NSSF (The Firearm Industry Trade Association), in partnership with TenPoint Crossbow Technologies, Archery Trade Association, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has released another film in the “Partner With a Payer” series — a collection of videos highlighting the importance of wildlife conservation and management. The latest video, “Conservation Success at the Crossroads of Collaboration,” highlights the work being done to continue providing public access to target ranges, hunting opportunities and other outdoor experiences within the United States.
To fund these conservation efforts, companies such as archery manufacturers pay an excise tax established by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act). These excise taxes have contributed and distributed more than $16.4 billion (over $25 billion when adjusted for inflation) to individual states, so they can fund important wildlife conservation and hunter-education programs and target shooting and public target range development programs.
Peter Novotny, deputy chief, Ohio Division of Wildlife, explained how these funds greatly benefit the public and the environment in many ways: “We use this money and combine that with our funds we receive from hunting and fishing license dollars, and that allows us to fund wildlife research and better understand how wildlife populations are adapting to an ever changing environment — it gives us an opportunity to have healthy wildlife populations.”
Representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Archery Trade Association and USFWS came together to tour the TenPoint facility in Mogadore, Ohio, where they learned what it takes to generate the excise tax revenues supporting wildlife populations across the country. Throughout the tour, state and federal agency staff discussed specific projects and key instances where funds provided opportunities for the public to hunt, target shoot and enjoy the diverse wildlife in the United States.
“One of the keys to selling crossbows is having a good healthy population of animals for hunters to go out and hunt,” said Phil Bednar, president and CEO of TenPoint. “We feel comfortable and confident that the excise tax dollars are helping keep healthy deer herds out there across the United States.”
TenPoint directly contributes to the funding of wildlife habitat and conservation, as well as the creation of public target shooting ranges and archery facilities. Visiting their facility allowed stakeholders within the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation the chance to talk about each organization’s role and how it contributes to the success of the system — emphasizing how critical every partner is to the continuation of wildlife conservation and management efforts for years to come.
This project was funded by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program.
