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Sportsman-Governors Show Support for Hunters and Anglers

Congressional Sportsmen

Salt Lake City, UT --(Ammoland.com)- Nine of the nation’s state chief executives gathered at a Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) event in Salt Lake City Friday to highlight policy issues of concern to hunters and anglers around the nation.

GSC Co-Chair, Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi, along with Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) President Jeff Crane welcomed the sportsman-governors and members of the sportsmen’s community in attendance to a reception sponsored by AGL Resources, Altria, American Knife & Tool Institute (AKTI), ATK, Comcast, CropLife America, Daimler, Dallas Safari Club, ExxonMobil, National Rifle Association (NRA), National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Outdoor Channel, Remington, and Winchester Ammunition.

“As evidenced by the turnout at this event, the sportsmen and women of this country and in the states represented by GSC member governors have a powerful ally watching out for their interests,” said Crane.

“These governors are on the front lines protecting the rights of hunters and anglers by advancing sound fish and wildlife conservation policies in their states.”

Members of the hunting and fishing community, the CSF State Team, and sponsor representatives were joined at the event by: Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont, Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming, Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, Gov. Bev Perdue of North Carolina, Gov. Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota, Gov. Barbour and Gov. Sean Parnell of Alaska.

Governors Brandstad, Shumlin, Daugaard and Mead officially joined the GSC, which now boasts 22 sportsmen allied Governors from both political parties and diverse geographic regions of the country, representing large outdoor constituencies that include many of America’s nearly 40 million hunters and anglers who contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, spending more than $76 billion dollars a year on hunting and fishing.

Guided by a bipartisan leadership team of governors lead by Co-Chairs Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer; Vice-Chairs New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, and staffed through the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the GSC along with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses, serves as an unprecedented network of pro-sportsmen elected officials that promote and protect the agenda of America’s hunters and anglers.

Members of the Caucus include: Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Gov. Daugaard, Gov. Shumlin, as well as co-chairs Barbour and Schweitzer and vice-chairs Martinez and Beebe.

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Delisting of Wolves in Wyoming & Great Lakes Moves Forward in U.S. House

Congressional Sportsmen

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- A coalition of sportsmen’s groups working toward delisting of recovered gray wolf populations from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), sent a letter to Rep. Mike Simpson, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, and committee member Rep. Cynthia Lummis last week, supporting their efforts in advancing Sec. 119 of the 2012 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill, approved yesterday by the House Appropriations Committee, to address the issue of recovered wolf populations in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region.

In the letter (HERE), the coalition, which includes the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club International (SCI), Boone and Crockett Club, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Wild Sheep Foundation, American Sheep Industry Association, Public Lands Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Pope and Young Club, states, “We will continue to support any legislative efforts which take us closer to complete delisting of recovered populations, including delisting entire states that include or border core populations in order to allow the state(s) to more easily carry out their professional wildlife management responsibilities.”

“Like the provision dealing with delisted wolves in Montana and Idaho that our coalition supported and was passed into law this spring, this is another step in returning management of this species back to state wildlife managers where it belongs,” said CSF President Jeff Crane.

“Removing recovered wolf populations from Wyoming and the Great Lakes Region will reduce risks to both people and wildlife in these areas and return balance to these ecosystems, further advancing our goal to delist all recovered gray wolf populations ,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist.

Sec. 119 of the 2012 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill would remove gray wolves delisted under ESA in Wyoming or in any of the states within the range of the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment from judicial review if the state has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of the Interior to authorize state management.

“This is a states’ rights issue now and it is time for the states to manage wolves as other wildlife,” said David Allen, President and CEO of RMEF. “Science clearly shows that gray wolves have recovered”.

“We are appreciative of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus members who have worked tirelessly to ensure that management of wolves is returned to the states,” said SCI President Kevin Anderson. “We’ve already seen that the delisted area is too small to contain the large and growing wolf population, so we welcome this further progress.”

About:
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2009. Throughout this time, CSF has maintained a singleness of purpose that has guided the organization to become the most respected and trusted hunting and fishing organization in the political arena. Visit: www.sportsmenslink.org

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