Although the number of anglers and hunters who bought licenses has remained fairly steady since 1998, their expenditures have continued to rise, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today.
Anglers bought 29.6 million fishing licenses in 2000 compared with 29.7 million in 1999. These anglers paid $490.8 million for their licenses, tags, permits, and stamps, compared with $481.2 million in 1999. Additionally, the number of hunters remained fairly steady, with 15 million buying licenses in 2000, closely mirroring the 1999 statistics of 15.1 million purchasers in 1999.. However, expenditures were in excess of $613.9 million for hunting licenses in 2000, up from $580.2 million the year before.
Revenues raised through license sales support state fish and wildlife agencies, their conservation projects, and their hunting and fishing safety and education programs.
License sales figures are compiled annually by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from information submitted by each state fish and wildlife agency. The figures are part of a formula to determine the amount of funding each state receives through the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration and the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration programs, both administered by the Service. Under these programs, hunters and anglers pay an excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment such as firearms, ammunition, and tackle. The money is, in turn, distributed to the states in for fish and wildlife restoration programs.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices 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.
- FWS -
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov">.
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