Federal Shutdown Eases for Sportsmen with Reopening of WPAs
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to open waterfowl production areas acknowledges economic importance of sportsmen, who continue to urge Congress to end shutdown.
As the federal shutdown closes in on two weeks, sportsmen received welcome news on Friday in the form of a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reopen millions of acres of waterfowl production areas to hunters. While commending the decision, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership continues to urge Congress to end the shutdown – in the name of conservation and the nation’s outdoors-reliant economy.
The USFWS announcement coincides with pheasant openers in multiple states and occurs as communities across the country grapple with the absence of sportsmen and the economic boost brought about by hunters.
“As hunting seasons open – in the Great Plains and across the country – sportsmen’s calls have been heard, and the administration has acknowledged the economic impact of hunters and anglers,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh. “We commend the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for addressing the need for public access of these lands, and we urge Congress to take a similarly pragmatic approach in resolving the federal shutdown as quickly as possible.”
WPAs are grassland and wetland ecosystems reserved for wildlife, including waterfowl, and are funded mostly through the sale of federal duck stamps. More than 2 million acres of WPAs are concentrated in the prairie pothole region of Minnesota, Montana and the Dakotas.
“Conservation in America continues to suffer,” continued Fosburgh, “and no region better exemplifies the ongoing destruction and loss of important fish and wildlife habitat than the prairie pothole region where so many WPAs are located. Congress must reach an agreement to end this crisis and advance crucial conservation programs, including a federal farm bill, posthaste.”
In 1912 Theodore Roosevelt said, “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.” While in the political arena, he succeeded in making conservation a top tier national issue.
T.R. had the foresight to address these issues still so significant to sportsmen today, understanding that if we want to ensure critical habitat, special hunting grounds and secret fishing holes will be around for future generations, we must plan carefully today.
The TRCP is working to guarantee all Americans a quality place to hunt and fish.
