On February 18, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) submitted a letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife to express support for the testimony given by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) at a February 9 hearing titled, “Federal Interactions with State Management of Fish and Wildlife.”
The letter echoes AFWA’s concerns regarding the newly adopted rules restricting hunting and trapping on National Park Service Lands in Alaska, as well as the proposed rules from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to severely limit wildlife management techniques carried out by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) on National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) lands in Alaska. If implemented, these rules will represent a dangerous precedent for stripping state fish and wildlife agencies of their authority to manage fish and wildlife within their respective borders.
In addition to supporting AFWA’s testimony, CSF joined 34 pro-sportsmen organizations representing millions of hunter and angler conservationists, professional wildlife managers, and wildlife scientists in submitting a joint letter to USFWS Direct Dan Ashe expressing grave concerns with the USFWS proposed rule.
Each year, over 125,000 people hunt in Alaska, accounting for approximately $439 million in economic activity and 5,950 Alaska jobs, as well as $54 million in state and local tax revenue.
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?
