Conservation, outdoor sporting top Congresional chopping block

By KELLY BOSTIAN World Outdoors Writer - www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/

Cutting a budget forces difficult choices of priority and so far the 112th Congress has treated conservation programs like low-hanging fruit, according to a panel representing the nation's top outdoor sporting and conservation groups.

Wednesday, representatives of Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Pheasants Forever, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Montana Wildlife Federation held a teleconference to address what the groups - representing more than two dozen organizations - described as legacy-ending cuts.

Paraphrasing advice from a fisherman senator, Trout Unlimited vice president for governmental affairs Steve Moyer said freshmen House members especially could use some perspective. "They need to be aware there is a legacy that has taken 100 years to build, a conservation legacy that makes this country stand apart from really any other country. ... We're going to have some setbacks that are going to affect our ability to maintain this legacy that we have for the next generation," he said.

The target of interest is the bill the House Appropriations Committee introduced as House Resolution 1, which contained the largest proposed federal spending cuts in history. The bill passed the House in February and failed in the Senate, but the Continuing Resolution is still churning through the process and the groups warn that wholesale cuts could be approved.

A few of the examples include eliminating all funding for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grant Program (a $47.6 million cut), zeroing the State and Tribal Wildlife Grant Program ($90 million) and a 90 percent chop off the Land and Water Conservation Fund ($398 million). Major cuts to Farm Bill appropriations also could chop the Conservation Reserve Program to a third of what it has become in its 25-year history.

Wednesday's panelists said they recognized the reality of today's economy and allowed that cuts must be made but that wholesale elimination of programs that have proven cost-effective and in some cases profitable as economic engines, especially in rural areas, were in many cases ill advised. "They took a hacksaw to the cake instead of a nice cake slicer," said Scott Yaich, Ducks Unlimited director of conservation operation.

The panel also recognized that conservation groups are not the only ones in the nation who are crying foul over proposed budget cuts and said they all are urging members to contact their representatives in Congress immediately so the voice of hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts will be heard. "Now is the time to act," Moyer said.

Here Come the Guns: If you have never laid eyes on Wannenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show, this weekend is your chance to visit 11 acres of guns, knives, collectibles and anything else shooting and firearms-related.

It really is the world's largest gun show and it's held right here in Tulsa in the QuikTrip Center at Expo Square. Organizers say the display tables, if set end-to-end, would stretch 5.7 miles.

Ted "Dutch" Van Kirk, the last surviving crew member and navigator on the Enola Gay, is back for a return engagement at the show. He will be signing autographs and has a book for sale. Collectible guns are an attraction with The Browning Collectors and Smith & Wesson Collectors as featured guests at the show. The NRA National Firearms Museum has loaned out some movie guns for display, including the guns actually used in the films "Die Hard," "Lethal Weapon," and "Dirty Harry."

Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for children under 12. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For information on parking, shuttles and more about the show, go to tulsaworld.com/tulsaarmsshow, and watch my blog Friday night for a preview report.