American Sportfishing Association * Boone and Crockett Club * Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation * Ducks Unlimited * Mule Deer Foundation * National Shooting Sports Foundation * Pheasants Forever * Quail Forever * Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
WASHINGTON – The groups listed above jointly issued the following statement in response to today’s introduction of the Sportsmen’s and Public Outdoor Recreation Traditions (SPORT) Act by Sen. Kay Hagan:
“We thank Senators Hagan and Murkowski for introducing their respective bills to address the critical needs of the hunting and fishing communities, from conservation and access on private lands to ensuring that our public lands will continue to be open for hunting and fishing, as they have been for more than a century.
“More than 40 million Americans hunt and fish each year. They buy licenses, pay dedicated excise taxes and volunteer their time to ensure that all Americans benefit from professionally managed fish and wildlife populations on private and public lands. More than a pastime, hunting and fishing generate more than $86 billion in direct economic activity every year, support more than 1.5 million jobs, and return about $4 billion to state and federal treasuries in tax receipts.
“The Senate now has before it a number of important bills sponsored by senators from both parties that address the broad consensus priorities of American sportsmen and the hunting, shooting and sportfishing industries. American hunters and anglers and the nation’s thousands of hunting and fishing dependent businesses hope that this year the House and Senate can work in a bipartisan way and seize an historic opportunity to send the president legislation that is unprecedented in terms of what it will do for the future of American hunting and fishing.
“We look forward to working with all members of the Senate and House and the administration to enact a comprehensive sportsmen’s act in 2013.”