Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Congressman Austin Scott (GA), along with fellow CSC leaders Representatives Marc Veasey (TX), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Richard Hudson (NC), introduced the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act, an important bill for the future of wildlife conservation funding.
“Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus leadership has made this important legislation a priority by introducing it in the first month of the 116th Congress. Providing more flexibility to state agencies to use Pittman-Robertson (P-R) dollars for recruitment and retention of hunters and recreational shooters is an important step to ensure the future of state-based conservation funding,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane.
Through the American System of Conservation Funding, sportsmen and women contribute nearly $800 million annually from hunting and recreational shooting-related excise taxes to the Pittman-Robertson Fund. These funds are apportioned back to state fish and wildlife agencies for conservation programs.
If H.R. 877 is enacted, states will have the opportunity to use P-R funds for hunter and recreational shooter recruitment, retention, and reactivation programs; promotion and marketing of hunter education programs; and education to the non-hunting public about the role of hunters and recreational shooters in wildlife conservation.
“Today, I reintroduced my legislation to give states more flexibility in how they use their P-R funds and hopefully attract more Americans to the outdoors in the process,” said Rep. Austin Scott. “I am very pleased with the bipartisan and industry support for this legislation, and I look forward to advancing this legislation with my colleagues until our decades-old wildlife conservation funding receives the critical updates it deserves.”
CSF will continue to work with Rep. Scott and CSC leadership on advancing this legislation in the 116th Congress.
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?
