PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. (Sept. 5, 2008) – Whenever a Georgia hunter
purchases a hunting license, firearms, ammunition or archery equipment
he or she is supporting wildlife conservation through the Federal
Wildlife Restoration Program. This is the largest and most successful
wildlife conservation program in the world, according to the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division.

Since 1939, hunters have contributed more than $109 million dollars
through this successful user-pay/user-benefit program and together with
hunting license fees they continue to provide the primary funding for
wildlife conservation in Georgia. Nationally, more than $5.2 billion has
been provided to state agencies for wildlife conservation through the
Federal Wildlife Restoration Program.

“The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration program benefits all
wildlife species, conserves and restores habitat and helps enhance
wildlife conservation through research,” says WRD Assistant Chief of
Game Management Rusty Garrison. “Through this program, America’s
hunters provide the most substantial source of funding for wildlife
conservation and management in the United States.”

The Federal Wildlife Restoration Program was established through the
Pittman-Robertson Act in 1937. Through lobbying efforts in Congress,
America’s hunters created this act as a way to fund conservation and
management of the nation’s wildlife. Wildlife Restoration funds are
accumulated from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery
equipment. This excise tax is levied at the manufacturers level,
collected by the Federal government, and distributed to state wildlife
agencies to fund wildlife conservation and management programs. The
amount of money each state agency annually receives is determined by the
number of hunting licenses the state sells and by the land area of the
state.

WRD uses Wildlife Restoration funds for many types of programs,
including:

· restoring habitat and improving wildlife populations,

· research to monitor wildlife populations,

· operating more than one million acres of wildlife management
areas that benefit a diversity of wildlife species and provide
wildlife-related recreational opportunities,

· providing information to landowners on how to manage their
property for various species,

· conducting hunter education classes, and

· building and maintaining public shooting ranges.

For more information on the Federal Wildlife Restoration Program, visit
the USFWS website at http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/ . For more
information on wildlife management practices in Georgia, visit the WRD
website at www.georgiawildlife.com, contact a local WRD Game Management
office or call (770) 918-6416.
###

For more information, contact:
Jennifer N. Barnes, Sr. Public Relations and Information Specialist -
(770) 918-6795, jennifer.barnes@gadnr.org
Melissa Cummings, Public Affairs Coordinator – (770) 918-6788,
melissa.cummings@gadnr.org

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