Remarks for Steve Williams, USFWS Director U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Conference September 11, 2004 Columbus, Ohio

September 11, 2002

Thank you. It's an honor to be with you today. I appreciate your work and your proud heritage. I know that the Sportsmen=s Alliance has played a key role in dove hunting here in Ohio in addition to numerous other important initiatives around the nation; and that the establishment of your organization has been essential in sustaining the trapping tradition.

When I came on board as the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service three years ago, I found that I was repeating myself quite a bit. I told the public, I told our partners, and I told our employees B the agency must re-establish working relationships with its traditional partners, sportsmen. The role you play in conservation cannot be understated. Today, instead of repeating myself, instead of telling you all what you know you've been doing for the conservation of this country's wildlife resources, I'd like to tell you what we - the Fish and Wildlife Service - have been doing for you.

First and foremost, we've been working hard at providing first rate hunting and fishing opportunities by expanding programs on our lands, expanding personnel to oversee this priority, and increasing our outreach and education efforts.

• The Service continues to establish new hunting and fishing programs on National Wildlife Refuges across the country and expanding existing programs where compatible. The agency if fulfilling its commitment to offer hunting and fishing programs on units of its National Wildlife Refuge System ultimately enhancing access and opportunity for millions of Americans to enjoy their favorite outdoor traditions.


• Since 2001, we've established more than 60 new hunting and fishing programs to units of the refuge system in nearly two dozen states. Incidentally, in 2002, there were nearly two million hunting visits to our nation's wildlife refuges
• We have developed a training course at our National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia to educate outdoor recreation planners and public use specialists about the culture of hunting as well as on ways to safely and successfully administer hunting programs on refuges.
• In 2003, we successfully established and administered the first deer management hunt on the grounds of our training center in West Virginia.
• The Service will complete the fisheries program's strategic plan in March 2004, signaling the agency's commitment to support and strengthen recreational fishing, including fishing opportunities on national wildlife refuges. For example, the Service has been administering a very successful initiative called "Take Me Fishing on a National Wildlife Refuge." In 2002, 30 refuges hosted 132 fishing events, bringing more than 4,500 people to refuges to enjoy fishing.
• The refuge system now employees a Hunting and Fishing Coordinator and our Federal Aid office has hired a Hunter and Aquatic Education Coordinator

Secondly, the Administration's Fiscal Year 2005 budget request for the Service reflects significant increases on many of the programs we administer which yield direct benefits on fish and wildlife, and therefore hunters and anglers. For example:

• The FY05 request for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act is $54 million which is an increase of $16.5 million over the amount appropriated for this program in FY04. For every $1 made available to our state partners, conservation organizations, and private landowners, this public-private partnership program generates another $3 that is used to establish or enhance habitat benefitting waterfowl and many other wildlife species. This program has enjoyed strong support from the hunting conservation community since its inception nearly 15 years ago.
• The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund acquires migratory bird breeding, resting and wintering areas, with an emphasis on the nation's prairie pothole region. The President's budget request of $43.3 million includes a $1 million increase for next year's budget.
• The FY05 request for the North American Waterfowl Management Plan/Joint Ventures Program is $11.4 million, which is an increase of $1.2 million over the amount appropriated for this program in FY04. Joint ventures are the vehicles used to implement "on-the-ground" projects in response to the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
• The FY05 request for our Migratory Bird Program includes increases of $2.1 million for surveys and monitoring; $250,000 for webless and migratory game birds; and $655,000 for the Harvest Information Program. The information collected through our migratory bird program is crucial to the proper management of game bird populations and the development of migratory bird hunting seasons. For example, funding for the webless migratory game bird program will fund critical research on white-winged and mourning doves (the most heavily harvested game bird species) and woodcock, and the data collected through the harvest information program provides the Service with timely information on hunter activity and harvest.
• The FY05 budget request for National Fish Hatchery Operations and Maintenance is $57 million. This follows on the heels of a $4.6 million increase in FY04 over the FY03 appropriation. The NFH is important for providing opportunities for recreational anglers and helps the Service and its partners meet important mitigation responsibilities. Under this Administration, the Hatchery system has experienced some of the largest increases in many years.
• The Service's successful Fish Passage program later this summer will make available $2.8 million to remove 91 barriers to fish passage opening up vital fisheries habitat and access to spawning grounds in 24 states. Fisheries conservation partners will contribute another $2 million to the removal of those barriers. Since 1999 when this program was launched, fish access, natural flows, and temperature have been restored to 2,936 miles and 60,782 acres of habitat for trout, herring, striped bass, shad, sturgeon, salmon and other fish species. Over the past five years, over $8 million has been made available to remove barriers to fish passage.
• The Service carries out provisions of the Federal Aid Improvement Act ensuring that hunter and angler tax dollars dedicated to fish and wildlife conservation and management (approximately $607 million in FY05) are appropriately administered to the states. In fact, the Service established a new position, Assistant Director of Sportfish and Wildlife Restoration, to provide greater attention to the program. Since their inception, the federal aid in wildlife and sportfish restoration programs have provided more than $8.4 billion through the support of hunters and anglers to state fish and wildlife agencies for conservation.

Last but not least, we are working prodigiously with our sportsmen constituents to improve and increase access to public lands for their preferred recreation.

• A year ago, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and 17 sportsmen organizations to improve and maintain hunting and fishing access to federal lands. The agreement establishes a general framework for cooperation between government agencies and private organizations to improve access on Federally-managed public lands for hunters and anglers. In two weeks, I will be meeting with the signatories of this MOU to update them on our progress.
• The Service also signed an MOU with the Wheelin' Sportsmen organization that promotes improved hunting and fishing access on refuges for disabled outdoors enthusiasts.

These are just some of the things we've been doing for our sportsmen constituents.

Today, I find that I am still repeating myself - but this time, you may have noticed, it is the repetition of the word partnership. Conservation can only succeed with partnerships. The work the Service is doing to conserve healthy wildlife resources - on the ground, in the air, and in the water - is no exception. Success of wildlife conservation depends on the support of those who are equally invested in it. Naturally, this makes hunters and anglers among the Service's greatest partners, and I, for one, look forward to working together and furthering our mutual interests.

Thank you.