BUY SOME SHORTS:
SAVE A
SALAMANDER
All 50 state wildlife agencies have
joined a campaign to add user fees to outdoor products. Their aim:
to save wildlife that isn’t hunted or endangered but still in need
of habitat. The International Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies and seven conservation groups, including the World
Wildlife Fund and the National Audubon Society, are urging a
“Wildlife Diversity Funding Initiative,” modeled after the excise
tax on hunting and fishing equipment. This 5 percent tax could
raise $350 million to be distributed out to state wildlife agencies
based on state population and area. The agencies would spend the
money on recreation facilities, habitat conservation and education
programs. Deborah Richie, Watchable Wildlife Coordinator for the
Forest Service, says recreation is one of the uses of public lands
that takes a toll on some 1,800 non-game species, including
songbirds, herons, osprey, turtles and frogs. Richie predicts the
bill will find a receptive Congress because it allows states to run
the program and does not ask for governmental funding. For more
information, contact the International Association of Fish and
Wildlife Agencies, 444 N. Capitol Street, NW, Suite 544,
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202/624-7890).
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Buy some shorts: Save a salamander.
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