A History of Restoring the Nation's Wildlife

On the Brink of Extinction
By the 1900s, wildlife in this country was in disastrous straits, with many species teetering on the brink of extinction. The destruction of habitat, industrialization and the over-exploitation of certain animals caused a significant decline in the population of many species. Most fish and wildlife agencies were operating on shoestring budgets without funds for basic research needs, habitat acquisition, or wildlife restoration programs. Taking a back seat to economic prosperity, wildlife was rapidly fading from America's landscape.

First Steps toward Conservation
In 1900, the first federal legislative step to save wildlife was taken with the Lacey Act. This legislation was designed to curb the large-scale marketing of wildlife by prohibiting the interstate transportation of game killed in violation of state law. Then, mostly as the result of the relentless efforts of a group of sportsmen and conservationists who were also leaders in business, politics, and science, additional legislation was passed in swift succession.

Saving the Bird Population
In 1916, the United States concluded an international convention with Great Britain (for Canada) for the protection of migratory birds, including waterfowl, and two years later Congress enacted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to implement the convention. In 1929, the Norbeck-Andreson Migratory Bird Conservation Act authorized the acquisition of federal waterfowl refuges. Finally, in 1934, the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act was passed, the first federal statute to create a fund exclusively for wildlife conservation. It required an annual one-dollar hunting stamp fee from waterfowl hunters, the proceeds of which were to be used to acquire and manage federal waterfowl refuges.

Advances in Conservation
By 1936, conservationists could look back with some satisfaction on the federal action taken to save America's wildlife, particularly migratory birds. But it was not nearly enough to stem the trend of decline. Countless other species were still in dire trouble, and funding on the state level was precarious, with budgetary priorities taking precedence over the needs of dwindling wildlife populations. Even state hunting license fees were regularly being diverted to uses other than wildlife conservation, leaving fledgling state fish and wildlife agencies at the mercy of political patronage. In fact, at the time, the entire management of wildlife was largely a political affair, with hunting seasons set by state legislatures and staff handpicked by politicians. The science of wildlife management was non-existent.

Faced with this crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt convened the first North American Wildlife Conference in February 1936 "to promote a conservation program of national and international character" that all parties could support. At the meeting, conservationists struggled to develop ways to finance wildlife restoration efforts in the states.

A Good Idea Gets Better, Despite Setbacks
When the conference convened a second time in March 1937, participants recalled a recommendation made in 1925 by a committee of the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commissioners (now the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies or IAFWA) WEB SITE to fund the proposed federal waterfowl refuge system. The committee had recommended that the existing 10% excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition be diverted from the general treasury to fund the purchase of waterfowl refuges. The original1925 proposal didn't go far, because Congress shortly thereafter repealed all excise taxes. However, by 1932 excise taxes were again back on the books to help pay the country's bills during the Depression. At the North American Wildlife Conference in 1937, the idea of earmarking excise taxes paid by hunters for the conservation of wildlife resurfaced.

But conservationists had to act fast to keep the idea's implementation on course. Once again Congress signaled its intention to repeal all excise taxes. It was a monumental task to win the support of the states, the conservation community, and the firearms industry in order to keep the sporting arms and ammunition excise tax in place to support wildlife restoration.

Support Groups for Conservation
Fortunately, the groundwork for a nationwide program had already been laid. The firearms industry had been a supporter of the idea from the start. In fact, John Burnham, President of the firearms industry-supported American Game Protective Association (today known as the Wildlife Management Institute), was a leading member of the IAFWA committee that offered the original excise tax proposal in 1925.

Once the 1937 North American Wildlife Conference adjourned, Carl Shoemaker, the Secretary of the Senate Special Committee on the Conservation of Wildlife Resources, quickly drafted the proposed legislation. In less than three months, the firearms industry, conservationists, and state wildlife agencies had all rallied around the bill.

Apportionments for Wildlife Restoration
The legislation provided for the earmarking of revenues from the excise taxes on sporting arms and ammunition to a Wildlife Restoration Fund. The revenues, amounting to some $3 million per year at the time, would be appropriated by Congress for distribution to the states annually based on the number of paid hunting license holders and the land area in each state. Every three dollars of federal money allocated for approved wildlife restoration projects would be matched by one dollar of state funds.

Shoemaker enlisted the support and sponsorship of the bill from two Democrats, Senator Key Pittman from Nevada and Representative A. Willis Robertson (later a U.S. Senator) from Virginia. Before the bill was introduced, Congressman Robertson made a key addition to the legislation, guaranteeing the effectiveness of the program into the next century.

Ensuring Success in Funding State Wildlife Programs
With wisdom gained from his years as chairman of the Virginia Game Commission, Robertson inserted 29 words intended to remove politics from state wildlife restoration efforts: ..."and which shall include a prohibition against the diversion of license fees paid by hunters for any other purpose than the administration of said State fish and game department..."

Robertson made sure that in order to receive the revenue from the federal program, states would have to pass legislation pledging not to divert hunting license revenue from their wildlife agencies. This provided the state wildlife agencies with an untouchable and guaranteed source of revenue to match with federal dollars. State wildlife agencies could now dispense with the budgetary politics of state government and get on with the business of restoring wildlife.

Wildlife Restoration Becomes Federal Law
On June 20, 1937, Senator Pittman introduced Senate Bill 2670 into the 75th Congress, and 17 days later, Congressman Robertson introduced the identical House Bill 7681. Both bills quickly passed through committee.

Though the legislation was supported enthusiastically by both Democrats and Republicans, some legislators were concerned that states' rights might be jeopardized if the federal government became involved in state wildlife restoration efforts. Fortunately, their fears were allayed and the bill survived intact. It even made it past the objections of the Bureau of Budget which recommended that President Roosevelt veto the bill on the grounds that it established an earmarked fund which limited the ability of the President and Congress to review and authorize expenditures. To his credit, on September 2, 1937, President Roosevelt maintained his support of the Wildlife Restoration Program (WRP) and signed the bill into law.

The core elements of Public Law 75415, The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also referred to as the Pittman-Robertson or P-R Act), have proven remarkably durable over the years, with some amendments by Congress to become more effective and expansive in scope.

Putting the Wheels of Restoration in Motion
Though the states supported the WRP from the beginning, during World War II they had neither the hunting license receipts nor the labor force available to take full advantage of the Program. By 1951 nearly $13.5 million of revenues from tax receipts sat idle in the Wildlife Restoration Fund, unappropriated by Congress for apportionment to the states. Once that the war was over, however, states were equipped with the resources and revenue from booming sales of hunting licenses to make the most of the available funds.

To streamline the appropriation process, states and conservation groups pressured Congress to add language to the FY 1951 Appropriations Act to give the WRP a "permanent-indefinite appropriation status." From that time forward, all funds were automatically made available to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for apportionment to the state wildlife agencies.

In a final settling of accounts, Congress authorized the appropriation of the $13.5 million surplus to the states in five equal and annual installments with the passage of the Bible-Price-Young bill (Public Law 375) in 1955. These added dollars were awarded over and above each state's annual WRP appropriations. Additionally, by 1954, the excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition had been raised to 11%.

More Revenue for Wildlife Restoration
In 1970, a new source of revenue was added to the Wildlife Restoration Program. H.R. 12475, introduced in the 91st Congress, was designed to encourage comprehensive planning by state fish and wildlife departments, increase the revenues available for wildlife restoration, and provide funds to support hunter education programs. The legislation reallocated the receipts from the existing excise tax on pistols and revolvers from the general treasury to the WRP. The revenue from this tax totaled $1.8 million to $4.7 million annually from 1964 to 1969. One-half of the revenues from this new funding source were to be made available for hunter education programs and the construction and maintenance of public target ranges in addition to other approved wildlife restoration projects. The other half was designated for wildlife restoration efforts.

However, passage of this bill, which eventually became Public Law 91-503, did not come without opposition. The Department of Treasury felt that earmarking tax revenues introduced "undesirable rigidities into the budgetary process," thus limiting the flexibility of the President and Congress to determine budgetary priorities. The Treasury Department also felt the legislation violated the principle that earmarked taxes should benefit those who pay them. Nevertheless, on October 23, 1970 President Nixon signed the bill into law.

Archery Contributes its Share
Two years later, almost to the day, the manufacturers of archery equipment took unprecedented action to support the WRP. No excise tax existed on archery equipment and components at the time; however, largely due to the efforts of Fred Bear of Bear Archery, archery manufacturers gave the nod to a new 11% tax on archery equipment. With the enactment of Public Law 92-558 on October 25, 1972, an estimated $2 million per year was to be deposited into the Wildlife Restoration Fund. Half of the revenue was designated for wildlife restoration while the other half could include hunter education projects and target range development. In June 1974, Public Law 93-313 deferred the effective date of this new tax to January 1, 1975.