Due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 will go down as an especially significant year in American history.
That includes the COVID-19 effect on conservation programs. In a nutshell, it was a boon.
The latest data to support that conclusion emerged Thursday from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency reported it would distribute a record $1.09 billion this year to state natural resources agencies through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs (WSFR).
Wisconsin's share of the funding, to be received by the Department of Natural Resources, is $32.4 million, including $19.6 million in wildlife restoration and $12.8 in fish.
The money is generated through excise taxes and fees on firearms, ammunition, certain fishing and hunting gear and motorboat fuel.
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The 2021 WSFR apportionment is $121 million higher than last year due to substantial increases in firearm, fishing equipment and fuel revenues in 2020.
“The WSFR partnership among states, industry and the Service is a keystone conservation program in the United States because it creates a relationship between outdoor recreationists and the natural resources they enjoy,” Martha Williams, USFWS principal deputy director, said in a statement.
The programs are part of one America's best ideas for conservation and can be traced to the Pittman–Robertson Act of 1937.
Even as the country struggled to emerge from the Great Depression, hunters and manufacturers rallied to create a self-imposed tax on firearms and ammunition to be used to fund conservation programs.
The "user pay, user benefit" strategy was later embraced by the fishing industry through the Dingell–Johnson Act of 1950 and the boating industry through the Wallop–Breaux Amendment of 1984.
The wildlife restoration program collects its funds through excise taxes on the sale of shotguns and rifles (11%), ammunition (11%), archery equipment (11%) and handguns (10%). The sport fish restoration program obtains its money through a 10% excise tax on fishing rods, reels and lures as well as a motorboat fuel tax.
The revenue is made available to all 50 states and five U.S. protectorates, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Shares are determined by formulas that include geographical size and sales of hunting and fishing licenses.
States and territories must provide 25% matching funds for grants issued through the programs.
The money can only be used for certain activities, including habitat restoration, fish and wildlife management, hunter and angler education and recruitment, research and some facilities, such as boat ramps.
In Wisconsin, the funding has become a lifeline to the DNR, which was subjected to budget cuts and staff reductions under the administration of former Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Further, the Legislature has not approved a hunting or fishing license fee increase since 2005, and some have been static since the 1990s.
On the wings of excise taxes from rising sales of firearms and ammunition, the wildlife restoration fund has helped the DNR fill budgetary holes in its wildlife programs over the last decade.
The rise in national revenue of the programs was mostly related to an unprecedented surge in sales of firearms and ammunition. Background checks exclusively related to the sale of firearms reached a record 21 million in 2020, 60% higher than the previous year, according to firearm trade organization National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). Ammunition was often sold out at retail stores.
The 2021 Wisconsin share of the funding represents a 10% increase from last year, when it received $29.4 million ($17.6 million in wildlife restoration and $11.7 in fish) from the programs. The record high was $36.5 million in 2015.
Railroad bill may return
An effort to restore the right of anglers, hunters and other pedestrians in Wisconsin to directly cross railroad tracks is being resurrected in the Legislature.
A law passed in 2006 made it illegal to pass over tracks at any place other than established crossings. The law has inhibited legal access to public lands along the full length of the Mississippi for hunting, fishing and trapping, as well as many other sites in the state.
A bill to change the law is being circulated by State Sen. Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) and Rep. Gae Magnafici (R-Dresser). The authors will accept signatures in support through Friday.
The proposal has already drawn support from a wide range of conservation organizations, including the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Safari Club, Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Ducks Unlimited, Wisconsin Trappers Association, Wisconsin Waterfowl Association, La Crosse County Conservation Alliance, Buffalo County Conservation Alliance, Alma Rod and Gun Club and Mondovi Conservation Club.
Three recent attempts to undo the 2006 law failed.
The legislature approved a measure in the 2015-17 state budget to allow the public to legally cross railroad tracks, but it was vetoed by then-Gov. Scott Walker.
A 2016 bill to restore public access across railways passed the Assembly but was not given a hearing in the Senate. And a similar bill in the 2019-20 legislative session failed to get a hearing.
The railroad industry has opposed the bills each time.
With Republicans still in control of both houses of the Legislature, it remains to be seen if the bill will succeed this time.
The Link LonkFebruary 28, 2021 at 04:33AM
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Excise tax programs reap a record $1.09 billion for state conservation efforts - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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