The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is doling out $1.1 billion to the states in the 2016 fiscal year. The funds were generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Acts and will go toward conservation efforts within each state.

The funding is raised from excise taxes laid out in the two acts, Pittman-Robertson for the sale of hunting equipment and Dingell-Johnson for fishing. The percentage of money paid by the hunting, boating, and angling industries on firearms, bows, and ammunition (Pittman-Robertson), and sport-fishing tackle, some boat engines, and small-engine fuel (Dingell-Johnson) helps pay for research, management, and enforcement performed the various fish and wildlife agencies across the country.

“State wildlife agencies play an essential role in the conservation of America’s wildlife, while also generating billions of dollars for the nation’s economy through increased hunting and fishing opportunities,” said USFWS Director Dan Ashe. “It’s fitting that those very sporting activities help sustain wildlife, their habitats and the agencies that manage them.

“Our role in administering these funds reflects our long-standing partnership with the states across a broad spectrum of wildlife conservation issues.”

The annual payout was announced at the 2016 Bassmaster Classic in Oklahoma last weekend by Bob Curry, Deputy Assistant Director of the USFWS’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) program. This year’s event took place at the Grand Lake o’ the Cherokees, a site that has benefited from Dingell-Johnson funds.

Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Act funds are administered by the Service’s WSFR program. To date, the program has distributed more than $18 billion for state conservation and recreation projects. The benefitted agencies have matched these funds with more than $5 billion over the years, primarily through hunting and fishing license revenues.

“The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program has been providing critical conservation funding to State Fish and Wildlife Agencies for decades,” said Dave Chanda, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies President and New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife Director. “WSFR funds complement and enhance millions of dollars contributed to State Fish and Wildlife Agencies from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.

“Working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to administer this grant program, WSFR and agency license monies provide a stable funding source for conservation activities during periods of fiscal and economic uncertainty.”

Current projects funded by the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts include:

• The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s renovation of 11 wildlife management areas to help create and restore more than 1,300 acres of waterfowl habitat
• The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s partnership with North Carolina State University to study black bear populations near Asheville, N.C.
• The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s use its aquatic education grant to recruit, train, and retain a network of at least 500 volunteers, which will teach angler education programs

“We are proud to support our state wildlife conservation agencies,” said Hannibal Bolton, Assistant Director of the Service’s WSFR program. “Funding from the Pittman Robertson/Dingell-Johnson program will help states protect and conserve our nation’s environmental legacy for generations to come.”

Click here for the breakdown of Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration funds for each state in the 2016 fiscal year.