Teaming With Wildlife Fact Sheet
What is Teaming With Wildlife?
- Teaming With Wildlife is a national coalition of more than 5,500 conservation organizations and businesses working together to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. The coalition supports dedicated funding for fish, forest and wildlife conservation, education and outdoor recreation. The Teaming With Wildlife coalition includes conservation leaders, hunters, anglers, birdwatchers, hikers, educators, conservation-supportive business owners and other wildlife enthusiasts who support the goal of restoring and conserving our nation’s wildlife.
Why is Dedicated Funding Needed?
- By the early 1900s, America’s wildlife resources were largely depleted due to unregulated hunting, lack of enforcement of existing hunting regulations and habitat loss. State wildlife agencies imposed regulations to control over harvest, but had limited resources to restore habitat and conduct surveys and research. In 1936 the US Congress passed the Pittman-Robertson Act and in 1950 the Dingell-Johnson Act. These laws dedicated a permanent excise tax on hunting and fishing equipment to wildlife and fish conservation. These funds were matched with license fees on hunters and anglers and provided the funding necessary to recover numerous game species including elk, wood ducks, bass, wild turkey and white-tailed deer. Although many nongame species benefited from these efforts, there was no similar program for the 95% of species that are not hunted or fished. Nationally over 1,000 species are listed as federally threatened or endangered and countless others are considered to be species of conservation concern.
Why Expand the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition?
- In 2000, at the urging of the Teaming With Wildlife coalition, Congress and the President made an important decision to start investing in wildlife and vital natural areas by creating the State Wildlife Grants Program. Since its inception,
more than $485 million in federal funding has been distributed to the states including over $9.7 million to Missouri. In Missouri, State Wildlife Grants have made funds available to numerous organizations and agencies through the Wildlife Diversity Fund, Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative Grants and other individual opportunities. Now that each state has a wildlife action plan (Missouri’s Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy), we are ramping up proactive wildlife conservation efforts in Missouri. Missouri’s Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy identifies actions that are needed to conserve all wildlife in Missouri. By expanding the TWW coalition, Missouri’s Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy can be implemented and we can send a strong message to Congress and other policy makers that Missourians value wildlife.
Why Should My Organization Join Teaming With Wildlife?
- Missouri has many organizations and businesses that support or directly benefit from sustainable wildlife populations. A large and diverse coalition will show decision-makers that sustainable wildlife is important to all our citizens. According to a 2006 survey by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2.5 million persons 16 years and older fished, hunted or watched wildlife in Missouri spending over $3 billion dollars! By joining the coalition you will be helping to support healthy populations of wildlife for aesthetic, recreational, economic and cultural purposes. There is no cost to join the coalition and becoming a member is as simple as signing the endorsement form.
Who’s Part of the Missouri Teaming With Wildlife Coalition?
- TWW started in the late 1990s and included 100 Missouri organizations and 3,000 nationally. In the past year, Missouri’s coalition has grown to over 190 organizations and businesses. See the Missouri list of TWW Supporters for a complete list.
Who’s on Missouri's Teaming With Wildlife Steering Committee?
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