On July 7 and 14, the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Executive Council held their annual Mid-Year Meeting. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s meeting took place in a virtual setting. Facilitated by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), the Mid-Year Meeting is the annual summer gathering of the NASC Executive Council where issues and trends impacting the sportsmen’s community are discussed and programmatic planning for the NASC network takes place.
While meeting participants were unable to meet in person, the virtual meeting format did not hinder active participation and robust discussions among EC members and CSF staff. The meeting covered a range of topics, including, among others, planning for the NASC Annual Sportsman-Legislator Summit, state and federal policy updates, efforts to retain access and opportunities for sportsmen and women during the pandemic, and the #ResponsibleRecreation campaign, to name a few.
The NASC Executive Council is a group of state sportsmen-legislators from across the country who are committed to the mission and goals of NASC and serve as an advisory entity for CSF’s administration of the program. Elected by their legislator-colleagues to serve two-year terms as the leadership of the NASC network, Executive Council members engage in regular dialogue with CSF regarding policy development; engagement with the sportsmen’s community; program administration; and media outreach within states, regionally, and nationally.
“The virtual format for the NASC Executive Council Mid-Year Meeting worked well, and it was a pleasure connecting with NASC leadership as we reflected on policy successes this year, discussed challenges facing the sportsmen’s community during the pandemic, and chartered a course for the NASC Summit. I am thankful for the Executive Council’s commitment to leading the NASC program,” said NASC Executive Council Senator Bill Heath (GA).
CSF greatly appreciates the dedication of the Executive Council to ensure the NASC network remains the vibrant and effective entity it has become, now being comprised of individual bipartisan state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses with a total membership of more than 2,000 state legislators. With the support of the Executive Council CSF looks forward to further strengthening the NASC program in the years ahead, while simultaneously enhancing the products and services that are available to all NASC-affiliated caucuses and their members.
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?
