Federal Money to Help AR Restore Waterfowl, Wildlife Habitat
Friday, March 11, 2016
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Money from taxes on guns, ammunition and fishing equipment is being doled out to all 50 states to be used to help protect fishing, hunting and wildlife areas. Arkansas's share is more than $17 million.
The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program has been in place for decades, said Jim Hodgson, Midwestern Division chief for the program, adding that each state can choose how to use the money.
"It has provided the hunting and fishing outdoor-recreation economy a multi-billion-dollar boost to provide hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities," he said.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has said it will use the money to renovate 11 wildlife management areas and also to create or restore more than 1,300 acres of waterfowl habitat.
In all this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing $1.1 billion, collected through hunting and fishing taxes. Hodgson said wildlife would suffer without it. When the program began decades ago, he said, some species were being over-hunted.
"Even common species that we typically think of now on our landscape, like white-tailed deer and wild turkeys - these species were almost nonexistent," he said.
Hodgson said the goal of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program is to conserve and manage fish and wildlife and their habitats for future generations.
Information about the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program is online at wsfrprograms.fws.gov.
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