Sport Fish Restoration Program

Successful Angler-funded Partnership to Improve Fishing

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration

On September 2, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (now the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act.) This Act fostered partnerships between Federal and State fish and wildlife agencies, the sporting arms industry, conservation groups, and sportsmen to benefit wildlife—and has been key to implementing the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. In 1950, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (now the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act) passed.

Together, the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program (WSFR) has contributed more than $12 billion to fish and wildlife conservation in the U.S. through a self-imposed investment paid by manufacturers and users of gear bought by anglers, boaters, hunters, and shooters and managed by Federal and State fish and wildlife agencies. Fishing and hunting licenses and motorboat fuel tax also support fish and wildlife.

Sport Fish Restoration at Work in Georgia

• Georgia’s sport fish funds are approximately $6 million annually.
  
• SFR and your license fees have funded: management of public waters, production of sport fish for stocking in public waters, development and management of Public Fishing Areas, aquatic education programs, development and maintenance of boating access facilities and more.
• SFR and license fees pay for freshwater and saltwater programs and activities to benefit these resources.

To learn more about Sport Fish Restoration in Georgia, visit www.fws.gov and www.gofishgeorgia.com