Through the dedicated efforts of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), H.B. 1206, the “Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013” passed the House on June 3 under suspension of the rules.
In March, Vice-Chair of the CSC, Representative Robert Wittman and fellow CSC member, Representative Ron Kind introduced H.B. 1206, which will allow all states the ability to sell federal duck stamps online, allowing residents to become legally licensed waterfowl hunters in the comfort of their own homes. This method saw success in the nine states that underwent a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pilot study spanning from 2007 to 2010.Revenues from duck stamp sales are the principal funding source for the management and growth of our National Wildlife Refuge System, a network of public lands that our waterfowl hunting heritage relies upon.
H.B. 1206 has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as S.B. 738.
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?
