Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Wildlife initiative given lift

Teaming with Wildlife, a national funding proposal to expand user fees to include a wider selection of outdoor recreation products, received a gigantic boost recently when Bass Pro Shops announced it was supporting the proposal.

Bass Pro Shops, a major retailer of fishing, hunting and outdoor products, is the largest company to join the ranks of more than 70 businesses who have given the nod to Teaming with Wildlife.

Manufacturers on board include Swarovski Optik, Swift Instruments and Carl Zeiss Optical, makers of popular birding binoculars. The supportive coalition exceeds 690 conservation, recreation and tourism groups, including businesses.

"Our endorsement of this critical initiative is an extension of our dedication to wildlife and the outdoors," said John L. Morris, president of Bass Pro Shops. "We know from the success of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Funds that programs like this will work."

The national wildlife diversity funding proposal -- Teaming with Wildlife -- would require customers to pay a small fee on the products they use to enjoy the outdoors. Products being considered for fees include camping gear, binoculars, cameras and film, field guides, birdseed and bird feeders, canoes, mountain bikes and recreational vehicles.

The proceeds would go to states for safeguarding songbirds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies and other species lacking adequate conservation attention; securing outdoor recreation access, trails, and riverways serving the needs of people and wildlife; and for conservation education programs, from backyards to nature centers and classrooms.

Notes

* LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION: The League of Conservation Voters recently issued its 1995 National Environmental Scorecard. For Nevadans who care about the environment, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that Senators Reid and Bryan received 93s -- some of the highest scores by any senator from the West, with only Senators Boxer (Calif.) and Murray (Wash.) scoring higher. The bad news is that our representatives -- Ensign and Vucanovich -- scored among the lowest. Ensign scored a 15 and Vucanovich scored an eight. The scorecard on the House side judged how representatives voted on 12 issues such as the Clean Water Act and the undercutting of the EPA. On the Senate side, the issues included the funding of the Red Wolf Recovery Program, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a moratorium on the issuing of mining patents.

* LOWER COLORADO DRAFT ASSESSMENT: A draft of biological assessment describing the Bureau of Reclamation's existing lower Colorado River operations and maintenance activities and their potential effect on endangered, threatened and sensitive species and critical habitat along the river is now available for public review and comment. The document describes routine river operations and maintenance activities anticipated during the next five years, threatened and endangered species -- such as the razorback sucker and southwestern willow flycatcher -- along the lower Colorado River from Lake Mead to the U.S.-Mexico border. A copy of the assessment can be obtained by writing: Bureau of Reclamation, Attn: LC-2000, P.O. Box 61470, Boulder City, NV 89006-1470 or by calling 293-8130. A copy may be reviewed at the Bureau of Reclamation office in Boulder City. A public meeting to discuss the document is scheduled May 3 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the McCarran Airport Commissioner's Room.

PAULA DEL GIUDICE has been an outdoors freelance writer, author and photographer for 13 years. Her column appears Wednesdays.

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