This article originally appeared in The Archery Wire on June 7, 2022.
I spent some time in Charleston over this past weekend. I know, crazy. I was there for client work – a kids camp that I’ll tell you more about later. I was amazed at the work they are doing in wildlife conservation and many don’t know it exists. I do a horrible job of promoting myself. The reason for the Charleston visit wasn’t because I pitched myself, but because a current client pitched me to them. Most agencies and wildlife conservation groups don’t do a great job of promoting themselves, either. So we all have to help each other out. Of course, most of you reading this are in the industry; you know this already. This brief Q&A with Paul Wilkes of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency showcases the Pittman-Robertson Act. We know it. Those outside our circles have no clue. Could you do me (and all of us) a favor and share this article out to someone outside of our industry? Put it up on your LinkedIN, or Facebook perhaps. Or forward this whole Archery Wire to someone and tell them to subscribe. I don’t ask you all to help out promoting our industry enough. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
–Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire
Q: Paul, tell is a little about yourself. Give us a biographical snapshot.
A: I came of age in Kentucky, earned a degree in Biology at the University of the Cumberlands and then a Master’s degree at the University of Georgia where I studied aspects of lake sturgeon restoration in southern rivers. I have had a life-long affinity for fishing and hunting: stream smallmouth bass, reservoir stripers, bowfishing, and big game. I worked almost a decade for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, ending my career there as the Acting Director of Fisheries. I am presently the Southeast Regional Manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program. My staff and I oversee conservation grant programs including those funded by excise tax dollars paid by the manufacturers of archery, fishing tackle, firearms, and ammunition. We work closely with our partners in 10 state fish and wildlife agencies. My wife and I have three young hunters and anglers: two boys and a girl.
Q: Give me an overview of Pittman-Robertson and how the archery industry funds conservation—what happens on the ground with the excise taxes?
A: First, we must thank the legendary Fred Bear. Bear’s strategic vision to include archery in this funding model in 1972 resulted in significant opportunities for archery and archery hunters. Fifty-five cents—the flat-rate amount paid per arrow shaft by the manufacturer—goes a long way. Makers of bows and quivers, and other accessories pay an 11 percent tax on their goods. The dollars paid by industry are quite quantifiable. The annual amount apportioned to state fish and wildlife agencies is also quantifiable. But, their conservation value—that is almost incalculable.
The excise taxes exclusively fund the Wildlife Restoration program, which includes land purchases, habitat management, species restoration, hunter education, target shooting, archery range construction, and R3 programs. Wildlife Restoration program funding is the backbone of state fish and wildlife agencies.
Think of some of the major game species restored in the last 30, 50, or 100 years because of excise taxes dedicated to conservation: white-tailed deer, mule deer, pronghorn, black bear, wild turkey, and elk. A century ago, many states prohibited hunting deer because their numbers were too low, or the animal was non-existent. The same goes for wild turkey.
For archers and archery manufacturers, it is important for them to know where their tax money goes. Wildlife Restoration funded 228 archery ranges in the last five years nationwide and facilitates one million hunter education courses per year.
And, it gets personal. Within my lifetime, Wildlife Restoration funding supported the restoration of elk in my home state. The state fish and wildlife agencies in Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah captured and released 1,541 healthy elk in Kentucky from 1997 to 2002. In 2015, I drew a coveted elk tag, bought a new crossbow, practiced on a Wildlife Restoration-funded range and hunted on a wildlife management area which was purchased, and is managed, using Wildlife Restoration dollars. In 20 years’ time, the Kentucky elk population exceeded 10,000 animals.
Elk in Kentucky is not an isolated story. The magnificent animal returned to Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. Virginia is about to hold its first elk hunting season this coming fall, the first in modern times—all thanks to scientific management and the support of industry via Pittman-Robertson.
Q: What’s your take on Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation.
A: Well, R3 has a good asymmetry to it that makes me think of the triad of industry, state fish and wildlife agencies, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that endeavor together in conservation. And I think of our three young kids. They are coming of age where I never go afield without at least one of them in tow. Gifford Pinchot wrote in his book, Fishing Talk, “Always take the youngster along.” It’s timeless advice and Pinchot is more salient now than ever. Crossbows have been a great starting place for my two older boys, and they are already having big moments in the woods learning self-control, perseverance, success, and failures. One boy harvested a whitetail near Frankfort with the same crossbow I took an elk with outside Hazard. My boys are mastering the crossbow. Bowfishing is next for us.
It is a larger moral concern to get people of any age outdoors, where one learns woods skills in wild places, ethics—when you let go of the bowstring, the arrow ain’t coming back. What are the results of your decisions—its self-examination in a different light. One learns where food comes from. The paradox is in full view, taking a life is life affirming, sustaining yourself with free-range organic meat. I firmly believe that one has a greater appreciation for conservation and nature when immersed in it. What greater full-immersion experience is there than hunting? Hunting, made possible by conservation, is restorative to the soul. I cannot quantify that.
I encourage your readers to visit Partner with a Payer to learn more.