[Federal Register: March 16, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 11133]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr09-87]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-F-2009-N0004; 97600-9424-0000-7e]
TakeMeFishing.org Web Site Advertising Guidelines
AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of adoption of final guidelines.
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SUMMARY: The Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) will sell
advertising on its http://TakeMeFishing.org Web site to help generate
revenue from non-Federal funds to expand its outreach program. RBFF has
adopted final advertising guidelines to determine who can advertise and
how the advertising sales will be operated.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: RBFF Project Officer Mary_
Burke@fws.gov (e-mail) or (703) 358-2435.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recreational boating and fishing
participation rates have declined over the past 5 years. Recreational
boating and fishing related activities contribute to conserving aquatic
resources through excise taxes collected from sales of fishing
equipment and motorboat fuel that fund the Federal Aid in Sport Fish
Restoration Program. This program, coupled with fishing license sales,
makes up more than 80 percent of the funding for conservation and
protection of aquatic resources in the United States. To address the
declining participation of recreational boating and fishing, Congress
passed the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998, which called
for Federal appropriations to be used for the National Outreach and
Communication Program. The Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership
Council developed the ``Strategic Plan for the National Outreach and
Communication Program,'' and the Secretary of the Interior approved the
Strategic Plan in February 1999.
RBFF is a nonprofit organization created to carry out the National
Outreach and Communication Program, whose mission is to increase
participation in recreational angling and boating and, through those
experiences, increase the public's awareness of and appreciation for
the need for conserving and protecting America's aquatic natural
resources. RBFF is funded through the Sport Fish Restoration and
Boating Trust Fund. This fund is composed of Federal taxes collected on
the sale of motorboat fuel and of excise taxes paid by manufacturers of
fishing tackle. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service)
administers RBFF's funding via a cooperative agreement between the
Service and RBFF, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding signed
by the Service, the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and RBFF.
The Strategic Plan, which RBFF was created to implement,
specifically calls for the implementing organization not to be operated
as a ``grants-in-aid'' organization. The Plan also calls for RBFF to
``create an industry `hard dollar' fund mechanism to promote, extend
and expand the outreach program.'' In response, RBFF will sell
advertising on its http://TakeMeFishing.org Web site to generate
revenue from non-Federal funds to expand its outreach program.
On October 20, 2008, the Service published in the Federal Register
(73 FR 62310) a notice of availability of RBFF's draft advertising
guidelines and requested public comments on those draft guidelines.
RBFF designed draft guidelines to determine who can advertise and how
the advertising sales will operate. The Service received three comments
during the comment period.
RBFF is adopting, without change, the advertising guidelines that
the Service published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2008 (73
FR 62310). Please refer to that notice for the guidelines, or contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Paul R. Schmidt,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E9-5589 Filed 3-13-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P