AmmoLand.com

Senator Tester Pushes Land Access Amendment For Montana’s Hunters & Anglers
Senator’s measure restores popular Open Fields initiative.

AmmoLand Gun News

U.S. SENATE --(Ammoland.com)- On the eve of big-game hunting season in Montana, Senator Jon Tester is pushing to improve voluntary access to land for Montana’s hunters and anglers.

Tester this week introduced an amendment that will restore the Open Fields initiative. Open Fields encourages owners and operators of private lands to voluntarily make their property accessible to the public for hunting or fishing.

Tester, chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, says that the loss of access to private land is the main reason Montana sportsmen and women stop hunting and fishing.

“Montana is world famous for our hunting and fishing, but we’re also known for our good neighbors who value the traditions of access to land and water,” Tester said. “This measure keeps Montanans working together to access some of the state’s best places to hunt, benefiting Montana’s outdoor heritage and our economy.”

Currently, 26 states have voluntary public access initiatives, but funding for Open Fields was removed from a recent Senate appropriations bill.

Tester’s amendment is supported by numerous sportsmen’s organizations, including the National Rifle Association, the Montana Wildlife Federation, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, and Ducks Unlimited.

“Diminishing access to hunting land is the primary reason many Americans are forced to give up hunting,” said Christopher Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Reinstatement of the Open Fields program will encourage owners and operators of privately held farm, ranch and forestland to voluntarily make those lands accessible to hunters and sportsmen. This will help increase hunter retention and help preserve America’s hunting heritage.”

“Keeping the dialogue open between Montana’s private landowners and sportsmen and women is vital,” said Gayle Joslin of the Helena Hunters and Anglers. “We appreciate Senator Tester going to bat for Open Fields in order to maintain our conservation legacy and our commitment to accessible lands for our hunters and anglers.”

Open Fields – formally known as the Voluntary Public Lands Access and Habitat Incentive – is run by the U.S. Farm Service Agency along with state and tribal governments. It offers competitive grants to states and tribal governments to expand private land access through easements.

Outdoor recreation represents a $2.5 billion-per-year industry in Montana. Tester recently held a public hearing in Bozeman on the value of public lands where he heard from Montana’s sportsmen and women.

Tester’s amendment is available online HERE.

Filed under: Conservation News, Hunting News by Ammoland 1 Comment »

New Report: Conservation, Recreation and Preservation Generate $1 Trillion Per Year for U.S. Economy
With unemployment rate still over 9 percent in the third quarter Labor Department jobs report, study illustrates job growth potential.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON --(Ammoland.com)- Officials looking for cost-effective ways to stimulate the economy should look no further than out their own windows: That’s where the authors of a new economic study demonstrate that the great outdoors and historic preservation generate a conservative estimate of more than $1 trillion in total economic activity and support 9.4 million jobs each year.

“As a former Secretary of the Interior, governor, senator and mayor, I have witnessed firsthand how historic preservation, conservation and outdoor recreation result in tremendous benefits to our nation’s economy,” said Dirk Kempthorne. “This study is a valuable tool for reaffirming and quantifying those benefits.”

“Sportsmen put billions of dollars of their own money annually into conservation through the licenses they buy and the excise taxes that they pay on hunting and fishing equipment,” added Lindsay Thomas, a former U.S. Congressman and current chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.

“This combined with the other taxes that are paid through activities associated with outdoor recreation and historic preservation total over $100 billion annually contributed to state and federal coffers.”

Conducted by Southwick Associates, the study is packed with highlights including:

• In 2006, the total contribution from outdoor sports in the United States was nearly $730 billion per year, generating more than 6.4 million U.S. jobs and $99 billion in federal and state tax revenues. This includes hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing and other outdoor sports that include hiking, camping, skiing, paddle sports and bicycling.
• In 2006, the combined spending effect of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching associated with National Forest Service land totaled $9.5 billion in annual retail sales, supported 189,400 jobs and provided $1.01 billion in annual federal tax revenues.
• Every million dollars invested in residential historic rehabilitation generates approximately 36 jobs, $1.24 million in income and nearly $200,000 in state and local taxes.
• In 2010, 15 million visitors to Civil War battlefields managed by the National Park Service in just five states (Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) generated 7,700 jobs.

Commissioned by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the study is being conducted as part of a larger ongoing effort by NFWF to determine the economics associated with natural resource conservation.

The study has commanded the attention of many, including America’s Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation, a coalition of more than 770 organizations representing tens of millions of citizens with diverse political backgrounds who have united in support of conservation, recreation and preservation programs as a means to create jobs and improve the economy.

“Natural resource conservation and historic preservation programs provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and strong returns on public investments that primarily help rural communities and cannot be exported abroad,” said John L. Nau III, chairman emeritus of the Civil War Trust and co-chair of the AVCRP. “This country needs jobs that leverage private investment and conserve our precious natural resources and historic spaces.”

“The jobs that our public lands and cultural heritage create are jaw-dropping,” said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society and the AVCRP’s other co-chair. “This study is yet more evidence that investing in the environment is good for the fiscal health of our country.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

Filed under: Conservation News, Hunting News, Shooting Industry News by Ammoland No Comments »