The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have proposed funding increases of $5 million and $4 million, respectively, for increasing recreational access to public lands. These increases would be a big step in the right direction for enhancing access to public lands for hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping.
This increase advances an initiative worked on by the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), ‘Making Public Lands Public‘ aims to designate a minimum of $10 million or 1.5 percent of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) towards enhancing access on existing federal lands for the use of hunting, angling, and other outdoor recreation.
Sportsmen and women spend $90 billion annually on their outdoor pursuits. Additionally, excise taxes on hunting, fishing, recreational shooting equipment, and motorboat fuel generates $3 billion a year for conservation efforts – known as the ‘American System of Conservation Funding.’ Opening federal lands to such outdoor recreation will help boost the nation’s economy as well as advance the sportsmen’s heritage.
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?
