the “Florida Iconic Species” list is particularly troubling and threatens Florida’s hunting heritage.
The proposed hunting preserve ban amendment also threatens the state’s hunting traditions and undermines the FWC’s management authority.
These two amendments are unclear at best and take management authority away from the FWC which has successfully managed the state’s fish and wildlife resources for generations. In 2020, sportsmen and women in Florida generated $69.31 million dollars for state-based conservation through the American System of Conservation Funding. If these two amendments are adopted, conservation funding for the FWC would be severely negatively impacted.
Last month, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) hosted the first of its Summer Educational Webinar Series on troublesome ballot initiatives that the sporting community has faced in the Western U.S. Similarly, CSF will work with the Florida sportsmen’s community to help educate voters about the negative consequences of the proposed amendments.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
