Mississippi’s federal share nearly $15 million

State gets $10.7 million in Wildlife Restoration and $4.2 million in Sport Fish Restoration funds

Mississippi will receive nearly $15 million for its share of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s distribution of $1.1 billion in revenues generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration acts, the USFWS announced Monday.

The Magnolia State gets $10,729,644 in wildlife revenue and $4,209,449 in fishing revenue for a total of $14,939,093 to be used by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to fund its state programs.

The funding, which supports critical state environmental conservation and recreation projects throughout the nation, derives from excise taxes paid by the hunting, boating and angling industries on firearms, bows and ammunition (Pittman-Robertson), and sportfishing tackle, some boat engines and small engine fuel (Dingell-Johnson).

The dollars are distributed to states based on a formula that includes hunting and fishing license sales and land/water acreage.

As a comparison in the south, Tennessee received $26.8 million, Florida $24.3 Million, Alabama $23.7 million, Louisiana $20.8 million, and Arkansas $17.3 million. The highest contributions went to Texas at $50.2 million and California $40.2.

“State wildlife agencies play an essential role in the conservation of America’s wildlife, while also generating billions of dollars for the nation’s economy through increased hunting and fishing opportunities,” said USFWS Director Dan Ashe. “It’s fitting that those very sporting activities help sustain wildlife, their habitats and the agencies that manage them. Our role in administering these funds reflects our long-standing partnership with the states across a broad spectrum of wildlife conservation issues.”

Since the programs inceptions, the USFWS has distributed over $18 billion to the states, which have in turn matched those funds with over $5 billion in wildlife/fishing revenues.

The federal funding provides state agencies with the bulk of their annual budgets. By law, those dollars cannot be used for any other purpose, or states not only face forfeiture of its future participation but also the USFWS reserves the right to seek a return of past contributions.

Mississippi has used its wildlife funding in the past for many worthwhile projects including establishing and maintaining Wildlife Management Areas, restocking wildlife, and enforcement.

Fishing projects include boating access (ramps, parking), state lakes, hatcheries and stockings.