As a proud member of the Congressional
Sportsmen’s Caucus in the House, I am a strong advocate for the hunting,
fishing and conservation community.Florida’s sportsmen make
a tremendous economic contribution to our state.They spent an astounding $4.6 billion in 2001
alone which supported over 87,000 jobs for Floridians and supplied the State
with $2.2 billion in salaries and wages.In fact, with 38 million American sportsmen generating hundreds of
millions of dollars in taxes, my role facilitating federal legislation
affecting the outdoors and monitoring how taxes are spent and re-invested back
into the land and sporting activities is an important area of concern.
There are many pieces of
legislation before the 109th Congress that affect the great natural resources
abundant in Florida
and across the nation.One such bill, the
Voluntary Public Access and Habitat
Incentive Program Act, also known as the “Open Fields” bill introduced by
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, would provide federal funding to support voluntary, incentive-based
walk-in access programs administered by state fish and wildlife agencies.These state programs give private landowners
a financial incentive for providing hunting and fishing access to their
property while protecting them from liability and property damage.It also encourages landowners to improve the
fish and wildlife habitat on their property.These programs are extremely popular with landowners and with sportsmen,
but a lack of financial resources means that many states are unable to take
advantage of the offers by private landowners to enroll in their access
programs.
I have also worked with my colleagues
to support and pass legislation that protects Florida’s beautiful outdoors and abundant
wildlife resources. I co-sponsored H.
Res. 362, introduced by Rep. James Walsh, which recognizes the importance and
contributions of sportsmen to American society.The resolution highlighted the many economic benefits associated with
outdoor sporting activities, and the importance of encouraging the recruitment
of, and teaching the traditions of hunting, trapping, and fishing to, future
sportsmen.
As you can see, Congress has
been a strong supporter of your rights as sportsmen and outdoorsmen.I will continue to promote issues important
to hunters and fishermen in the U.S. House and will fight for your rights as
sportsmen and women.Should you ever
have any questions or concerns about federal legislation affecting Floridians,
please feel free to visit my website at http://brown-waite.house.gov.