[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 801 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 801

Recognizing America's hunters, anglers, trappers, recreational boaters, 
recreational shooters, industry, State fish and wildlife agencies, and 
 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in 
  restoring healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural 
                               resources.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2012

    Mr. Young of Alaska (for himself and Mr. Dingell) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing America's hunters, anglers, trappers, recreational boaters, 
recreational shooters, industry, State fish and wildlife agencies, and 
 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in 
  restoring healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural 
                               resources.

Whereas the primary authority to protect and manage fish and resident wildlife 
        resides with the State fish and wildlife agencies;
Whereas, more than a century ago, hunters, anglers, and trappers were among the 
        first conservationists who realized America's natural resources were in 
        peril and could not sustain unregulated harvest and unchecked habitat 
        destruction;
Whereas hunters, anglers, and trappers took it upon themselves to support laws 
        that stopped excessive harvest of fish and wildlife, established State 
        game and fish agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and their habitat, and 
        supported special fishing and hunting license fees to help fund the new 
        agencies' efforts to provide for healthy natural resources for future 
        generations;
Whereas, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and 
        sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations, hunters, anglers, and 
        trappers supported excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery 
        equipment, hunting equipment, and fishing equipment to raise additional 
        funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of the State 
        agencies;
Whereas this user-pays public benefits system became known as the wildlife and 
        sport fish restoration program that began 75 years ago with the passage 
        of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act in 1937, was bolstered 
        with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act in 
        1950, and was further expanded with the Wallop-Breaux Amendment to the 
        Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1984;
Whereas the combined contribution of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration 
        Programs to State fish and wildlife agencies exceeds $14,000,000,000 
        since 1939 (the first year money was distributed to the States)--more 
        than any other single conservation effort in American history which, 
        along with fishing, hunting, and trapping license fees, collectively 
        constitute the American system of conservation funding;
Whereas the manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, hunting, fishing, and 
        recreational boating equipment have collected excise taxes on firearms, 
        ammunition, archery equipment, manufactured fishing tackle, electric 
        trolling motors, marine electronics, and motorboat fuel and distributed 
        these funds in a spirit of cooperation to the States through the United 
        States Fish and Wildlife Service;
Whereas language in the Federal wildlife and sport fish restoration Acts 
        stipulates that for a State to be eligible to receive Federal aid, all 
        hunting and recreational angling license revenue collected by the State 
        must be used specifically for fish and wildlife purposes;
Whereas those Acts created the American system of conservation funding as it 
        presently stands, permanently linking sporting licenses and excise tax 
        revenues to fish and wildlife management efforts by the States, and 
        stand as testaments to the importance of America's hunters, anglers, and 
        trappers to our fish and wildlife resources; and
Whereas this cooperative partnership between industry, hunters, anglers, 
        trappers, recreational boaters, recreational shooters, the United States 
        Fish and Wildlife Service, and State natural resource agencies has 
        resulted in the most successful model of fish and wildlife management in 
        the world, restoring fish and wildlife populations from coast to coast 
        and in United States territories, Alaska, and Hawaii: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes America's 
hunters, anglers, trappers, recreational boaters, recreational 
shooters, industry, State fish and wildlife agencies, and the United 
States Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in restoring 
healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources, 
both game and nongame, to the abundance we see today, through the 
Federal wildlife and sport fish restoration programs, in this the 75th 
anniversary year of America's greatest conservation story and the very 
foundation of the American system of conservation funding.
                                 <all>