Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will distribute more than $862 million to the 50 states, U.S. commonwealths and territories, and the District of Columbia to support hunting, sport-fishing, and fish and wildlife conservation and education programs. Of this, the State of Alaska will receive $20,172,237 in Wildlife Restoration and Hunter Education funding, and $19,477,648 in Sport Fish Restoration funding, for a total of $39,649,885.
The funding, through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs, is derived from excise taxes and import duties on sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, sport-fishing equipment, electric outboard motors, and fuel taxes attributable to motorboats and small engines.
"Outdoor enthusiasts, and especially hunters, anglers, and boaters, have long been at the heart of America’s conservation efforts,” said Geoffrey Haskett, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alaska Regional Director. “Their contributions, through these programs, have benefited fish and wildlife, and helped keep family traditions alive, from one end of Alaska to the other.”
The Wildlife Restoration apportionment for 2010 totals nearly $473 million, with more than $86 million going to hunter education and firearm and archery range programs. The Sport Fish Restoration apportionment for 2010 totals more than $389 million. These funds pay up to 75 percent of the cost of each eligible project in the 50 states and up to 100 percent in the commonwealths and territories.
“The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs are highly effective federal conservation programs. In addition to providing a stable financial source, the funding is protected by legislative safeguards preventing its diversion away from state fish and wildlife agencies,” said Rowan Gould, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “For states working to ensure a future for fish and wildlife, conservation education for our children, and opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors, few programs offer this level of support and reliability.”
Modeled after Pittman-Robertson, the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act provides funding to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands through a formula based on 40 percent of the land and water area of a state and 60 percent of the number of paid fishing license holders. For more information on the Sport Fish Restoration Program please go to: http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/SFR/SFR.htm
Please visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program Web site at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/"> for state, commonwealth, and territory funding allocations or for more general and background information on the program.
