Sportsmen’s Groups Urge Keeping Land and Water Conservation Funding in Transportation Bill
Pheasants Forever 05.22.12
Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited will partner with South Dakota farmer/ranchers and sportsmen in a telephone news conference on Thursday, May 24 to spotlight the opportunity to secure land and water conservation funding in the final transportation bill by the reauthorization deadline of June 30.
The House and Senate are currently debating two versions of a transportation bill in the hope of finding agreement on one final package. The Senate’s version of the Transportation bill (S. 1813) ensures that the funds authorized for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) are spent for their intended purpose in each of the next two years and permanently commits 1.5% of LWCF to projects that provide public access for hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreation. This was added to the Senate bill during floor consideration in March, passing by an overwhelming 76-22 bipartisan vote.
Securing this funding will be vital for areas like the Prairie Pothole Region – one of the country’s most at-risk landscapes, but also an area well known to sportsmen for its importance for migratory waterfowl and for upland birds. LWCF has also helped to provide access for hunting and fishing at hundreds of national wildlife refuges, national forests, and national recreation areas, as well as state parks and wildlife management areas.
The teleconference will give reporters a chance to hear about the opportunity to secure additional funding for habitat conservation and outdoor recreation access and will provide an example of the areas that would benefit from funding.
Who: National conservation groups and Dakotas sportsmen/landowners
What: Telephone news conference on land and water conservation funding
When: Thursday, May 24, 11am EDT/10am CDT/9am MDT
Where: Dial 800-621-4410, passcode 6758331#
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline. Bobwhite population losses over the last 25 years range from 60 to 90 percent across the country. The reason for the quail population plunge is simple - massive losses of habitat suitable for quail. There are five major factors leading to the losses of quail habitat; intensified farming and forestry practices, succession of grassland ecosystems to forests, overwhelming presence of exotic grasses like fescue that choke out wildlife, and urban sprawl.
