Search Grants


2013 – Enhancing the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

Strategic Priority

Capacity Building, Conservation Education, and Coordination of Conservation Policies - Coordination of Conservation Policies

Project Documents

No project documents available.

Project Description

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program has contributed more than $16 billion to fish and wildlife conservation in the US - more than any other single conservation effort. We will use the recent 75th Celebration of WSFR program as a platform to promote its successes over the immediate future and work with partners to ensure the program's continued success. Increased recruitment and retention of hunters, shooters, anglers, and boaters are essential for state fish and wildlife agencies, and leveraging partnership resources is necessary to continue WSFR for another 75 years. The WSFR program is intricately woven into almost every facet of the recruitment and retention of sportsmen and women. It is the predominant focal point between industry and state fish and wildlife agencies. Through enhanced partnerships and cooperation and a shared vision of success, we can ensure that the future of the WSFR program will reach new heights. This grant will provide actions that help related outdoor recreational industries understand and enhance the important role they play in fish and wildlife conservation, promote these benefits to the public at large, and help increase the recruitment and retention of hunters, shooters, anglers, and boaters. 
 

Project Facts

  • Organization Name: Wildlife Management Institute, Inc
  • Organization Status: NGO classified as 501(c)(3)
  • State: Pennsylvania
  • Obligation: $400,000
  • Start Date: 01-01-2013
  • End Date: 05-31-2015

Results

Overall Benefits Derived by the End of the Year:

  1. Provided a Liaison focusing on industry and state agency relationships to minimize or eliminate potentially controversial or divisive issues, specifically related to the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) Program.
  2. Improved state agency and industry relationships on a macro (nationally) and micro (state) scale so that trust and bonds could develop between leaders of state agencies and industry sectors.
  3. Developed a database of industry partners from all four major sectors (Angling, Archery, Boating, and Hunting/Sports shooting to facilitate interaction and partnership building between industry and states at a local level.
  4. Assisted with coordinating and managing state-level industry summits to facilitate partnerships and collaboration.
  5. Produced several video segments or industry CEO’s discussing the merits of the WSFR Program that can be made into promotional video commercials and aired in multiple media outlets.
  6. Continued coordination and support for the Fish and Wildlife Business Summit (formerly the Industry/Agency Summit) is now in its eighth year.
  7. Secured proclamations or resolutions from 26 states affirm the importance of the WSFR Program and the underlying license dollars to state-level conservation and affirm that these monies are not available for diversion to state general funds.
  8. Determined that broad-scale branding, marketing, and educational efforts are needed to gain grassroots support for the WSFR Program. Began plan development to implement such an effort.
  9. Met with the IRS, USFWS, and Industry to solve the federal excise tax inequity problem caused by internet sales to consumers, sales from off-shore companies thru shell corporations to reduce or eliminate the payment of the tax, etc. Also addressed was the training of IRS agents to ensure the uniform implementation of tax assessment procedures without regional discrepancies.
  10. Established the first “Think Tank” of industry and state agency leaders to address future challenges to angling, boating, hunting, and sport shooting.
  11. Worked with CAHSS to develop a database of Open Records laws for all 50 states to streamline and facilitate cross-pollination between industry and agency marketing efforts.
  12. 12. Attended all trade shows, regional association meetings, and national-level conferences to present on the WSFR Program and how we are working to improve and refine the program, raise awareness of the program, and ultimately brand it.

This Site is supported by Multistate Conservation Grant program, a program funded from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, and jointly managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies