Fish, Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation and Local Communities Benefit from Excise Tax Revenues

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt recently announced the disbursement of nearly $1 billion in excise taxes on hunting, shooting and fishing equipment and boat fuel to support conservation programs in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The funds generated by America's sportsmen and sportswomen will benefit Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to the tune of more than $112 million.

"Hunters, anglers, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and related industries play an important role in funding fish and wildlife management and access to the outdoors," said Amy Lueders, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director. "The millions of dollars of annual funding generated by their equipment and motorboat fuel purchases directly support activities that ensure the high-quality fishing and hunting opportunities offered in the Southwest and across the nation will be available for years to come."

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program administered by the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service has long been considered the foundation of fish and wildlife conservation in the United States. In FY 2020, Arizona will receive $24,366,806, New Mexico will receive $18,607,442, Oklahoma will receive $23,904,485 and Texas will receive $46,013,307 to support critical state conservation and outdoor recreation projects.

Additionally, these states will receive State Wildlife Grants (SWG) to develop and implement programs that benefit wildlife and their habitats, including nongame and rare species that are not hunted or fished. Of these SWG funds, Arizona will receive $1,323,052, New Mexico will receive $885,514, Oklahoma will receive $792,710 and Texas will receive $2,627,994 in FY 2020.

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration funds are authorized by Congress through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and Dingell-Johnson/Wallop-Breaux Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act. To date, the Service has distributed more than $22.9 billion in apportionments for state conservation and recreation projects nationwide, and the recipient state wildlife agencies have matched these funds with approximately $7.6 billion throughout the years, primarily through hunting and fishing license revenues.

State-by-state listings of the Service's final apportionments of Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration and State Wildlife Grant funds for the Fiscal Year 2020 and more information about the WSFR program are online.