Outdoor recreation

My thanks go to Sen. John Boozman for supporting the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), which recently passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Senator Boozman is a co-sponsor of the bill and serves on the committee.

As the vice president and general manager of PRADCO Fishing, proudly located in Fort Smith, I believe that Arkansas has some of the best outdoor recreation opportunities in the country. I’m especially encouraged by the number of Americans who have recently taken to sportfishing, and I am hopeful that this number will continue to grow.

Despite the exceptional recreational opportunities we have in the state, we must make every effort to ensure that fish and wildlife are conserved for future generations. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act does exactly that, dedicating $1.4 billion annually to state and tribal wildlife agencies to help conserve at-risk species.

Some of the money in the bill goes toward funding the congressionally mandated, but severely underfunded, State Wildlife Action Plans, which work to conserve at-risk fish and wildlife. The plans help ensure that conservation decisions are rooted in sound science and are made at the grass-roots level by those who best know the species. The bill is also a jobs creator and is estimated to create between 23,800 and 33,600 conservation jobs annually.

The only way to ensure that the number of anglers continues to expand is by increasing efforts to conserve public waters and ensure that fish populations remain sustainable. This bill will do just that. It now goes to the full Senate for a vote, and I am optimistic that it will become law.

Thanks, once again, to Senator Boozman for supporting this important piece of legislation and for standing up for conservation and outdoor recreation.

BRUCE STANTON

Fort Smith