Expected Benefits of the Fish & Wildlife Business Summit
Enhanced and strengthened partnerships and cooperation between state fish and wildlife agencies and industry trade groups and manufacturers.
Continued long-term social and economic benefits through increased recruitment and retention of hunters, shooters, anglers, and boaters.
Maintain a reliable source of revenue to state fish and wildlife agencies from federal excise taxes on arms and ammunition, manufactured tackle, motorboat fuel, and other sporting goods subject to federal excise tax.
Ensure that state license revenues can only be used by the state fish and wildlife agency by maintaining the connection to excise tax funds and by highlighting the connection to legislators and governors through proclamations and resolutions.
Educate industry, conservation partners, federal and state agency staff and participants (hunters, shooters, anglers and boaters) on the excise tax program and its importance to the future of the various sports.
Better inform participants and the public about how sportsmen have paid for the bulk of conservation in the United States.
Create of a shared vision of success between the USFWS, state fish and wildlife agencies, and industry that will help focus more time and energy on the future work under the excise tax program.
Minimize or eliminate potentially controversial and divisive issues among industry and federal and state partners.
Ensure that there is fairness in the application and enforcement of excise tax among manufacturers and the first sales point in the United States.
Build relationships between state fish and wildlife agency directors and manufacturers located within their state or stimulate enhanced relationships between state directors and manufacturers.
Provide pro-active measures and solutions to industry and the states to better meet future conservation challenges.
Provide assistance to state agency directors in developing best management practices and a more user-friendly business environment for constituents.
Provide state agencies with assistance in planning events, historical information, success stories, photos, fact sheets, videos, and links to social media related to the excise tax program.
Assist with the creation and/or improvement of state level grassroots coalitions using electronic media in order to better communicate conservation issues and needs to end users.
Increased communication on industry-state partners by facilitating quarterly conference calls to discuss emerging issues of interest to both parties.
Expansion of informational brochures such as “Hunting works for America” and firearms safety information through states to appropriate audiences.