On Tuesday February 26, 41 hunting and fishing conservation organizations sent a letter urging Secretaries Salazar and Vilsack to continue funding hunter and angler access projects within the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for FY2014. This important budget item would dedicate a very small portion of the LWCF to enhancing recreational access to Federal lands that are currently inaccessible or significantly restricted to sportsmen and women. This language has strong support from the sporting community and was included in both chambers’ appropriations bills, was the focus of bipartisan legislation in both the House and the Senate titled the Making Public Lands Public Access Act, and was included in the Senate sportsmen’s package, the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012, during the 112th Congress. It was also included as a line item in the President’s budget for FY2013.
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?
