On Wednesday, May 14, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane represented CSF during a hearing with the U.S. Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. Crane joined over a dozen representatives from sportsmen’s and other conservation organizations for a dialogue with 18 Senators discussing current policy priorities for hunters, anglers and recreational shooters.
The meeting focused on several key sportsmen’s priorities in the U.S. Senate for the remainder of the 2014 legislative session. Crane began the discussion by highlighting the importance of the current Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act and urged the Senate to bring the vital legislation to the Senate floor for a vote. The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act would ensure our sportsmen’s traditions are protected and advanced, and addresses some of the most current concerns of American hunters, anglers and recreational shooters. The Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act was reintroduced into the Senate after the bill’s sponsors, Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and CSC member Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) made necessary technical changes to the language.
“On behalf of CSF, I want to thank the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee for the opportunity to highlight the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Package among other sportsmen’s priorities in the 113th Congress. This bipartisan package of legislation includes provisions vital to protecting our hunting, angling and recreational shooting traditions in the U.S., which the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and organizations within the sportsmen’s community have been steadily working on in recent years,” Crane stated.
Other sportsmen’s issues discussed at the meeting included: Farm Bill implementation, conservation and wildfire funding, traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle, the Red Snapper Conservation Act, Sport Fish and Boating Trust Fund reauthorization, and elephant ivory importation.
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?
