Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund Reauthorization Introduced

Why It Matters: Since 1950, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration program has provided vital funding to state natural resources agencies for fisheries conservation and boating access. Amended in 1984 (also known as the Wallop-Breaux Amendment), the program got a significant boost in the form of excise taxes on marine fuels and small engines. Now called the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, the program must be reauthorized every five years. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has been, and continues to be, a leading advocate for reauthorizing and safeguarding this incredibly important program.

Highlights:

• In 2024, the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund generated $750 million for fish and aquatic conservation, boating access, and boating safety.
• The fund must be reauthorized by Congress every five years due to the marine and small engine fuel tax component.

Last week, Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Members Representative Debbie Dingell (MI) and Representative Rob Wittman (VA) introduced the Sport Fish Restoration, Recreational Boating Safety, and Wildlife Restoration Act of 2025 (H.R. 3858). The bill would reauthorize the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, a keystone component of the American System of Conservation Funding. CSF is an active member of the Angling and Boating Alliance, a collection of angling and boating organizations tasked with working with Congress to reauthorize and safeguard this critically important program for the nation’s anglers, boaters, and fisheries and aquatic resources.

“The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, combined with fishing license sales, is the backbone of state-based fisheries conservation in America,” said Jeff Crane, President and CEO of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “It is a highly successful funding model for aquatic resource conservation that is unique to the rest of the world. We applaud Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Members Rep. Dingell and Rep. Wittman for their leadership in seeking to reauthorize and protect this critical program for future generations.”

The Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund was established by the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, also known as the Dingell-Johnson Act, in 1950. The program was amended in 1984 to expand the list of taxable items, including marine and small engine fuels. The fund is one of the most successful “user pays – public benefits” programs in the world, relying on excise taxes on fishing equipment, electric trolling motors, and motorboat and small engine fuels to fund fisheries conservation and aquatic habitat improvements, fishing and boating access, and boating safety. The program generates around $700 million per year and is critical to ensure the state agencies have the funding they need to fulfill their obligations to anglers, boaters, the public, and to conserve our natural resources.

CSF looks forward to working with the bill sponsors to ensure this critical component of the nation’s conservation funding is successfully reauthorized.

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