Governor Branstad Joins Governors Sportsmen's Caucus to Protect Hunters and Anglers

July 22, 2011 (Washington, DC) -  Gov. Terry Branstad recently joined the bipartisan Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC) in order to further protect the interests of Iowa’s approximately 518,000  hunters and anglers who contribute more than$661 million per year to the state’s economy and support over 12,000 jobs.

Governor Branstad joined the GSC earlier this year and during the 2011 legislation session helped pass and then signed into law legislation establishing an open hunting season for mourning doves.

Last week, the governor attended a reception held by the GSC, part of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) State Program, at the National Governors Association meeting in Salt Lake City and joined eight other governors in discussing policy issues of concern to hunters and anglers and exchanging ideas about pro-sportsmen legislation and to learn more about issues and trends of concern to the outdoor sporting community.

 “Governor Branstad is a strong supporter of the Iowa hunting and fishing community and he fully understands the societal and economic benefits of protecting and promoting hunting, fishing and effective fish and wildlife management,” said CSF President Jeff Crane.

Governors in the GSC represent large outdoor constituencies that include many of America’s nearly 40 million hunters and anglers who contribute more than $70 billion annually to the U.S. economy.  Guided by a bipartisan leadership team of governors lead by Co-Chairs Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer; Vice-Chairs New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, and staffed through the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the GSC along with the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus and the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses, serves as an unprecedented network of pro-sportsmen elected officials that promote and protect the agenda of America's hunters and anglers.   

The GSC was launched at the National Governor’s Association Annual Meeting in Biloxi, Mississippi in July 2009, and now includes 22 state chief executives from across the country including: Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Gov. Branstad, Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Dauggard, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, as well as co-chairs Barbour and Schweitzer and vice-chairs Martinez and Beebe.