|
Washington, D.C.
- An ambitious agenda to address hunting, angling, and
conservation issues in state capitals across the country was
set into action this past weekend with the creation of the
National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses (NASC). The
establishment of the new organization was the highlight of a
three-day summit of conservation, industry and state
legislative leaders held near Ft. Worth,
Texas, Dec. 4-6. The official
launch of the NASC capped more than a year of planning by the
Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF), state legislators,
as well as industry and hunting and fishing groups. In
addition, more than a quarter of a million dollars of financial
support was committed at the event to ensure the success of the
NASC.
Twenty-three state legislators took part in the summit in Texas
to outline the mission, goals and objectives of the NASC as
well as to adopt by-laws and elect an Executive Council.
Elected to the Executive Council were: Senator John Astle
(D-MD) President, Senator Pat Pariseau (R-MN) Vice President,
Representative Dan Reitz (D-IL) Secretary, Representative
Baxter Troutman (R-FL) Treasurer, Representative Ray Allen
(R-TX), Representative Marc Gergely (D-PA), Senator Dennis
Hollingsworth (R-CA), Senator David Langhorst (D-ID), Senator
Michelle McManus (R-MI), and Senator Ruth Whitaker (R-AR).
Also participating in the summit were conservation and industry
executives from the American Sportfishing Association,
Comcast/Outdoor Life Network, Ducks Unlimited, Motorola,
National Marine Manufacturers Association, National Rifle
Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, National Wild
Turkey Federation, North American Hunting/Fishing Club, Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, Shimano,
The Outdoor Channel, Whitetails Unlimited, and a host of state
hunting and fishing organization representatives.
"It is obvious from the level of support and participation
of the hunting and fishing community, that everyone understands
the significance and potential of an organization such as the
NASC. Quite simply, we can have the best wildlife habitat
imaginable, and a record number of people who buy fishing and
hunting licenses, but it won't matter one bit if misguided laws
and regulations are made at the state level that negatively
impact our outdoor traditions or if no one is proactively
promoting a sportsmen's agenda in state legislatures,"
commented CSF Executive Director Melinda Gable. "Many of
the most important decisions affecting our outdoor traditions
are made by state legislators; the policies they craft, debate
and enact will impact every single individual who spends time
hunting, fishing, or trapping."
In the past three years since CSF began its state caucus
program there has been tremendous success by state sportsmen's
caucuses on initiatives ranging from new mourning dove hunting
seasons in Michigan
and Minnesota to
Sunday deer hunting in Maryland
to a no-net-loss of public hunting/fishing lands in Illinois.
But with the birth of the NASC there is now something even more
powerful than a sportsmen's caucus in every state - there is a
network of state caucuses working together, sharing
information, duplicating pro-sportsmen's legislation from one
state to the next, and being on the look out and learning from
anti-sportsmen's efforts in one state that might appear in
another state.
"Efficient and focused communication between state
government, industry, sportsmen's organizations and the
conservation community has never been more important than it is
today," said Maryland Senator John Astle, President of the
NASC's Executive Council. "Many critical issues impacting
sportsmen, fish and wildlife resources and firearms ownership
will be debated at the state level in the coming years and this
new organization will be at the heart of those discussions
representing the interests of sportsmen and the friends of
sportsmen."
The National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses will assist in
the formation of new sportsmen's caucuses and will provide the
venue for focused interaction and idea exchange among state
caucus leaders, sportsmen's groups, industry, media and other
potential partners. State legislators unanimously agreed that
the creation of NASC would greatly enhance their efforts by
allowing new and existing sportsmen's caucuses to share their
experiences working on sportsmen's issues.
"State sportsmen's caucuses like the one we have in
Minnesota have made significant strides in just a few short
years, but we have needed a coordinating body to fully
implement the vision of a national network of state
sportsmen-legislators," said Minnesota Senator Pat
Pariseau, who was elected as the Vice President of NASC's
Executive Council. "The establishment of the National
Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses lays the foundation for our
future efforts to promote and protect the interests of
sportsmen and women in the halls of state government."
The effort to build a network of state sportsmen's caucuses
began in 2002 when the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation
facilitated a program to establish new caucuses and strengthen
existing ones. After 15 years of success working with the
Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus to provide a powerful and
effective voice for sportsmen in Washington,
DC, CSF decided to work with
state legislators to carry the model down to state government.
With the formation of the NASC, sportsmen and women as well as
the industry that supports them now have more than 1,500
legislators in 21 states that have banded together to protect
and promote their interests. The number of state caucuses and
legislators belonging to those caucuses is expected to jump to
25 states and more than 2,000 legislators by early 2005.
"While there are 435 members of the U.S. House of
Representatives and 100 members of the U.S. Senate, there are
7,342 members of state legislatures. And last year, some 2,800
bills impacting hunting and fishing were introduced in state
legislatures across the country - a 50% increase from
2003," stated Doug Painter, President of the National
Shooting Sports Foundation the primary sponsor of the meeting
in Texas. "These initiatives are every bit as important to
hunters, shooters, trappers and fishermen as issues debated in
the U.S. Congress and often move at a much faster pace. A state
sportsmen's caucus, armed with factual information from a
central source of information, will provide a new and effective
voice for sportsmen on the state level."
|
