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Sportsmen and Wildlife...
More than just pastimes in the West – fishing and hunting are a way of life.
And public lands provide the fish, wildlife and waters that sustain this tradition, put food on the table for many families, and support locally owned businesses.
Every year sportsmen pump vital dollars into local economies:
- 30 million U.S. residents went fishing in 2006, spending nearly $42.2 billion on equipment, licenses and travel.
- Hunters spend $11.8 billion a year on chasing after big game like deer and elk.
- Anglers spend an average of $1.1 billion per year on bait alone – that's twice as much as Americans spend annually on ski equipment.
- Hunting generates more than $1.3 billion annually in personal wages and salaries in 11 Western states.
But unsustainable development is jeopardizing this way of life
In the past decade, industrial infrastructure has sprawled across the West – littering once prized hunting grounds and blue-ribbon streams with mines, roads, pipelines, drill rigs and well pads.
America's Wildlife Heritage Act will help BLM and Forest Service land managers determine lands suitable for development and what lands should be prized for their fish and game, and make sure that lands where development is taking place are managed wisely by accounting for wildlife. Learn more about the legislation >>