Voters across the country gave strong support at the ballot box for conservation related initiatives during the 2012 election. This year, 46 of the 57 conservation funding ballots passed, an approval rate of 81 percent. There were three statewide initiatives on the ballot in 2012 as well as a number of municipal and county initiatives that ranged from bonds to tax increases.

Two years ago, the California General Assembly passed a bill that required development of a new strategic vision for the California Fish and Game Commission and the California Department of Fish and Game. Assembly Bill (AB) 2376 called for improving and enhancing the capacity of the department and commission to fulfill their public trust responsibilities to protect and manage the state's fish and wildlife for their ecological values and for the use and benefit of the people of California.

After the stagnation of election year politics, members of the 112^th Congress returned to Washington, DC in mid-November during a "lame duck" session facing a full slate of issues that were tabled during the regular session. Most of the focus will be on the looming "fiscal cliff" mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 that would end temporary tax cuts and make across the board cuts to spending at the end of 2012 if a new agreement for deficit reduction is not enacted first.

Following the recent election, Congress returned for its "lame duck session" on November 13^th. With a packed agenda, it is unclear whether lawmakers will address renewal of the Farm Bill before the end of the year, according to the Wildlife Management Institute. The legislation has already passed the Senate and the House Agriculture Committee. However, House Speaker John Boehner has made it clear that addressing the "fiscal cliff' facing the nation will be the top priority for Congress during the remaining days of this session.

In the United States, state and federal governments have the legal trust authority and mandate to conserve wild, living resources for the benefit of people. This obligation, known as the "public trust doctrine," is the foundation of the nation's approach to wildlife conservation and the complex institution (e.g., fish and wildlife agencies, non-governmental wildlife conservation organizations, etc.) that has been created to support natural resource conservation.

The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University will again offer their annual Wildlife Management Short Course on the campus during the week of March 25 ? 29, 2013. This popular course was developed for laypersons and agency personnel with non-wildlife training. A number of agencies have sent administrators, commissioners, planners, information and environmental education personnel, legislators, and other staff to this course. Citizen conservation organizations have also sent staff members.