Fish, wildlife, outdoor recreation benefit from excise tax revenues
Published 1:18 am Sunday, March 29, 2020
Thanks to excise taxes we pay on hunting, shooting and fishing equipment and boat fuel in Louisiana and across the United States, the U.S. Department of Interior distributed nearly $1 billion this past week to state conservation programs in all 50 states.
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America’s sportsmen and sportswomen generated nearly $1 billion in excise taxes last year that support state conservation programs, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said Thursday, the day the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sent the money to each state for conservation and recreation projects.
To date, U.S.F&WS has distributed more than $22.9 billion in apportionments for the projects. The recipient state wildlife agencies have matched that money with approximately $7.6 billion throughout the years, primarily through hunting and fishing license revenues.
Take a bow, Louisiana outdoorsmen. You are responsible for the Sportsman’s Paradise getting $7,079,688 in the Fiscal Year 2020 Sportfish Restoration Grant and $14,178,844 in the Fiscal Year State Wildlife Grant for a total of $20,444,665.
“Our conservation model is funded and supported by America’s hunters, shooters, anglers, boaters and other outdoor enthusiasts. These stewarts of conservation generated nearly a billion dollars last year alone and make our country’s conservation legacy the envy of the world,” Bernhardt said in a prepared statement Thursday.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Katharine MacGregor said, “When people pay taxes and fees, they want to know where their money is going to good use. These grants are a great example of fees paid by sportsmen and women being invested in opportunities for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities. We are proud to work with the states and appreciate their efforts to keep public lands open for dispersed recreation where appropriate for those who need to get outside.”
Authorized by Congress through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid and Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, the money supports critical state conservation and outdoor recreation projects, the federal agency pointed out. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program, which the U.S.F&WS administers, has been considered the foundation of fish and wildlife conservation for decades in the U.S.x
