Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Cycle of Success Continues with $146
Million to States for Fish and Wildlife Projects in Midwest

February 24, 2009

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin
will receive a total of more than $78.5 million for sport fish restoration
and more than $67.8 million to benefit wildlife and hunter education.

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Department of the Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar announced eight Midwestern states will receive more than $146
million to fund fish and wildlife conservation, boater access to public
waters, and hunter and aquatic education. Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin will receive a total of more
than $78.5 million for sport fish restoration and more than $67.8 million to
benefit wildlife and hunter education. These Wildlife and Sport Fish
Restoration (WSFR) Program funds come from excise taxes and import duties on
sporting firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, sportfishing equipment,
electric outboard motors, and fuel taxes attributable to motorboats and
small engines.

"The funds raised under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs
have helped conserve our fish and wildlife resources and provide
opportunities for outdoor recreation for more than half a century. These
investments, which help create jobs while protecting our nation's natural
treasures, are particularly important in these tough economic times,"
Salazar said. "All those who pay into this program - the hunting and fishing
industries, boaters, hunters, anglers, and recreational shooters - should
take pride in helping to conserve our land and its fish and wildlife and
provide benefits to all Americans who cherish the natural world and outdoor
recreation."

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program funds apportioned this year
total more than $740.9 million, and will be distributed nationwide to the
fish and wildlife agencies of the 50 states, commonwealths, the District of
Columbia, and territories.

"In the Midwest, this program is a true cycle of success in conservation,
management, partnership, and outdoor recreation. When a child purchases his
or her first fishing pole, or when a bow and arrow distributor makes a sale,
money is being set aside to fund on-the-ground projects that conserve and
protect species and habitat, and sustain outdoor recreation as part of the
Midwestern lifestyle," said Tom Melius, Midwest Regional Director of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "This program is not about tax percentages
or dollar amounts; it is about rejuvenating hunting and fishing for our
future generations, and providing assistance to state agencies to ensure our
natural resources are protected and conserved."

The Wildlife Restoration apportionment for 2009 totals nearly $336 million,
with more than $64.7 million marked for hunter education and firearm and
archery range programs. The Sport Fish Restoration apportionment for 2009
totals more than $404 million.

Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act funding is available to states,
commonwealths, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies, and is used to
manage wildlife populations, conduct habitat research, acquire wildlife
lands and public access, carry out surveys and inventories, administer
hunter education, and construct and maintain shooting ranges.

More than 62 percent of Wildlife Restoration funds are used to buy, develop,
maintain, and operate wildlife management areas. Since the program began,
state, commonwealth, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies have
acquired 68 million acres through fee simple, leases, or easements, and
operated and maintained more than 390 million acres for hunting since the
program began. In addition, agencies certified over 9 million participants
in hunter education.

"This source of conservation funding is important not only measured by its
dollar amount, but also by legislative safeguards preventing its diversion
away from state fish and wildlife agencies," said Rowan Gould, acting
Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "For states working to
ensure a future for fish and wildlife - and opportunities for people to
enjoy them - precious few programs offer this level of support and
reliability."

Numerous species including the wild turkey, white-tailed deer, pronghorn
antelope, American elk, and black bears have increased in population due to
improved research and habitat management funded by Wildlife Restoration. In
the program's history, fish and wildlife agencies have assisted more than
9.2 million landowners on fish and wildlife management. States,
commonwealth, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies have improved more
than 35 million acres of habitat and developed more than 44,000 acres of
waterfowl impoundments.

Since the inception of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act,
states, commonwealth, and territorial fish and wildlife agencies have
acquired 360,000 acres through fee simple, leases, or easements. They have
operated and maintained more than 1.5 million acres annually and they
stocked over 6.8 billion fish and restored more than 1.7 billion fish
throughout the country; renovated or improved 6,400-boat access sites; and
had over 11.9 million participants in the aquatic resource education
program.

Specific projects and programs funded by Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration
grants in the Midwest include:

Archery Programs in Ohio
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR) used $260,000 in WSFR funding
over the past two years to support an international target archery program
in public schools. The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is a
nationwide school curriculum designed to teach archery skills to elementary,
middle and high school students, and has been shown to positively influence
student attendance, behavior, self-esteem and confidence.

Fish Hatchery Expansion in Wisconsin
The Sport Fish Restoration Program this year helped fund renovations at
Wisconsin's Wild Rose State Fish Hatchery to expand sport fishing and
aquatic-education opportunities for citizens. Updating and expanding
production at Wild Rose Fish Hatchery is critical to Wisconsin's $2.3
billion sport fishery. More than 94 percent of fish that the hatchery raises
are used to stock Lake Michigan.

Habitat Development in Illinois
One of the largest and longest running Pittman-Robertson Wildlife
Restoration Act projects in the Midwest is the Statewide Public Lands
Wildlife Habitat Development Project in Illinois. The ongoing project headed
by Illinois DNR creates wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities on
public lands, including the Cache River State Natural Area. Encompassing
more than 14,000 of unique bottomland forest and river ecosystems in
southern Illinois, this Natural Area continues to be restored, managed and
protected by the collaborative efforts of multiple conservation partners.
WSFR funds have helped provide hunter access to more than 11,800 acres of
prime squirrel, deer and duck habitat, and have provided the hiker, birder,
photographer and nature enthusiast access to incredible sights and sounds of
the river system.

Boating Access in Indiana
The Charlestown Land Boat Access Project, which created a $2.8 million boat
launching facility on the Ohio River in Charlestown State Park was partially
funded by Sport Fish Restoration boat access funds. The federal-state agency
partnership also benefitted two endangered bat species known to inhabit the
park by ensuring their habitat was protected and enhanced. The project was
awarded the 2008 States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA) Award for
Outstanding Large Access Projects.

Private Landowner Assistance in Minnesota
In Minnesota this year, more than 6,500 private landowners and agency
representatives were educated and assisted by Minnesota DNR on habitat
restoration on private lands. WSFR also helped fund the management of more
than 440,000 acres of wetlands, farmland and forest lands throughout the
state.

Urban Fishing Access in Iowa
In an effort to make Iowa waters easily accessible for on-shore anglers,
Iowa DNR has used WSFR funds from fishing license sales to improve access to
trout streams, large rivers and urban fishing waters. In 2008, Iowa DNR used
$2.25 million in Sport Fish Restoration funds to build a 350 acre reservoir
for fishing and boating near Davenport. Partnerships have been formed with
three Iowa cities to construct four fishing piers on urban waters.

Helping Endangered Species through Landowner Incentives in Missouri
Since 2004, the Missouri Department of Conservation has received WSFR grants
totaling $2.66 million through the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP). This
program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners
who are willing to partner with states and tribes to maintain and enhance
habitat for at-risk species. In Missouri, LIP has helped reduce fragments of
prairie landscapes that benefit grassland birds, including the federally
endangered Greater Prairie Chicken. Landowner partnerships have also helped
stop sedimentation of streams entering karst areas known to be inhabited by
the endangered Ozark cave snail.

Fishery Management Research in Michigan
The Michigan DNR Fisheries Division continues to use Sport Fish Restoration
(SFR) funding to make significant improvements in managing Great Lakes
salmon, trout and white fish using research and survey work. Past research
has focused on Chinook salmon natural reproduction in Lake Michigan and Lake
Huron and an evaluation of stocking strategies that was recently recognized
as an Outstanding Sport Fish Restoration Project of the Year by the American
Fisheries Society.

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