Increased funding for fish passage improvements are one of the priorities for BIF (Washington F&W photo)
The recent enactment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act marks a victory for anglers. Significantly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) addresses infrastructure not solely in terms of “gray” infrastructure such as roads and bridges, but also includes “natural infrastructure” such as marshes and floodplains that provide invaluable environmental services. The Act will help to provide more than $40 billion in funding to enhance fish and wildlife conservation programs and increase access. Its passage is testament to the hard work of many AFFTA members, partners, and others.
Among the Act’s conservation provisions:
Restoring aquatic habitat connectivity by authorizing $4 billion for a competitive grant program to replace, remove, and repair culverts to restore fish passage.
Reauthorizing the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund that provides more than $650 million annually in vital funding to state fish and wildlife agencies for local fish habitat conservation as well as boating and fishing access through excise taxes generated by anglers and boaters.
Increasing access to federal lands by authorizing more than $2.1 billion over five years to improve infrastructure on National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other federal lands.
Enactment of BIF represents a job well done. But the challenge now is to ensure these important investments are dedicated to the projects that yield the strongest and longest-term benefits for fish, wildlife and the fly fishing industry.
We are working with federal agencies like the Department of Interior and NOAA to help them allocate monies they are receiving through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework Bill. We working to assemble a list of shovel-ready projects that will have positive economic and conservation benefits for the fly fishing industry. Give us your ideas today.
With your help, we could see real attention given to projects that have been ready to complete but lacked the funding to do so. This money will be allocated to state, local, and tribal governments to complete projects.