Summary Many sportsmen and women depend on federal lands managed by agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to activities like hunting, fishing and recreational shooting. As these agencies develop strategies to manage federal lands, it is critical for those who support these …
Summary In many areas of the country, state court rulings, as well as actions taken by local and state governments, have limited freshwater angling access. To prevent unnecessary closures that negatively affect freshwater angling, it is important that closures be based on scientific evidence. Introduction Recent developments regarding freshwater angling access have led to a …
Summary In addition to the American System of Conservation Funding, some states have begun to seek alternative methods of funding for their fish and wildlife agencies. A conservation sales tax on all taxable goods is one such mechanism that states might consider implementing. This excise tax is primarily applied to sporting goods such as firearms …
Summary Properly managed wildlife habitat is essential for supporting sustainable and healthy wildlife populations. Well-managed lands containvarious successional stages that provide a diversity of habitats capable of supporting a diversity of wildlife. On federal lands, however, young forests and other early seral habitats are often underrepresented. The most efficient method to improve wildlife habitat is …
Summary Revenue from sporting licenses is a crucial element for funding state fish and wildlife agencies’ conservation efforts across the nation. However, well-intentioned programs to offer free and discounted licenses to certain qualified individuals/groups have the potential to reap deteriorative effects on the agencies’ budgets. To prevent the loss of sportsmen-generated dollars for conservation funding, …
Reimbursement to Fish and Wildlife Agencies for Free and Discounted Licenses Read More »
Summary Certain states have sought to restrict the importation of legally harvested game animals, particularly the African “Big 5”. These five species alone generate most of the funding for wildlife authorities in African range nations. Discouraging hunters from importing trophies is intended to discourage them from hunting in Africa at all, thus depriving African wildlife …
Summary Preemption is the process where a higher level of government revokes the regulatory ability of a lower level of government. While such an action may seem prohibitive to local lawmakers, firearm and ammunition preemption prevents the creation of a confusing patchwork of local laws and ensures that all firearms owners within a state are …
Summary Every federally licensed firearm dealer is required to check the eligibility of a recipient through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) prior to the transfer of a firearm to a non-licensee. This system allows law-abiding firearm owners to quickly complete a purchase or transfer while helping prevent those who are barred …
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Read More »
Summary More than half of the states in this nation do not protect the personal information that sportsmen and women are required to provide when purchasing hunting and fishing licenses. Some of these states require the information to be readily accessible to the public, while others mandate individuals to complete a request for public information …
Summary A standard capacity magazine generally means any detachable ammunition feeding device that is sold with a firearm when it is shipped new from the manufacturer. In some cases, such as modern sporting rifles, the standard capacity magazine is regularly 30 rounds. Some state laws created after the 1993 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, limit the …