Bill > HR0314

This resolution commends key stakeholders in the sport fishing and conservation community for their significant contributions to fish and wildlife preservation, highlighting the 75-year history of the Sport Fish Restoration Program. The resolution recognizes that hunters and anglers were early conservationists who recognized the need to protect natural resources from unregulated harvesting and habitat destruction, and who subsequently supported legal mechanisms to preserve fish and wildlife populations. Specifically, it celebrates how sportsmen and women advocated for special licensing fees, excise taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuels, and established state agencies to manage and protect aquatic resources. The resolution notes that this cooperative partnership between the sportfishing industry, anglers, boaters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and state natural resource agencies has created what is considered the most successful fisheries management model globally. It further emphasizes that since 1939, conservation efforts through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs have contributed over $78 billion, making it the most substantial conservation effort in American history, and commends these stakeholders for their role in restoring healthy fish and aquatic resource populations during the program's 75th anniversary year.

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=314&GAID=18&DocTypeID=HR&SessionID=114&GA=104