A house RESOLUTION

 

TO COMMEMORATE THE SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM AS PART OF THE AMERICAN SYSTEM OF CONSERVATION FUNDING.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to recognize America's anglers, boaters, sport fishing industry, state fish and wildlife agencies, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in restoring healthy populations of fish and aquatic resources, both game and nongame, to the abundance we see today, with the help of the Sport Fish Restoration Program, in this the seventy-fifth anniversary year of the program's establishment as part of the American System of Conservation Funding; and

 

Whereas, more than a century ago, hunters and anglers 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, sportsmen and women took it upon themselves to support laws that stopped excessive harvest of fish and wildlife; established state 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 healthy natural resources for future generations; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House has long recognized that the primary authority to protect and manage fish within their state waters resides in the state agencies; and

 

Whereas, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and sustain healthy fish populations, anglers supported excise taxes on fishing equipment to raise additional funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of the state agencies; and

 

Whereas, the Sport Fish Restoration Program, which began seventy-five years ago with the passage of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1950 (further expanded with the Wallop-Breaux amendment to the Sport Fish Restoration Act in 1984) is a vital part of conservation funding in the United States; and

 

Whereas, a manufacturer's excise tax on fishing equipment, along with an excise tax on motorboat and small engine fuels, is mostly distributed back to the states through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for fisheries conservation, management, and angler and boater access; and

 

Whereas, this cooperative partnership between the sport fishing industry, anglers, boaters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource agencies has resulted in the most successful model of fisheries management in the world, one that restores and enhances populations across the United States and its territories; and

 

Whereas, since 1939, the combined contribution of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs and license fees to state fish and wildlife agencies exceeds $78 billion, more than any other single conservation effort in American history -- which efforts constitute, collectively, the American System of Conservation Funding. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Sport Fish Restoration Program as part of the American System of Conservation Funding.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

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