May 19, 2003

Paying The Way For Fish Conservation
by James L. Cummins

Have you ever thought about who pays for stocking bass in Ross Barnett Reservoir or Sardis Reservoir? What about the boat ramp on Lake Bolivar County or the Pascagoula River? What about the pier on McAlpine's Lake? Have you ever purchased a rod, a reel, a trolling motor or a tackle box? Well, if you have given the above some thought, you'll be glad, I hope, that you are the one footin' the bill. So, if you'll lay back in your La-Z-Boy, we'll look further into how your money is being spent. I hope you approve.

Every time you buy a piece of fishing equipment or gas for your outboard motor, a percentage of the money goes back into improving the sport we love - fishing. And it is done so through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program is a cooperative effort between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Its goal is to improve sport fishing and boating by using monies collected from an excise tax on anglers and boaters.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program was created with an Act called the Sport Fish Restoration Act.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program is a great example of a "user fee" program. In this case, anglers and boaters are the users. We pay fishing tackle excise taxes, motorboat fuel taxes and import duties on tackle and boats. These dollars are collected by the sport fishing industry and deposited in the Department of the Treasury. They are then distributed to State fishery agencies, such as the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, for sport fishery restoration and boating access projects.

The Sport Fish Restoration Account is governed by a permanent, automatic appropriation. All monies in the account are allocated to the state fishery agencies the year following collection. The USFWS allocates monies among states using the following formula: 1) 40 percent of the amount apportioned is based on the state's land and water area in relation to the total land and water area of the United States; 2) 60 percent of the amount apportioned is based on the number of paid sport fishing license holders in relation to all the paid fishing license holders in the United States.

Almost any sport fishery restoration, management or enhancement project is permissible. The state must demonstrate a substantial need to undertake a project that is technically sound and properly designed. Sport fisheries research and management activities, boating access and maintenance, aquatic resources education projects, lake construction and maintenance, land acquisition, technical assistance, planning, habitat enhancement, administration and hatchery construction are all allowable types of projects.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi