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Regular Session, 2012 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 43
BY SENATOR LONG
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To recognize the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service,
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.
WHEREAS, more than a century ago, hunters, anglers, and trappers 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, hunters, anglers, and trappers took it upon themselves to support laws
that ended excessive harvest of fish and wildlife, established game and fish 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 for healthy natural resources for future
generations; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana recognizes that the primary authority to
protect and manage fish and resident wildlife, within its borders, resides in the state fish and
wildlife agencies; and
WHEREAS, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and
sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations, hunters, anglers, and trappers supported excise
taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery, fishing, and hunting equipment to raise additional
funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of state agencies; and
WHEREAS, this user pay public benefit system became known as the Wildlife and
Sport Fish Restoration Program that began seventy-five years ago with the passage of the
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act in 1937, which is commonly called the Pittman-
Robertson Act, and then was bolstered with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish
Restoration Act in 1950, which is commonly called the Dingell-Johnson Act and which was
further expanded with the Wallop-Breaux amendment to the Sport Fish Restoration Act in
1984; and
WHEREAS, since 1939, the combined contribution of the Wildlife and Sport Fish
Restoration Program to state fish and wildlife agencies exceeds thirteen billion dollars, more
than any other single conservation effort in American history, which constitutes, collectively, SCR NO. 43 ENROLLED
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the American System of Conservation Funding; and
WHEREAS, the manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, archery, fishing, hunting
and boating equipment have collected excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, archery
equipment, manufactured fishing tackle, electric trolling motors, marine electronics and
motorboat fuel and distributed these funds to the states through the United States Fish and
Wildlife Services; and
WHEREAS, the manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, archery, fishing, hunting
and boating equipment have supported the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program and
continue to exhibit a spirit of cooperation with the state fish and wildlife agencies; and
WHEREAS, this cooperative partnership between industry, hunters, anglers, trappers,
boaters, recreational shooters, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural
resource agencies has resulted in the most successful model of fish and wildlife management
in the world, restoring fish and wildlife populations from coast to coast.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
recognize America's hunters, anglers, trappers, boaters, recreational shooters, industry, state
fish and wildlife agencies, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading
role in restoring healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources, both game
and non-game, to the abundance we see and enjoy today through the Wildlife and Sport Fish
Restoration Program, in this the seventy-fifth anniversary of America's greatest conservation
story, supported by the American System of Conservation Funding.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution shall be transmitted
to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, and to each member of the Louisiana delegation to the United States Congress.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES