CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN’S FOUNDATION

[larrymeyer]

CONGRESSIONAL SPORTSMEN’S FOUNDATION
110 North Carolina Ave., Washington, DC 20003

PRESS RELEASE
All Media: For Immediate Release
December 21, 2007
Contact Allan Ellis, Director of Communications
allan@sportsmenslink.org or 202-543-6850 extension 19


Sportsmen’s Caucus Leaders
Address Firearms and Conservation Issues

Washington, DC – In the waning hours of the first session of the 110th Congress, dedicated lawmakers of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus were still addressing critical sportsmen’s issues. Second amendment issues and far-reaching conservation issues were tackled by Members in a letter and by comments entered into the Congressional Record.

Firearms Prohibitions on Federal Public Lands

The bi-partisan Senate leadership of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, along with 43 of their colleagues took a stand for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens in a recent letter to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

The Senators requested that the policy prohibiting law-abiding citizens from transporting or carrying firearms on lands controlled by the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service be amended to conform to other federal land management agencies that allow citizens to transport their firearms on public lands.

“Law-abiding gun owners face inconsistencies in firearms regulations that are confusing, burdensome and unnecessary when it comes to transporting and carrying their firearms on and through National Park Service lands and National Wildlife Refuges,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairman, Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). “My Senate colleagues and I support an exception to the prohibition in accordance with our citizen’s Second Amendment rights.”

“Once again, the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus has taken command of an issue that denies honest sportsmen their rights under the Second Amendment’” commented Jeff Crane, President of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “We applaud their leadership.”

USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) African Conservation

After a compromise on language that threatened to deny funding for African conservation programs supported by hunting appeared in the ‘omnibus’ spending bill passed by both houses was reached, Sportsmen’s Caucus leaders in the both the House and Senate entered their remarks into the Congressional Record.

Rep. Dan Boren’s (D-OK) remarks stated that the benefit to Africa through the USAID conservation projects “…significantly reduces poaching, and creates incentives for local inhabitants to perpetuate biodiversity on hundreds of millions of acres…”

“In twenty-three African countries that allow licensed, regulated hunting, approximately 18,500 hunters generate over $200 million annually in remote rural areas.”

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said “Tourist hunting has proven to be a valuable tool to conserve wildlife and habitat and has contributed to the survival of the African elephant, white and black rhino, leopard, markhor, argali and other species.”

“…hunting organizations …have a vested interest in promoting the welfare of wildlife and they provide countless resources that eliminate human suffering and improve livelihoods in remote areas of the world by conserving wildlife, growing local economies, and reducing poverty.”

Jeff Crane, President of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and a former Professional Hunter in Africa said, “I have seen first-hand the contributions that hunters’ dollars make to the propagation of many species and to tribal economies. The CSF and the Caucus will be vigilant on this issue.”

About the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation
CSF is the most respected and trusted hunting and fishing organization in the political arena. With support from every major hunting and fishing organization, CSF is the leader in promoting sportsmen's issues with elected officials. CSF works directly with the bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus in the U.S. Congress, as well as affiliated state sportsmen's caucuses in state legislatures around the country. www.sportsmenslink.org.

Word Documents and a PDF of the Letter and Remarks are available upon request.

Allan Ellis
Director of Communications
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
110 North Carolina Ave., SE
Washington, DC 20003
202-543-6850 Extension 19