U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Distributes Revenues To Midwestern States
By JOANNA GILKESON
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced the distribution of $1.1 billion in revenues generated by the hunting and angling industry to all 50 state and territorial wildlife agencies. The Service’s Midwest Region will receive more than $224 million of these funds to support a wide array of state-led conservation issues such as native plant restoration, hunter education, elk restoration and fish stocking.
Funds are distributed by the Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, and support critical state-specific fish and wildlife conservation and recreation projects that benefit all Americans.
Indiana will receive $18,386,530 in apportionment funds for 2015 for wildlife and sport fish.
“These funds are the cornerstone of state-based efforts that are critical to the preservation of America’s wildlife and natural resources,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “But they are also the fuel for a massive financial engine that benefits outdoor recreationists, hunters and anglers, equipment manufacturers and retailers, and local and regional economies. Their value cannot be overstated in providing opportunities for the next generation of Americans to get outdoors, experience our wild places and learn the importance of conserving our natural heritage.”
Funds are made possibly by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration programs. Revenues come from excise taxes generated by the sale of sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing equipment, electric boat motors, and from taxes on the purchase of motorboat fuel.
Since their inception, the programs have generated more than $15 billion to conserve fish and wildlife resources and support outdoor recreation opportunities for the American public. The recipient State fish and wildlife agencies have matched these funds with more than $5 billion over the years, mostly through hunting and fishing license revenues.
In June 2010, then Gov. Mitch Daniels announced the ground-breaking Healthy Rivers INitiative, the largest land conservation initiative to be undertaken in Indiana. The initiative is a partnership of resource agencies and organizations who work with willing landowners to permanently protect more than 43,000 acres located in the floodplain of the Wabash River and Sugar Creek in west-central Indiana, and more than 26,000 acres of the Muscatatuck River bottomlands in southeast Indiana.
The Wildlife Restoration Program is a significant Healthy Rivers Initiative partner. Indiana Department of Natural Resources intends to use approximately $3 million in federal grant funds to purchase 1,000 acres of land for wildlife restoration and wildlife- associated recreation activities including fishing, hiking, boating and bird watching.
A state-by-state listing of the Service’s final apportionment of Wildlife Restoration Funds and Sport Fish Restoration funds for Fiscal Year 2015, as well as more information on the Service’s WSFR program can be found at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/.