On April 18, the Missouri Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted a trap and skeet shoot and luncheon. Caucus members, staff from the Missouri Department of Conservation, industry partners, and members of the state’s sportsmen’s community gathered to discuss conservation issues and see who could break the most clay targets.
Prior to the friendly competition, attendees discussed two high priority topics in the sportsmen’s community, the recent progress of the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act, and the 80th Anniversary of the Pittman-Robertson Act – part of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF).
In 2015, Missouri’s sportsmen and women contributed over $63 million dollars to the ASCF through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and federal excise tax dollars on hunting and fishing equipment. The Show-Me State’s hunters and anglers annually spend over $1.67 billion on their outdoor pursuits, and support about 29,000 jobs in the state.
Event Sponsors included the Conservation Federation of Missouri, the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
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?
