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8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This resolution recognizes the impact Utah's sportsmen and sportswomen have on our
11 state's natural resources and economy.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 ▸ urges Congress to protect and enhance federal lands for Utah's sportsmen and
15 sportswomen to advance the goals of hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and
16 others; and
17 ▸ urges Congress to respect the historic and current use of Utah's public land by sportsmen
18 and sportswomen, support the time-honored Utah traditions of hunting and angling, the
19 very backbone of conservation, and respect the administration of wildlife conservation
20 through the sound science delivered by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and
21 science-based policies developed by the Utah Wildlife Board.
22 Special Clauses:
23 None
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25 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26 WHEREAS, Utah has a rich and storied culture of hunting, fishing, trapping, and
27 recreational shooting that dates back further than the state itself and carries forward to this day;
28 WHEREAS, Utah's sportsmen and sportswomen were among the first conservationists
29 to support the establishment of a wildlife management agency, now referred to as the Utah
30 Division of Wildlife Resources, to conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats;
31 WHEREAS, through their license fees, Utah's sportsmen and sportswomen helped fund
32 state efforts to provide for multiple uses of healthy and sustainable natural resources;
33 WHEREAS, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and
34 sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations, sportsmen and sportswomen supported
35 self-imposed excise taxes on hunting, fishing, and boating equipment, as well as firearms and
36 ammunition, to raise additional conservation funds;
37 WHEREAS, to this day, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is funded primarily by
38 sportsmen and sportswomen, through this American System of Conservation Funding - a "user
39 pays, public benefits" approach that is widely recognized as the most successful model of fish
40 and wildlife management in the world;
41 WHEREAS, last year alone, Utah's sportsmen and sportswomen generated $44.94
42 million through this system to support the conservation efforts of the Utah Division of Wildlife
43 Resources and partners;
44 WHEREAS, Utah's 493,000 hunters and anglers support the state's economy through
45 spending more than $1.04 billion while engaged in their pursuits;
46 WHEREAS, annually, this spending supports approximately 19,677 jobs in Utah and
47 generates over $62 million in state and local taxes; and
48 WHEREAS, Utah's vast public and private lands are vital in providing opportunities for
49 Utahns to hunt, fish, trap, and recreationally shoot:
50 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
51 urges the United States Congress to protect and enhance access to federal lands for Utah's
52 sportsmen and sportswomen to advance the goals of hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, and
53 others.
54 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah urges the
55 United States Congress to respect the historic and current use of Utah's public land by
56 sportsmen and sportswomen, support the time-honored Utah traditions of hunting and angling,
57 the very backbone of conservation, and respect the administration of wildlife conservation
58 through the sound science delivered by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and
59 science-based policies developed by the Utah Wildlife Board.
Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel