The decades-long contributions by good guys with guns to the nation’s conservation drive recently surpassed $17 billion. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund took in that impressive total since its inception in 1937.

The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act redirected an already existing excise tax on firearms and channeled the considerable funds to state wildlife services.

The program established matching federal dollars for license fees paid by hunters to be earmarked for “wildlife restoration projects.” The law expressly forbade the common practice of states using funds drawn from one source to pay for completely unrelated projects.

Instead, species with noticeably dwindling populations were targeted for support through this effort.

The act originally covered “any species of wild, free-ranging fauna including fish.” This was amended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services in 1956 to restrict the use of Pittman-Robertson Act funds to mammals and birds.

As the NSSF properly noted, the $17 billion mark for contributions to protecting valuable wildlife is quite an achievement. Organization President and CEO Joe Bartozzi lauded the accomplishment.

“The entire firearm and ammunition industry celebrates this milestone that demonstrates our commitment to wildlife conservation for all Americans…They are critical to future generations taking part in hunting and the recreational shooting sports traditions and learning about their vital importance.”

The contributions by the firearm and ammunition industry are on the rise as more Americans arm themselves for everything from hunting and sport shooting to self-defense.

The industry has put over $1 billion into the sprawling conservation effort in each of the last three years through the Firearm and Ammunition Excise Tax. 

Paid by manufacturers and importers, the excise tax is set at 11% of the wholesale price for long guns and ammunition and 10% of the wholesale price for pistols. The program is conducted by the Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). 

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