Introduced by Congressman John Dingell Sr. of Michigan and Senator Edwin Johnson of Colorado, the Act was signed into law by President Harry Truman in August 1950. Amended several times since, the Sport Fish Restoration Act uses taxes on fishing tackle, motorboat fuel and pleasure boats to fund $3 of every $4 spent by state fish and wildlife agencies and territories on approved sport fish restoration projects. Since 1950, the Sport Fish Restoration Program has provided close to $4 billion to state fish and wildlife agencies to increase recreational fishing and boating opportunities. Fishing enthusiasts and boaters acknowledge that the result is among the most successful "user pays, user benefits" programs anywhere in the world.
In the past 10 years, the Sport Fish Restoration funds have helped to:
- build 1,700 brand new boating access and 3,300 new fishing access areas
- educate more than 4.7 million students in fishing skills and aquatic ecology
- fund thousands of research and inventory projects to restore and manage fish populations
"This is one of those programs in which everyone wins, including the resources," said Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Department of the Interior. "People who go boating and fishing win because the special taxes they pay go right back into improving facilities that they use and in restoring the fish that they catch. As both are improved, more people are drawn to this kind of recreation and that generates more money for these major American recreational uses."
"Without any doubt, this program has been one of enormous success," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "With this program, conservation wins, and all of the people who enjoy and depend on the resource win as well. Part of the Service mission statement mentions `working with others, and nothing could point to that better than this program."
"The Sport Fish Restoration Act with the Wallop-Breaux Amendment is undoubtedly the most important revenue-generating legislation for fisheries management in the United States," said Helen Sevier, Chairman and CEO of the Bass Angler Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.). "This user pays, self-sustaining system of conservation funding joins the resource users, anglers and boaters, together with state fisheries agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore and manage aquatic resources in the United States."
David Waller, President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Director of the Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said, "Each year state fish and wildlife agencies receive more than $200 million in Sport Fish Restoration Funds to protect and improve our nations aquatic resources. Its very rewarding to see that those who pay the tax are the same ones who enjoy the direct benefits of their contributions."
Special activities are planned to mark the 50th anniversary from June 5, 2000, the opening day of National Fishing Week, through National Hunting and Fishing Day 2000, September 23, 2000.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners, including the American Fisheries Society, the American Sportfishing Association, B.A.S.S. and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies have teamed up to lead this 50th anniversary celebration, encouraging people to "step outside and enjoy fishing."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing Fish and wildlife and their habitat for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological service 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.
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