Hunters fund conservation efforts

Hunters are among the most generous Americans when it comes to funding conservation and wildlife . . . and many don’t even realize it.

Whenever Georgia hunters purchase hunting licenses, firearms, ammunition or archery equipment they support the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program, the largest and most successful conservation program in the world.

For more than sixty-five years hunters have contributed millions of dollars through this program and together with hunting license fees they have helped fund wildlife conservation in Georgia.? Over $2 billion has been contributed nationwide.

“The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration program benefits game and nongame species, protects and restores habitat and helps improve wildlife management through research,” says WRD Assistant Chief of Game Management Mark Whitney. “Through this program, America’s hunters represent by far the most substantial source of funding for wildlife management in the United States.”

The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, was passed in 1937. Through lobbying efforts in Congress, hunters created this act as a way to help fund resource management of species commonly hunted. It allows the federal government to place a small manufacturers surcharge on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment that is collected by the government and distributed to state wildlife agencies to fund wildlife management programs. The amount of money each state agency annually receives is determined by the number of hunting licenses the state sells and the size of the state.

WRD uses Wildlife Restoration funds for many types of programs, including:

• restoring habitat and improving wildlife populations,
• operating over one million acres of wildlife management areas that benefit a wide assortment of game and nongame wildlife and providing enjoyable wildlife-related recreational opportunities,
• providing information to landowners on how to manage their property for various species,
• conducting hunter education classes,
• building and maintaining public shooting ranges.

For more information on the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program, visit the USFWS website at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/ . For more information on wildlife management practices in Georgia, visit the WRD website at www.gohuntgeorgia.com, contact the local WRD Game Management office or call (770) 918-6416.