Past Excise Tax Updates have provided background information relating the excise tax program to the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation – the funding provided through the wildlife and sport fish excise tax programs represents the funding foundation for that Model. The ability of the state fish and wildlife agencies to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations is directly linked to the health of the hunting, recreational shooting, fishing and boating industries. For the funding system to continue to support the great work of the state fish and wildlife agencies, we must have hunters, anglers, recreational shooters and boaters who are buying hunting and fishing licenses and buying new equipment. If that happens, the industries will continue to pay excise taxes, there will continue to be places for us to hunt, fish, launch our boats and enjoy recreational shooting. If that doesn’t happen, the reliable funding source that is supporting the North American Model will begin to fade.
The first-ever atlas of ungulate migration was released this week, detailing the ecology and conservation of migratory big game species including mule deer, elk and pronghorn in Wyoming, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and adjacent western states. Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming’s Ungulates is a result of a six-year collaboration between wildlife biologists at the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and cartographers at the University of Oregon. The book also draws on the long-time experience and expertise of wildlife managers with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and other experts and historians from around the West. The project uses cutting-edge animal movement data with innovative cartographic methods to visualize the migrations of animals across complex and changing landscapes.
