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USSA Testifies Before U.S. Congress on National Wildlife Refuge

Washington, DC - America's premier sportsmen's rights organization, the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) testified yesterday before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on issues identified by a recent independent evaluation concerning the National Wildlife Refuge. This was the fourth time this year that USSA has been asked to offer its expertise to Congress on issues of importance to sportsmen.

The USSA identified four major areas of concern to sportsmen including:

* The need for new guidelines that ensure the importance of wildlife management programs within the Refuge System;

* The need to guarantee that hunting and fishing are to be the last programs impacted by any budget shortfalls;

* The need to make certain that land purchases for the Refuge System match the priorities established by wildlife management professionals;

* The need to develop a new way of funding public land management in an era of stretched resources.

The testimony was provided by USSA Director of Federal Affairs William P. Horn, a former Assistant Secretary for the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

Horn concluded his testimony by stating: "We need to assist the Service in making the most efficient use of these resources while working to develop a new funding model to assure that sufficient funds are available to ensure sound conservation, management, and use of our incomparable Wildlife Refuges."

The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen's organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

Media Contact:
Greg R. Lawson (614) 888-4868 ext. 214 or Sharon Hayden (614) 888-4868 ext. 226