Hunting, fishing groups call for end to shutdown, passage of farm bill
October 08, 2013 | 03:18 PM
Seven leading hunting and fishing groups on Monday called on Congress to end the government shutdown and to pass a new farm bill.
In a call to reporters organized by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the groups pointed out that the shutdown has closed wildlife refuges, interfered with the fall hunting and fishing season, and made it impossible for farmers to enroll lands in conservation programs or get advice from the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Congress should “pass a CR [continuing resolution] that restores funding for major grant programs, reopen the government and deal with major issues like the farm bill,” said Steve Williams, president of the Pennsylvania Wildlife Management Institute and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, noted that with corn, soybean and wheat prices high, farmers have been taking land out of the Conservation Reserve Program as it expires.
With the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resource Conservation Service offices closed, farmers do not have the ability to sign up to put land back in the CRP or to use other conservation programs to get advice on how to handle the conversion back into production with the least stress on the land and wildlife, Vincent added.
Farmers need professional conservationists “to help them be smart about the land they are farming,” he added. “With this program shut down we are right in the window of deciding what to do for spring planting. If they are not able to make good decisions about what to do on the lands, this is an incredible stress factor.”
Without the ability to sign up for the CRP or the wetlands and grasslands reserve programs, farmers are going to farm only their best land, but their marginal land, he added.
Vincent and Miles Moretti, president and CEO of the Utah-based Mule Deer Foundation, also pointed out that the government closure has also caused an interruption in USDA’s effort to work with farmers to create bird habitat for the sage grouse and the lesser prairie chicken so that they are less likely to be classified as endangered species.
Representatives of other groups noted that the closure of the wildlife refuges managed by the Interior Department is damaging the wildlife recreation industry, which contribute a total of $144 billion to the economy, including $86 billion in retail sales.
The closure is “a slap of us to all of us in the country, but particularly to 37 million hunters and anglers,” said Whit Fosburgh of the Roosevelt Partnership.
Williams noted that the closure has stopped hunting and fishing, photography, interpretation and environmental education, all of which bring money to rural economies.
“Hundreds of hunts should be taking place right now or about to happen, but they are all on hold, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, vice president for government affairs of the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
Many hunters wait years for a license to hunt bear and other big animals and may now not be able to use those permits, noted Gaspar Perricone, co-director of the Bull Moose Sportsmen's Alliance, a Colorado group. That results in canceled trips that ripple through rural economies, he said.
In addition, taxpayers are losing the services of more than 40,000 people who volunteer on refuges each year, Sorenson-Groves noted.
“People think refuges are protected but they are some of the most highly managed lands in the country to mimic the natural process,” she said.
With only 250 of the 850 federal wildlife officers on patrol, there may be some resource damage and “illegal takes,” Sorenson-Groves said. “There are assets of the American people at risk,” she said, but added that the vast majority of Americans “are extremely respectful of these lands.”
“Habitat projects for wildlife are long-term, these are being shut down, this is jobs in local communities,” Moretti said.
Land Tawney, executive director of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, a Montana group, noted that with a duck haven north of Missoula closed, restaurants in that area are not getting the patronage they expect at this time of year.
Williams also noted that the inability to hunt and fish on federal land will put more stress on state lands that allow hunting and fishing because sportsmen will go there. The number one complaint, he gets, Williams said, is that “the public lands are crowded.”
But states could see a reduction in hunting and fishing licenses and fewer people may buy the federal duck stamps that give them them the permit to hunt, Williams said. Some hunters and fishers “may hang it up for the season, hopefully not for their lifetime,” he concluded.
The groups also noted that their members have been trying to get their message to members of Congress, but have found that many congressional offices do not have the staff to take the phone messages.
In addition, Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever sent President Barack Obama and congressional leaders a letter urging immediate passage of a new five-year farm bill. The groups noted that conservation interests had felt the impact of the expiration of the extension of the 2008 farm bill on September 30.
“Farm bill conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Grasslands Reserve Program are now closed for enrollment,” the groups said.
“These are the most effective tools farmers and ranchers have to conserve bird and other wildlife habitat on private lands, and they will no longer be available without an enacted farm bill. This habitat also contributes environmental services to our citizens in the form of flood abatement, soil erosion abatement and clean water.”
In a call to reporters organized by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the groups pointed out that the shutdown has closed wildlife refuges, interfered with the fall hunting and fishing season, and made it impossible for farmers to enroll lands in conservation programs or get advice from the Agriculture Department’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Congress should “pass a CR [continuing resolution] that restores funding for major grant programs, reopen the government and deal with major issues like the farm bill,” said Steve Williams, president of the Pennsylvania Wildlife Management Institute and former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, noted that with corn, soybean and wheat prices high, farmers have been taking land out of the Conservation Reserve Program as it expires.
With the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resource Conservation Service offices closed, farmers do not have the ability to sign up to put land back in the CRP or to use other conservation programs to get advice on how to handle the conversion back into production with the least stress on the land and wildlife, Vincent added.
Farmers need professional conservationists “to help them be smart about the land they are farming,” he added. “With this program shut down we are right in the window of deciding what to do for spring planting. If they are not able to make good decisions about what to do on the lands, this is an incredible stress factor.”
Without the ability to sign up for the CRP or the wetlands and grasslands reserve programs, farmers are going to farm only their best land, but their marginal land, he added.
Vincent and Miles Moretti, president and CEO of the Utah-based Mule Deer Foundation, also pointed out that the government closure has also caused an interruption in USDA’s effort to work with farmers to create bird habitat for the sage grouse and the lesser prairie chicken so that they are less likely to be classified as endangered species.
Representatives of other groups noted that the closure of the wildlife refuges managed by the Interior Department is damaging the wildlife recreation industry, which contribute a total of $144 billion to the economy, including $86 billion in retail sales.
The closure is “a slap of us to all of us in the country, but particularly to 37 million hunters and anglers,” said Whit Fosburgh of the Roosevelt Partnership.
Williams noted that the closure has stopped hunting and fishing, photography, interpretation and environmental education, all of which bring money to rural economies.
“Hundreds of hunts should be taking place right now or about to happen, but they are all on hold, said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, vice president for government affairs of the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
Many hunters wait years for a license to hunt bear and other big animals and may now not be able to use those permits, noted Gaspar Perricone, co-director of the Bull Moose Sportsmen's Alliance, a Colorado group. That results in canceled trips that ripple through rural economies, he said.
In addition, taxpayers are losing the services of more than 40,000 people who volunteer on refuges each year, Sorenson-Groves noted.
“People think refuges are protected but they are some of the most highly managed lands in the country to mimic the natural process,” she said.
With only 250 of the 850 federal wildlife officers on patrol, there may be some resource damage and “illegal takes,” Sorenson-Groves said. “There are assets of the American people at risk,” she said, but added that the vast majority of Americans “are extremely respectful of these lands.”
“Habitat projects for wildlife are long-term, these are being shut down, this is jobs in local communities,” Moretti said.
Land Tawney, executive director of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, a Montana group, noted that with a duck haven north of Missoula closed, restaurants in that area are not getting the patronage they expect at this time of year.
Williams also noted that the inability to hunt and fish on federal land will put more stress on state lands that allow hunting and fishing because sportsmen will go there. The number one complaint, he gets, Williams said, is that “the public lands are crowded.”
But states could see a reduction in hunting and fishing licenses and fewer people may buy the federal duck stamps that give them them the permit to hunt, Williams said. Some hunters and fishers “may hang it up for the season, hopefully not for their lifetime,” he concluded.
The groups also noted that their members have been trying to get their message to members of Congress, but have found that many congressional offices do not have the staff to take the phone messages.
In addition, Ducks Unlimited, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever sent President Barack Obama and congressional leaders a letter urging immediate passage of a new five-year farm bill. The groups noted that conservation interests had felt the impact of the expiration of the extension of the 2008 farm bill on September 30.
“Farm bill conservation programs like the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Grasslands Reserve Program are now closed for enrollment,” the groups said.
“These are the most effective tools farmers and ranchers have to conserve bird and other wildlife habitat on private lands, and they will no longer be available without an enacted farm bill. This habitat also contributes environmental services to our citizens in the form of flood abatement, soil erosion abatement and clean water.”
