House Concurrent Resolution 58

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM AS PART OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING.

WHEREAS, more than a century ago, hunters and anglers were among the first conservationists who realized America's natural resources were in peril and could not sustain unregulated harvest and habitat destruction; and

WHEREAS, sportsmen and women championed laws that stopped the excessive harvest of fish and wildlife, established state agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and their habitat, and supported special fishing and hunting license fees to help fund the new agencies' efforts to provide healthy natural resources for future generations; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Legislature has long recognized that state agencies have the primary authority to protect and manage fish within their state waters; and

WHEREAS, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and sustain healthy fish populations, anglers supported excise taxes on fishing equipment to raise additional funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of the state agencies; and

WHEREAS, the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which began 75 years ago with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1950 and was further expanded by the Wallop-Breaux amendment to the Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1984, is a vital part of conservation funding in the United States; and

WHEREAS, a manufacturers excise tax on fishing equipment, along with an excise tax on motorboat and small engine fuels, is mostly distributed back to the states through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries conservation, management, and angler and boater access; and

WHEREAS, since 1939, the combined contribution of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs and license fees to state fish and wildlife agencies, which collectively constitute the American System of Conservation Funding, exceeds $78 billion, more than any other single conservation effort in American history; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize excellence, especially as exemplified by the cooperative partnership between the sportfishing industry, anglers, boaters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, which has resulted in the most successful model of fisheries management in the world, restoring and enhancing populations across the United States and its territories:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do recognize America's anglers, boaters, the sportfishing industry, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in restoring healthy populations of fish and aquatic resources, both game and nongame, with the help of the Sport Fish Restoration Program, in this 75th anniversary year of the program's establishment as part of the American System of Conservation Funding.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.