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America’s Anglers and Boaters Score Major Conservation
Victory July 29, 2005—ALEXANDRIA, VA. After nearly two years of Congressional action and three years of strategic planning and consensus building by leading angling and boating organizations, the most significant legislation for sportfishing and boating since 1984 is now waiting for President Bush’s signature. The centerpiece of the legislation is the successful capture of the federal fuel tax on motorboats and small engines which will now be dedicated to sportfish restoration, angler and boating access and boating safety. The Act will consolidate the receipts of the new Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and distribute them according to a simpler and more equitable formula supported by the American Sportfishing Association and a coalition of 33 other fishing and boating organizations. Formerly known as the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, this reauthorization will recover approximately $110 million per year of federal fuel taxes currently being paid by anglers and boaters which was being diverted to the general treasury. The capture of the fuel tax will significantly boost funding revenues for the Fund to approximately $570 million per year for important angling and boating programs such as fisheries monitoring; habitat conservation and restoration; fishing and boating access facilities such as docks, piers, and boat ramps; and education and safety programs for anglers and boaters. State wildlife and natural resources agencies, which receive the funds, will see an annual increase anywhere from $1.1 to $5.5 million dollars for conservation management. Funds are appropriated to the states for sportfish restoration and boating programs based on license sales and water area. “The sportfishing community owes Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) a debt of gratitude for introducing this legislation that will add $110 million annually to restoring and maintaining sportfishing in the United States,” said Mike Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “Our members, who pay into the Fund through the federal manufacturers excise tax on sportfishing equipment, see this as a major victory.” The Fund amounts to about $570 million per year which is ultimately parceled to state fish and wildlife agencies as a primary source of their overall funding. For more than 10 years, only a portion of anglers and boaters’ federal motor boat fuel taxes were directed to the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund, a user-pay/user and resource benefit fund that provides revenues for fishing and boating programs across the nation. The reauthorization captures the entire amount of the fuel tax. In addition, the Congressional action also distributes approximately $87 million of previously unappropriated revenues to various accounts within the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. “We are truly grateful for Senators Lott and Kohl’s efforts in sponsoring this legislation and the sportfishing community thanks them for moving it through the Senate reauthorization process,” said Gordon Robertson, vice president of ASA. “On the House side, we owe Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Clay Shaw (R-FL) our thanks for their leadership in this effort.” Robertson added, “We also want to thank the six committees of jurisdiction and their staff for standing with us during this two-year reauthorization process. Passage of this legislation is testament to the ability of the sportfishing and boating community to work together to strengthen the user-pay/user-benefit concept of the U.S. conservation model.” In addition, Robertson said, “It has truly been a coordinated bipartisan, bicameral effort that is a testament to this nation’s love of sportfishing and boating.” The Transportation Bill also included two other significant victories for sportfishing. They are: $10 million for fish passage improvement under the U.S. Forest Service road system; and $1 million for highway signage to direct anglers and hunters to access points. The Sportfish Restoration and Boating Act The American Sportfishing Association is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, uniting more than 600 members of the sportfishing and boating industries with state fish and wildlife agencies, federal land and water management agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups and outdoor journalists. The American Sportfishing Association safeguards and promotes the enduring social, economic and conservation values of sportfishing. Aquatic Resources Trust Fund Reauthorization at a Glance • Boating Safety Grants will now have guaranteed funding—this program will now receive 18.5% of the total, increasing 2005 funding from $64 million to approximately $100 million in FY 2006. • Dissolve (spend down) the Boat Safety Account—the balance currently in the account plus the interest (approximately $87 million) will be distributed over the next five years to accounts in the fund. • Most programs will be funded by a percentage—All programs, except administration and multi-state grants which remain a fixed amount, are assigned a percentage to allow a more simple and fair process, when the amount of funds increase or decrease so will all of the programs based upon their percentage. Percentages are as follows:
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