| 1 | 1 | | IV |
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| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
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| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. RES. 215 |
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| 5 | 5 | | Supporting the designation of March 15, 2025, as ‘‘National Osceola Turkey |
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| 6 | 6 | | Day’’. |
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| 7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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| 8 | 8 | | MARCH11, 2025 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Mr. S |
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| 10 | 10 | | COTTFRANKLINof Florida (for himself, Ms. SALAZAR, Mr. BILIRAKIS, |
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| 11 | 11 | | Mr. B |
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| 12 | 12 | | UCHANAN, Mr. RUTHERFORD, and Mr. SOTO) submitted the fol- |
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| 13 | 13 | | lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and |
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| 14 | 14 | | Government Reform |
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| 15 | 15 | | RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Supporting the designation of March 15, 2025, as ‘‘National |
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| 17 | 17 | | Osceola Turkey Day’’. |
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| 18 | 18 | | Whereas wild turkey has been an important part of the his- |
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| 19 | 19 | | tory and family traditions of the United States; |
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| 20 | 20 | | Whereas wild turkey was on the table at the very first |
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| 21 | 21 | | Thanksgiving, and turkey continues to be a mainstay |
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| 22 | 22 | | during many holiday traditions; |
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| 23 | 23 | | Whereas wild turkey is a healthy, organic, and delicious |
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| 24 | 24 | | source of lean protein; |
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| 25 | 25 | | Whereas, in the United States, turkey hunters have spent ap- |
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| 26 | 26 | | proximately $76,900,000 per year since 1985 with an |
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| 27 | 27 | | economic impact of $128,700,000 annually; |
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| 28 | 28 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Mar 12, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR215.IH HR215 |
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| 29 | 29 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
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| 30 | 30 | | •HRES 215 IH |
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| 31 | 31 | | Whereas Florida has a rich history of wild turkey hunting, |
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| 32 | 32 | | management, and research; |
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| 33 | 33 | | Whereas Florida is home to the Wild Turkey Cost Share Pro- |
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| 34 | 34 | | gram, which is the largest public-private partnership pro- |
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| 35 | 35 | | gram in the United States for the maintenance of wild |
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| 36 | 36 | | turkey habitat on wildlife management areas and other |
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| 37 | 37 | | public lands open to hunting; |
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| 38 | 38 | | Whereas, since the Wild Turkey Cost Share Program began |
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| 39 | 39 | | in 1994, upwards of 1,000,000 acres of upland habitat |
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| 40 | 40 | | have received funding for turkey habitat management ef- |
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| 41 | 41 | | forts; |
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| 42 | 42 | | Whereas, in the 2024 Florida spring wild turkey season, an |
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| 43 | 43 | | estimated 31,085 hunters participated in turkey hunting, |
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| 44 | 44 | | including an estimated 5,453 nonresidents of the Sun- |
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| 45 | 45 | | shine State; |
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| 46 | 46 | | Whereas, in Florida, revenue generated from the sale of wild |
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| 47 | 47 | | turkey permits is used for conservation, research, and |
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| 48 | 48 | | management of wild turkeys or promoting the cultural |
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| 49 | 49 | | heritage of hunting; |
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| 50 | 50 | | Whereas turkey hunters are an important part of the Wild |
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| 51 | 51 | | Turkey Cost Share Program, and the money generated |
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| 52 | 52 | | from the sale of turkey permits, which are a requirement |
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| 53 | 53 | | for hunting wild turkeys in Florida unless exempt, allows |
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| 54 | 54 | | the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
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| 55 | 55 | | to make significant contributions to the Wild Turkey |
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| 56 | 56 | | Cost Share Program each year; |
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| 57 | 57 | | Whereas Florida is home to 2 subspecies of wild turkey, the |
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| 58 | 58 | | eastern wild turkey and the Osceola or Florida wild tur- |
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| 59 | 59 | | key; |
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| 60 | 60 | | Whereas the Osceola is 1 of 5 subspecies of wild turkey in |
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| 61 | 61 | | North America; |
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| 63 | 63 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | •HRES 215 IH |
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| 65 | 65 | | Whereas the Osceola turkey exists only in peninsular Florida; |
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| 66 | 66 | | Whereas the Osceola subspecies of wild turkey is often per- |
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| 67 | 67 | | ceived as mysterious and the most difficult to harvest be- |
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| 68 | 68 | | cause of its small geographic range and the often swampy |
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| 69 | 69 | | habitat where it is found; |
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| 70 | 70 | | Whereas hunters in pursuit of the 4 subspecies of turkey in |
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| 71 | 71 | | the United States, known as a ‘‘Grand Slam’’, are re- |
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| 72 | 72 | | quired to hunt in Florida; and |
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| 73 | 73 | | Whereas March 1, 2025, is the opening day of turkey har- |
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| 74 | 74 | | vesting season in part of Florida, and March 15, 2025, |
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| 75 | 75 | | is the opening day for the entire State of Florida: Now, |
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| 76 | 76 | | therefore, be it |
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| 77 | 77 | | Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 |
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| 78 | 78 | | (1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Osce-2 |
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| 79 | 79 | | ola Turkey Day’’; and 3 |
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| 80 | 80 | | (2) encourages the people of the United States 4 |
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| 81 | 81 | | to observe National Osceola Turkey Day with appro-5 |
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| 82 | 82 | | priate ceremonies and activities. 6 |
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| 83 | 83 | | Æ |
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| 84 | 84 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 Mar 12, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR215.IH HR215 |
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| 85 | 85 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB |
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