Financial Returns To Industry From The Federal Aid - Wildlife and ...

Taken together, investing in Conservation, access to the resources, and recruitment of
the next generation of sportsmen through your excise taxes has paid huge dividends for
the hunting and shooting-sports industries for well over 70 years. Beyond simply
highlighting the multitudes of good projects supported through the years, this report
demonstrates the financial return that investment into the Wildlife Restoration excise
taxes brings to your industry.
Then and Now
The “Then and Now” section of this report illustrates how dire wildlife conservation was
a mere 100 years ago. It further shows the success of programs that are currently in
place across the nation. The “Now” portion of that section reflects these dividends. The
hunting and shooting-sports industries, and the hunting opportunities, are the byproducts
of abundant, sustainable wildlife populations that result from long-term
investments in Conservation.
Overview of the Wildlife Restoration Program
The Wildlife Restoration Program is often called one of the most successful userpays/user-benefits
programs in the world. Industry, through its payment of dedicated
excise taxes, provides the foundation for wildlife management programs, which in turn
benefit hunters who purchase equipment from those same manufacturers. In 2009,
wildlife-related companies provided $484,765,728 for the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration fund from the sale of firearms, archery equipment and ammunition.
What Items Are Taxed?
A complete list of items currently subject to the manufacturer‟s excise tax is found in
Appendix A. In general, these items are used predominately by hunters, and shooting
enthusiasts. While numerous changes have been made to the items taxed and the
various tax rates on specific items, for the most part the core list of items taxed has not
changed substantially since originally being implemented.
Restoration Programs: Unique, Protected and Strong
The Wildlife Restoration Program contains several ingenious provisions that are rarely
found in federal legislation. For example, the act establishing this program captures an
excise tax that was already being paid by manufacturers and applies it directly to
programs that benefit recreational hunting and shooting activities and industries. In
addition, two other provisions deserve mention.
The “permanent appropriation” language, now incorporated into the act, is also unique.
This concept, originally included in Wildlife Restoration‟s sister program, the Sport Fish
Restoration Program, was so objectionable to politicians that they convinced then-
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