| January,2000
By Matt Hogan
Bowhunters have made a major
commitment to wildlife. We demonstrate it every
time we buy a bowhunting license or join a conservation
organization. We also put dollars behind that
commitment each time we purchase any new archery
equipment or, for that matter, whenever we buy
any hunting equipment. The bottom line is, bowhunters
have been one of the most significant contributors
to wildlife conservation in America and many don’t
even know it.
The process started in 1937 when
Congress created the Pittman-Robertson program.
Under this law, sportsmen agreed to pay a 10%
tax on sporting arms and ammunition. These dollars
were to be collected by the IRS, put into a Sportsmen’s
Trust Fund, and transferred through the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service back to the states for wildlife
management and conservation programs. In 1972,
under the leadership of Fred Bear, an 11% tax
on archery equipment added new dollars to the
Sportsmen's Trust Fund and since that time bowhunters
and archers have contributed more than $280 million
toward wildlife management and conservation.
Unfortunately, it appears the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has squandered,
possibly illegally, millions of dollars from the
Sportsmen’s Trust Fund rather than using
tax money the way sportsmen intended. This information
was uncovered by Congressman Don Young (R-AK),
the Chairman of the House Resources Committee,
and by the Government Accounting Office in an
investigation on how sportsmen’s dollars
were being managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
In two recent hearings the House Resources Committee
heard about a slush fund used by the Director
of the Fish and Wildlife Service to fund pet projects,
the creation of a grants program that was not
authorized in law and the payment of salaries,
travel and general office expenses for people
who had nothing to do with the Sportsmen’s
Trust Fund or programs.
Sadly, money sorely needed for
wildlife management and hunting programs was wasted
or lost rather than being sent back to the states
where sportsmen could see the benefit of their
tax dollars at work. Worse yet, there is overwhelming
evidence that the people who should have been
working on behalf of hunters have forgotten about,
or even worked against, the sportsmen who have
provided this money. All this is bad news for
wildlife and for hunters.
As this goes to press, Congressman
Young is working with his colleagues in Congress,
including the Congressional Bowhunting Task Force
led by Congressmen Jim Barcia (D-MI) and Duncan
Hunter (R-CA), on legislation to fix the situation
and ensure that hunter’s money is spent
responsibly. Further, he has vowed to make the
Fish and Wildlife Service repay the money it has
stolen from the American sportsmen. Finally, the
Committee has served a subpoena on Assistant Secretary
of the Interior Don Barry who has been asked to
answer to Sportsmen for the conduct of his agency
– and who has been away on travel when the
Committee was last convened. |
