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Conservation in Crisis - Sportsmen’s Voices Needed in National Budget Debate

Cuts proposed by the House of Representatives would slash funding for a range of policies affecting fish and game management, hunting and angling access and public- and private-lands administration. The current budget extension expires March 18, and both short- and longer-term proposals have been advanced by lawmakers. Immediate action is crucial if we are to ensure funding for vital fish and wildlife conservation programs.

While sportsmen support budgetary conservatism, these proposed cuts would adversely affect fish and wildlife populations and destroy decades of conservation gains made by our country.

The TRCP Sportsmen’s Priorities Checklist spotlights the following crucial conservation programs targeted for budget cuts:

Land and Water Conservation Fund: Funds to the LWCF, which has acquired and conserved some of the nation’s most popular public-lands hunting and angling destinations, would be cut by $393 million.

Natural Resources Adaptation: The Department of the Interior’s natural resources adaptation programs, which are critical to fish and wildlife management efforts in the face of climate change, would be reduced by more than 30 percent.

State and Tribal Wildlife Grants: These grants provide federal money to every state and territory for efforts aimed at preventing key fish and wildlife species from becoming endangered; funding, currently at $90 million, would be completely eliminated.

North American Wetlands Conservation Fund: A core program for conserving waterfowl and other migratory bird habitat, this partnership-based approach would be eradicated under the House proposal.

Wild Lands: The Department of the Interior would be prohibited from carrying out Secretarial Order 3310, which enables evaluation of BLM lands to achieve management objectives designed to conserve high-quality backcountry fish and wildlife habitat.

Clean Water Act: The EPA would be prevented from using funds to implement, administer or enforce a change pertaining to definitions of waters under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act – a modification that would restore conservation measures for millions of acres of wetlands and miles of waterways.

These and other proposed reductions, including departmental cuts to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Services Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, could result in lasting effects to long-standing American conservation activities.

Urge your senators and representative not to cut funding for these programs!

The TRCP and its partners developed the Sportsmen’s Priorities Checklist for policymakers that lists programs critical to the future of hunting and fishing in America.

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