Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Sport Fish Restoration Program

We regularly mention the Sport Fish Restoration Program as a Passport sponsor, but you may not know what it is.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program is a partnership between anglers, boaters, the fishing and boating industry, Texas Parks and Wildlife, other state fish and game agencies across the country and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Timothy Birdsong coordinates the program for Parks and Wildlife. This federal program collects taxes on fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

This funding is distributed across the country to states based on a formula that includes land and water area and number of resident licensed anglers in that state. We had over one million recreational anglers fish Texas waters in 2007. You take that number along with our total land and water area and we position Texas to receive the maximum available apportionment under this program, which is five percent of the total amount of money that is available which is about four hundred million nationwide.

In 2008, Texas Parks and Wildlife received approximately twenty million dollars from this fund, and tomorrow we learn how the money was spent.

It went to support sport fisheries management and sport fish stocking in Texas waters.

That’s our show… with support from the Sport Fish Restoration Program…funded by your purchase of fishing equipment and motor boat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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