Keep America Fishing to Sponsor NHF Day

Keep America Fishing to Sponsor NHF Day : The Outdoor Wire

Keep America Fishing to Sponsor NHF Day
 
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Keep America Fishing is set for another year of sponsorship for National Hunting and Fishing Day (NHF Day). Across the nation, sportsmen and women are fighting to preserve our national heritage. Through their efforts future generations are able to thrive.

NHF Day is set-aside for sportsmen to celebrate those conservation efforts. Each year, NHF Day is set to take place on the fourth Saturday in September. This year NHF Day falls on September 26.

The contributions, in the form excise taxes paid on sporting firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, benefit every state and have generated approximately $5.6 billion for wildlife conservation since 1939. It is support like this that deserves to be celebrated and brought to the forefront to show how much sportsmen do for conservation.

"Keep America Fishing always looks for ways to better the experience for the American angler and one way is through conservation.," said Misty Mitchell, director of Conservation for Wonders of Wildlife. "Their continued support of NHF Day and conservation efforts never fails. It is our pleasure to have them sign on once again."

The first to suggest an official day of thanks to sportsmen was Ira Joffe, owner of Joffe's Gun Shop in Upper Darby, Pa. In 1970, Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond Shafer adopted Joffe's idea and created "Outdoor Sportsman's Day" in the state.

With determined prompting from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the concept soon emerged on the floor of the U.S. Senate. In June 1971, Sen. Thomas McIntyre, N.H., introduced Joint Resolution 117 authorizing National Hunting and Fishing Day on the fourth Saturday of every September. Rep. Bob Sikes, Fla., introduced an identical measure in the House. In early 1972, Congress unanimously passed both bills.

Each year, recreational anglers spend $41.5 billion a year to fish. This has a massive impact on conservation. Through license sales and excise taxes on equipment, hunters and anglers pay for most fish and wildlife conservation programs.

The contributions, in the form excise taxes paid on sporting firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, benefit every state and have generated approximately $5.6 billion for wildlife conservation since 1939. It is support like this that deserves to be celebrated and brought to the forefront to show how much sportsmen do for conservation.

"America's anglers and boaters are the nation's most powerful force for conserving our nation's fisheries and waters, investing more than $1 billion each year through state fishing license sales and taxes on fishing equipment and motorboat fuel," explained Liz Ogilvie, director of Keep America Fishing. "Simply put, the more people who go fishing, the more funding there is for fisheries management and conservation. We hope everyone makes the most of the events on NHF Day and introduces someone new to our sport."

Generating more awareness for conservation, NHF Day is dedicated to spreading the word through any avenue possible and social media is one of the largest stages to do this and the hashtag #1conservationist will help them accomplish this goal.

Visitors are encouraged to visit https://www.facebook.com/nhfday for a wide variety of information including a comprehensive overview of NHF Day, sponsor information and event planning details.

NHF Day is proud to recognize its loyal sponsors that include: Bass Pro Shops, NSSF, NRA, Yamaha, Realtree, GunBroker, Ducks Unlimited, NWTF and the Congressional Sportsman Foundation.