The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) joins the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), and other partners at the 2012 SHOT Show to announce the start of a yearlong celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR), one of the most significant and successful partnership approaches to fish and wildlife conservation in U.S. history.

Moments before this alert was to go out (1/13/12), a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles. 

All www.boat-ed.com courses meet the new online delivery standard adopted by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), which requires students to study a minimum of three hours. This change went into effect Jan. 1, 2012.

The National Rifle Association is accepting applications from high school sophomores and juniors across the country for the National Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.) from June 25 – July 1, 2012 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is seeking to offer an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill now being debated on the Senate floor. Hatch’s amendment would permanently enshrine 10 different appropriations “riders” -- essentially directions from Congress to the administration about how they must spend, or not spend, funds -- into permanent law.

The House Appropriations Committee passed a fiscal year 2012 (FY12) Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill on July 12 that included substantial cuts to agency spending and key conservation programs, as well as policy riders impacting natural resource related issues, reports the Wildlife Management Institute.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced a proposal to provide additional hunting opportunities on 10 National Wildlife Refuges. 

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) may have recently been focused on dog ownership and cock-fighting legislation, but they strongly reminded sportsmen in recent weeks that a national ban on hunting is still No. 1 on its hit list.

The Fisheries Science Improvement Act (H.R. 2304), introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) on June 23, 2011, with the support of a bi-partisan group of 18 other Members of Congress, seeks to ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is required to set catch limits based on data, not on guesstimates.

More Americans are planning vacations this summer, approximately 86 percent (three percent higher than 2010) according to a recent TripAdvisory survey, with the nation's waterways serving as prime destinations.