For 1999, a total of $212,429,143 is being distributed to states under the Sport Fish Restoration Program. Last year, the program distributed $272,028,441 to the states. The current year distribution represents a 22-percent reduction in Sport Fish Restoration Program fund apportionments to states this year.
"The Fish and Wildlife Service recognizes that although the new legislation provides benefits for boat safety, many states Sport Fish Restoration Program projects will suffer from this reduction in funding," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "The Service is working closely with the states and its other conservation partners to find ways to soften the impact of this reduction and to resolve this issue in terms of its future impact on the program.
The decline is due to changes brought about by the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. Because of an accounting provision in the new law, program receipts from 1998 have been used to fund state boating safety programs for both 1998 and 1999, totaling $109 million. The Service and its conservation partners are analyzing the newly mandated accounting approach to determine any long-term implications to the program.
States use Sport Fish Restoration Program funds to stock fish; acquire and improve sport fish habitat; provide aquatic resource education opportunities; conduct fisheries research; build boat ramps, fishing piers, and other recreational facilities; and engage in other related activities.
Funding for the Sport Fish Restoration Program comes from a 10- percent excise tax on fishing equipment, a 3-percent tax on electric trolling motors and sonar fish finders, taxes on motorboat and small engine fuels, and import duties on fishing tackle and pleasure boats.
A total of $165,353,469 was apportioned to the states this year under the Wildlife Restoration Program. Of this total, $26,920,402 is allocated for hunter education. State apportionments for wildlife restoration are up more than $10 million from last years total of $154.8 million.
The Wildlife Restoration Program is funded by an 11-percent excise tax on sporting firearms and ammunition as well as a 12.4- percent tax on archery equipment and a 10-percent tax on handguns. States use these funds to restore and manage wild bird and mammal populations and to provide hunter education to the public.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
