Whenever a Georgia hunter purchases a hunting license, firearms, ammunition or archery equipment he or she is supporting wildlife conservation through the Federal Wildlife Restoration Program. This is the largest and most successful wildlife conservation program in the world, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division. 

Since 1939, hunters have contributed more than $109 million dollars through this successful user-pay/user-benefit program and together with hunting license fees they continue to provide the primary funding for wildlife conservation in Georgia. Nationally, more than $5.2 billion has been provided to state agencies for wildlife conservation through the Federal Wildlife Restoration Program. 

“The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration program benefits all wildlife species, conserves and restores habitat and helps enhance wildlife conservation through research,” says WRD Assistant Chief of Game Management Rusty Garrison. “Through this program, America’s hunters provide the most substantial source of funding for wildlife conservation and management in the United States.” 

The Federal Wildlife Restoration Program was established through the Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937. Through lobbying efforts in Congress, America’s hunters created this act as a way to fund conservation and management of the nation’s wildlife. Wildlife Restoration funds are accumulated from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. This excise tax is levied at the manufacturers level, collected by the Federal government, and distributed to state wildlife agencies to fund wildlife conservation and management programs. The amount of money each state agency annually receives is determined by the number of hunting licenses the state sells and by the land area of the state.   

WRD uses Wildlife Restoration funds for many types of programs, including: 

·     restoring habitat and improving wildlife populations, 

·     research to monitor wildlife populations, 

·     operating more than one million acres of wildlife management areas that benefit a diversity of wildlife species and provide wildlife-related recreational opportunities,  

·     providing information to landowners on how to manage their property for various species, 

·     conducting hunter education classes, and 

·     building and maintaining public shooting ranges. 

For more information on the Federal Wildlife Restoration Program, visit the USFWS website athttp://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/ . For more information on wildlife management practices in Georgia, visit the WRD website atwww.georgiawildlife.com, contact a local WRD Game Management office or call (770) 918-6416.