NATIONWIDE

There’s some good news on the national front. The Sport Fish Restoration and Recreational Boating Safety Act of 2020 passed Congress with a nonpartisan 80-17 vote to become law. This bill provides a budget for several goals, including fisheries conservation and management, water and boating infrastructure, and recreational boating safety. Funding comes through federal excise taxes on recreational fishing equipment and boat fuel taxes.

And the recently signed Great American Outdoors Act will provide up to $1.9 billion annually for up to five years to create outdoor recreation opportunities, unlock public land access, and expand public access for fishing and other forms of outdoor recreation, as well as address the maintenance backlog on National Park Service, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management lands.

Finally, NOAA’s office of National Marine Sanctuaries serves as the trustee for a network of underwater parks encompassing more than 600,000 square miles of marine and Great Lakes waters from Washington state to the Florida Keys, and from Lake Huron to American Samoa. The network includes a system of 14 national marine sanctuaries and the Papahãnaumokuãkea and Rose Atoll marine national monuments. A variety of activities, including fishing, diving, paddling and more are permitted in marine sanctuaries. For additional information, visit sanctuaries.noaa.gov.