SCI Celebrates Over $14.1 Billion to Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund
Safari Club International (SCI) is celebrating the news this week of the generating of over $14.1 billion in lifetime tax contributions to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund. Sportsmen and women across the country are proud of this massive contribution to conservation efforts.
Since the passage of the Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937 with the support of hunters, firearm and ammunition manufacturers have paid a 10 to 11 percent tax on production of firearms, ammunition, and other sporting equipment. This tax created the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund, or Pittman-Robertson Fund. Monies are then redistributed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to individual states for conservation initiatives and projects, resulting in countless contributions to public lands. This tax applies to all firearms and ammunition, regardless of use – meaning contributions to conservation come from hunting and shooting sports alike.
Conservation strategies across the country require participation and management, and this involvement leads to positive, sustainable results for habitat and wildlife. With anti-hunting and anti-Second Amendment opinion on the rise, it is important now more than ever to remember the contributions of the firearm industry, hunters, and sportsmen and women to conservation. Radical anti-gun policies not only infringe on the Second Amendment, but also reduce benefits to conservation by decreasing the Pittman-Robertson fund. This is why SCI is leading the fight against Biden’s nomination of David Chipman – a radical anti-gun lobbyist – to lead the ATF. Read more and join SCI in opposing Chipman and standing for proven conservation strategies here.
SCI will always stand for the rights of hunters across the country. The firearm industry, in addition to sportsmen and women, are the largest contributors to conservation, wildlife, and public land management. $14.1 billion speaks volumes: supporting gun rights is supporting American sportsmen and women, habitat protection, and ultimately, wildlife.
