The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports Joins 54 Other Hunt Fish 30×30 Organizations to Submit Formal Recommendations to the Biden Administration Concerning the “America the Beautiful” Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C) – Yesterday, the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS)  joined 54 other members of the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition to submit a set of formal recommendations for the Biden Administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative, also referred to as “Thirty by Thirty.” The recommendations highlight several priorities of the sporting-conservation community as they relate to the development of the Administration’s forthcoming American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas  which will serve as a measure of conservation and restoration progress to date. 

The recommendations submitted to President Biden’s interagency working group reflect the priorities first outlined in the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition’s “Hunting and Fishing Community Statement on the 30×30 Initiative” that was developed in response to “Thirty by Thirty” legislation introduced at the state level in 2020. In the statement, which has currently been signed by sixty-six sporting-conservation organizations, the Coalition highlights the important role that sportsmen and women have played in the conservation of fish, wildlife, and natural ecosystems in the United States. Recognizing this history of conservation successes, the current recommendations present an opportunity to advance pragmatic, successful conservation efforts while recognizing many existing efforts that have, to date, been largely overlooked relative to this initiative.

“The Council is thrilled to see this initiative moving forward, as it will have long term positive impacts on our nation’s wild places and wild things,” states Dr. Steven Leath, Executive Director of the Council.  

These recommendations were designed to provide an initial framework as the Administration’s interagency working group begins developing the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas.
Key priorities of the recommendations include:

• Clearly defining “conservation” to support the active management and sustainable use of our nation’s public trust fish and wildlife resources. 
• Collaborating closely with entities devoted to achieving measurable biodiversity conservation objectives, including:
  • State fish and wildlife management agencies, 
  • Regional fish and wildlife management bodies, 
  • Members of the sporting-conservation community, 
  • The more than 500 federally recognized Native American tribes, and 
  • Private landowners through voluntary, incentive-based opportunities. 
• Recognizing and including all efforts directly contributing to biodiversity conservation in the forthcoming American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, including those on lands subject to multiple uses.

About the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports

Purpose: Ensure support for and active participation in hunting and the shooting sports for future generations.

Vision: America where hunting and the shooting sports are an integral part of mainstream culture and where hunters and shooters are widely recognized as premiere conservation contributors.

Mission: Facilitate the promotion and growth of hunting and the shooting sports and the education of the public on the contributions that hunters and shooters make towards wildlife conservation.