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Sportsmen Applaud Presidential Order to Promote Hunting

(Washington, D.C.) – An Executive Order issued by the President of the United States will spell more hunting opportunities and enhanced conservation efforts, according to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the nation’s premier sportsmen’s rights advocacy organization. 

Today, President George W. Bush released the order, entitled “Facilitation of Hunting and Wildlife Conservation.” It directs all relevant federal agencies to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities, wildlife management and habitat.

“The Executive Order is a great milestone for sportsmen and wildlife conservation,” said Bud Pidgeon, president and CEO of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. “It clearly demonstrates that the President understands the unbreakable bond between successful wildlife conservation and hunting - that sportsmen are the key to abundant wildlife and habitat.”

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance proposed that the White House issue an Executive Order on hunting early in President Bush’s first term, and again in 2007. The order, number 13,443, directs federal agencies that manage public land, outdoor recreation and wildlife management to:

• Address declining trends and implement actions that expand and enhance hunting opportunities 

• Consider the economic and recreational value of hunting

• Manage wildlife and habitat in a manner that expands and enhances hunting opportunities

• Work collaboratively with states to manage wildlife in a manner that respects private property rights and state authority over wildlife

• Establish goals with the states to foster healthy game populations

“The order gives federal agencies a clear-cut directive that they work to increase hunting opportunities with state wildlife agencies,” said Pidgeon. “It will result in more resources directed at preserving the future of hunting and greater access to public land. The President is to be commended.”  

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization 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 .