Wildlife Managers Spread the Wealth (What There Is of It, at Least)
22.05.12
Bees buzzing in the backyard, huge Atlantic sturgeon plowing through Long Island Sound and myriad other species benefit from the way state wildlife and fisheries biologists spread around the funds available to them. In a day of tight budgets, the management biologists who are stewards of Connecticut’s wildlife keep a surprising number of balls in the air to keep woods and waters alight with life. Part of the reason for their success is the judicious acumen with which they allocate funds available to them.
The agencies responsible for managing the state’s fauna are divisions of wildlife, inland fisheries and marine fisheries of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The divisions employ about 200 people, including clerical help and maintenance workers as well as managers. Taxes and fees paid by sportsmen constitute the financial engine that drives their efforts, according to Rick Jacobson, director of the wildlife division. Taxes on sales of firearms and ammunition mandated by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, better known as the Pittman-Robertson Act, and a similar act covering sport fishing, provide much of the money. Most of the rest comes from licenses and fees for hunting and fishing paid by sportsmen to the state.
Source: Patch.com