On August 27, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and over 90 other partners representing sportsmen and women, farmers, ranchers, fish and wildlife professionals, foresters, landowners and food companies signed on to a letter in support of the Conservation Title of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The letter was sent to the members of the Farm Bill Conference Committee, a group of nine senators and 47 representatives. Among the conferees are many Members of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Members, including CSC Vice-Chairs Senator Heidi Heitkamp (ND) and Congressman Austin Scott (GA). The Conference Committee is tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.
On August 30, CSF’s Southeastern States Director Bee Frederick, a member of the National Wild Pig Task Force Steering Committee, sent an additional letter to the Farm Bill Conferee’s staff on behalf of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in support of the establishment of the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. This program would provide funding to federal agencies to help in their ongoing efforts to control feral swine population and manage the damage from this invasive species.
The current Farm Bill was authorized in 2014 and is set to expire on September 30. This legislation includes many important conservation programs for our nation’s fish and wildlife populations that also benefit America’s soil and water conservation efforts.
A list of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation priorities for the 2018 Farm Bill Reauthorization can be found here.
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?
