SENATE
                           Final Reading
                        May 9, 2012Second Regular Session
              Sixty-eighth General Assembly
                    STATE OF COLORADO
                                                  ENGROSSED
                                                           
                                                           
 LLS NO. R12-0922.01 Kiki Miller x4349            SJR12-038
                   SENATE SPONSORSHIP
 Tochtrop, 
 
                    HOUSE SPONSORSHIP
 Soper, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Senate Committees
 House Committees
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                  SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12-038 
       Concerning the 75th anniversary of Wildlife and Sport Fish
            Restoration Programs.
       
       
            WHEREAS, More than a century ago, hunters, anglers, and
       trappers were among the first conservationists who realized America's
       natural resources were in peril and could not sustain unregulated harvest
       and habitat destruction; and
       
            WHEREAS, Hunters, anglers, and trappers took it upon
       themselves to support laws that stopped excessive harvest of fish and
       wildlife, established game and fish agencies to protect fish, wildlife, and
       their habitats, and supported special fishing and hunting license fees to
       help fund efforts to provide healthy natural resources for future
       generations; and
       
            WHEREAS, Upon realizing that license fees alone were
       insufficient to restore and sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations,
       hunters, anglers, and trappers supported excise taxes on firearms,
       ammunition, and archery, hunting, and fishing equipment to raise
       additional funds to support restoration and enhancement efforts of state
       agencies; and
       
            WHEREAS, This user-pay, public-benefit system became known
       as the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs that began 75 years
       ago with the passage of the "Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of
       1937", which was bolstered with the passage of the "Federal Aid in Sport
       Fish Restoration Act of 1950" and further expanded with the passage of
       the Wallop-Breaux amendment to the "Federal Aid in Sport Fish and
       Restoration Act of 1950" in 1984; and
       
            WHEREAS, The combined contribution of the Wildlife and Sport
       Fish Restoration Programs to state fish and wildlife agencies exceeds $13
       billion since the first year money was distributed to the states in 1939,
       more than any other single conservation effort in American history, which
       constitute, collectively, the American system of conservation funding; and
       
            WHEREAS, Colorado has received over $340 million in
       conservation funding since the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration
       Programs' inception; and
       
            WHEREAS, The manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and
       hunting, fishing, and boating equipment have collected excise taxes on
       firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, manufactured fishing tackle,
       electric trolling motors, marine electronics, and motorboat fuel and
       distributed these funds to the states through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
       Service; and
       
            WHEREAS, The manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and
       hunting, fishing, and boating equipment have supported the Wildlife and
       Sport Fish Restoration Programs and continue to exhibit a spirit of
       cooperation with the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife; and
       
            WHEREAS, The cooperative partnership between industry,
       hunters, anglers, trappers, boaters, recreational shooters, the U.S. Fish and
       Wildlife Service, and state natural resource agencies has resulted in the
       most successful model of fish and wildlife management in the world,
       restoring populations from coast to coast; now, therefore,
       
            Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-eighth General Assembly
       of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
            That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, hereby:
       
            (1)  Recognize that the primary authority to protect and manage
       fish and wildlife in Colorado resides in the Colorado Division of Parks
       and Wildlife; and
       
            (2)  Recognize Colorado hunters, anglers, trappers, boaters,
       recreational shooters, and industry, the Colorado Division of Parks and
       Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their leading role in
       restoring healthy populations of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources,
       both game and nongame, to the abundance we see today through the
       Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs, in this the 75th anniversary
       year of America's greatest conservation effort, supported by the American
       system of conservation funding.
       
            Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent
       to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the Colorado Division
       of Parks and Wildlife, the members of the Colorado Congressional
       Delegation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.