Conservation Groups Protest Budget Cuts

[Tim Smith]

From the AFS message board...

American Fisheries Society * American Sportfishing Association * Association

of Fish & Wildlife Agencies * Berkley Conservation Institute, Pure Fishing *

Boone & Crockett Club * Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation * Campfire Club

of America * Conservation Force * Dallas Safari Club * Delta Waterfowl

Foundation * Ducks Unlimited * Mule Deer Foundation * National Shooting

Sports Foundation * National Trappers Association * North American Bear

Foundation * North American Grouse Partnership * Northwestern Sportfishing

Industry * Pheasants Forever * Quail Forever * Quail Unlimited * Quality

Deer Management Association * Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation * Safari Club

International * The Conservation Fund * The Nature Conservancy * Theodore

Roosevelt Conservation Partnership * Texas Wildlife Association * The

Wildlife Society * Trout Unlimited * Whitetails Unlimited * Wildlife

Management Institute

Dear Representative:

We, the hunting, fishing and conservation community, are writing you with

great urgency to ensure that you understand that various provisions of HR 1

and several amendments to that bill strike directly at America's

longstanding tradition of federal support for conservation and management of

fish, wildlife and their habitat. Among these are the elimination of funding

for State and Tribal Wildlife Grants, the elimination of funding for the

North American Wetlands Conservation Act, significant cuts to Farm Bill

Conservation Programs, the drastic reduction or elimination of funding for

the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Forest Legacy, the Cooperative

Endangered Species Conservation Fund, and the National Fish Habitat Action

Plan, and the elimination of federal funding for the National Fish and

Wildlife Foundation.

While we fully acknowledge that conservation programs should shoulder a fair

and proportional burden of reductions to the Federal budget as required to

address the budget deficit, these provisions of HR 1, in our view, represent

a deliberate move away from America's long conservation tradition and,

specifically with respect to the interests of the hunting, fishing and

outdoor community. We are very disappointed that the Congress would consider

these actions without consultation with the hunting, fishing and

conservation community. These vital programs with long-standing track

records of success are foundational to fish, wildlife and habitat

conservation, good for the economy in creating jobs particularly in rural

communities, and critical to providing opportunities for America's sportsmen

and women.

We urge that before acting on HR 1, you alter the deep cuts cited above to

reflect a proportional share of the budget reductions you are seeking. Thank

you for your sincere consideration of our views.

Join AFS or renew for 2011 at www.fisheries.org/afs/membership.html

Gus Rassam, PhD

Executive Director, American Fisheries Society (AFS)