On March 11, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is awarding nearly $49 million in grants to states and tribal governments through the Voluntary Public Access – Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). Each state and tribal government receiving a grant will use the funding to encourage private landowners to allow public access to their…
Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Many pro-sportsmen’s bills were signed into law during West Virginia’s 2020 legislative session. Very few anti-sportsmen’s bills were filed this session, and none were signed into law. Working alongside conservation partners and the state fish and wildlife agency, the bicameral and bipartisan West Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus), which is…
Contact: Brent Miller, Senior Director, Northeastern States & States Program Administrator Over the weekend the Trump administration issued guidance through the Department of Homeland Security that firearms-related businesses should be allowed to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as governors across the nation have issued well-intentioned orders aimed at minimizing person-to-person contact to slow the spread…
Recently, the Modernizing Access to Our Public Land Act, a bill to modernize public recreational access information, was introduced in the Senate (S. 3427) by Senator Martha McSally (AZ) and Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Member (CSC) Senator Angus King (ME). The House companion (H.R. 6169) was led by Congressmen Russ Fulcher (ID) and Derek Kilmer (WA)….
Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director Many state legislatures in the Southeast were in session during the first couple months of the year while other state legislatures were just getting started when COVID-19 caused many legislatures to go into recess. Nevertheless, members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundations’ (CSF) States Program Team continue to monitor legislation and regulatory rulemaking throughout the…
Recreational fishing and boating groups call for fair treatment in restrictions to end overfishing *Previously published by American Sportfishing Association Annapolis, MD – March 18, 2020 – The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and other organizations representing Maryland’s angling and boating community wrote Maryland’s Secretary of Natural Resources Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio regarding the pending 2020 striped bass regulations and…