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Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON --(Ammoland.com)- Sportsmen throughout the nation are applauding a 20-year moratorium on new mining claims on 1 million-plus acres of public lands fish and wildlife habitat surrounding the Grand Canyon, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.

The federal decision withdraws public lands north and south of the Grand Canyon from filings of new mining claims and additional in-situ production of uranium. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the moratorium, which follows a temporary ban, this afternoon in Washington, D.C. The withdrawal does not affect mining claims with valid existing rights.

Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands encompassed in the claims moratorium include large expanses of the Arizona Strip, Kaibab Plateau and North Rim, all of which contain some of the most productive habitat in the nation for trophy elk and mule deer.

“Sportsmen from all over the country vie for the permits issued by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to hunt elk and mule deer each year,” said Dr. Bennett Brown, a TRCP field representative and avid big-game hunter. “These hunters spend millions of dollars annually pursuing their quarry in one of the most spectacular landscapes remaining in North America. We thank the Department of the Interior for this foresighted decision, which is good news for America’s economy, as well as our outdoor recreational opportunities.”

The moratorium on new mining claims diminishes the risk of contamination to aquifers that provide water for nearby residents. The quality of water for millions more Americans who depend upon the Colorado River for domestic and irrigation water is protected, as well as habitat for native species such as the endangered razorback sucker and humpback chub.

“President Theodore Roosevelt said of the Grand Canyon, ‘Leave it as it is. You cannot improve upon it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it,’” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh. “Secretary Salazar’s decision safeguards the magnificent vistas and incredible biological diversity that characterize the Colorado Plateau – lands that are part of our collective cultural heritage and form the underpinnings of our outdoor traditions.”

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.

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In letter to Senate leaders, hunters and anglers praise elements of the SAFE Act that would enable responsive management of fish and wildlife populations.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

WASHINGTON --(Ammoland.com)- Prominent sportsmen’s groups spoke out in support of measures in proposed U.S. Senate legislation that would help minimize the impacts of climate change and variability on fish and wildlife, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership announced today.

The Safeguarding America’s Future and Environment (SAFE) Act, S. 1881, would require federal resource agencies to plan for the projected long-term effects of climate change and encourage states to prepare natural resources adaptation plans while ensuring that these plans are guided by the best available science. In a letter to the bill’s co-sponsors, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Max Baucus, the sportsmen expressed concern about the future of hunting and angling in the face of increasing human development along with the impacts of climate change.

“We strongly support legislative approaches, such as those in the SAFE Act, that recognize the reality of climate change and create the national leadership and structure to minimize its anticipated effects,” said Noreen Clough, director of conservation of B.A.S.S. and signatory of the letter.

“Our groups have been recommending the adoption of similar standards for fish and wildlife adaptation for years, and we urge these elements to be included in any forthcoming climate legislation.”

“Sportsmen are often the first to notice the impacts of our changing climate, which already is affecting where and how we hunt and fish,” said Dr. Steve Williams, president of the Wildlife Management Institute, a signatory of the sportsmen’s letter, and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“We commend the science-based approach that underlies the SAFE Act, and we urge the Senate to do its part to uphold the public’s hunting and angling opportunities by advancing the adaptation components of this legislation without delay.”

Maintaining ecosystems capable of supporting fish and wildlife populations is critical to the nation’s health, economy and natural services such as flood control, water filtration and groundwater security. With each passing season, the need to develop strategies to help fish and wildlife adapt to a changing climate becomes more pressing. Guided by the members of its Climate Change Working Group, the TRCP is engaged in ensuring that the issue of climate change and fish and wildlife adaptation are properly addressed in congressional legislation.

“Abundant outdoor opportunities, including hunting and fishing, are the dividends we reap when we exercise responsible management of our natural resources,” said TRCP Climate Change Initiative Manager Bill Geer, “and the fish and wildlife provisions in the SAFE Act set the course for on-the-ground actions that sustain these resources and consequently our sporting traditions. Sportsmen and professional fish and wildlife managers strongly support this pragmatic approach to resource conservation.”

Learn more about the TRCP’s work to address the impacts of climate change on hunting and angling.

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.

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