The Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 (Great Read)

[Mikey]

From the blog of Food For Hunters
Did you know...



The Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937




Sportsmen
contribute $7.5 million every day, adding to more than $2.7 billion
every year for conservation. This tax is only levied against those who
buy hunting gear, such as guns and ammunition. This is probably one of
the only, if not the only group of citizens, who asked to be taxed by
the Federal government, just to restore our wildlife populations.




That
in 1900, it was estimated that less than 1/2 million white-tailed deer
remained in the United States. Today, through funds from the
Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, conservation programs have returned the
white-tail population to some 32 million deer.














In
1901, few ducks remained. Today, there are over 44 million ducks
populating the United States and Canada, thanks to state wildlife
agencies and groups like Ducks Unlimited.














In
1907, only about 41,000 elk could be counted in the United States.
Today, with help from state wildlife agencies and conservation groups
such as The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, elk populations in 23 states
total approximately 1 million.
















By
the early 1900's, encroaching civilization and habitat loss had
reduced the wild turkey population to under 100,000. Today,
conservation programs, such as The National Wild Turkey Federation,
working hand in hand with state wildlife agencies, have restored the
population to more than 7 million birds.




















Only
about 50 years ago, the total pronghorn population in the United
States was only about 12,000. Today, conservation programs have helped
increase the population to more than one million.