With the arrival of spring, many in Tennessee start to think about turkey hunting and trout fishing. These pursuits are deeply rooted in history.

For generations, hunters and anglers have been taking to the state's woods and rivers to escape the pressures of daily life. Hunting and fishing in Tennessee is one of the state's most valued resources — it provides a big boost to the state economy. Each year, more than 1 million people fish and hunt in Tennessee, generating more than $1 billion for the state's economy.

But this year, a cloud hangs over the future of Tennessee's fishing and hunting. A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, H.R. 1, went far beyond its initial purpose and became a grab bag of harmful policy provisions that undermine protections for the rivers, streams and wetlands that support Tennessee's fish and wildlife populations.

One rider in the bill that Tennesseans should be most concerned about strikes at the heart of the Clean Water Act, the most important legislative protection for rivers and streams in the past century. Clean Water Act protections were curtailed by two harmful and confusing Supreme Court decisions, Rapanos (2006) and SWANCC (2001). Taken together, these decisions and existing agency guidance have removed protections for at least 20 million acres of wetlands, especially prairie potholes and other seasonal wetlands that are essential to waterfowl populations in Tennessee and throughout the country.

The small streams, adjacent wetlands and geographically isolated waters affected by the Supreme Court decisions provide much of the habitat needed by fish and wildlife and are the source of most of the water that flows through the nation's and Tennessee's waterways. Small headwater streams make up the majority of all streams in the U.S. and at least 60 percent of those in Tennessee. These streams provide drinking water to almost 3 million people in Tennessee.

The uncertainty created in the wake of the two Supreme Court decisions denies protection for Tennessee's rivers, lakes and streams and denies clarity to landowners, conservationists and others affected by the Clean Water Act. By blocking the federal government from clarifying the rules, H.R. 1 perpetuates this uncertainty.

The bill's funding provisions also cut deeply into conservation programs that are important to Tennessee hunting and fishing opportunities. Funding cuts are to be expected in a time when our nation faces large deficits, but some of the proposed cuts make little sense:

• For example, HR 1 cut $393 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that pays for itself through offshore oil and gas receipts. This cut would prevent or critically delay the U.S. Forest Service's acquisition of the Rocky Fork tract, a 9,700-acre property in heart of the Appalachians on the North Carolina-Tennessee border. Just 30 miles from Johnson City, this rich piece of land contains 16 miles of blue ribbon trout streams, abundant wildlife and world-class outdoor recreation opportunities. Permanent conservation of this land would ensure continued access and enjoyment for the region's sportsmen and women and help sustain Tennessee's hunting and fishing traditions and outdoor economy.

• Another storm cloud hangs over a fisheries program of importance to Tennessee anglers in next year's (Fiscal Year 2012) budget. A budget proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) places seven Southeastern hatcheries at some risk of closure or substantially reduced production. These include two federal hatcheries in Tennessee, Dale Hollow and Erwin, which supply trout to waters in the state to mitigate for lost habitat caused by the construction and operation of TVA and Army Corps dams in our state.

The problem is that the Army Corps, TVA and other dam-operating federal agencies are not contributing enough of their shares of the hatchery operating expenses to the FWS. My organization, Trout Unlimited, is asking Congress and the Obama administration to ensure that the Corps and TVA pay their share of the costs, so that the valuable fisheries that these facilities sustain remain intact.

We as sportsmen are willing to shoulder our share of budget cuts, but we will not sit quietly when faced with disproportionate cuts and ill-conceived legislative riders which should not be on appropriations bills. If these cuts and legislative provisions were to become law, Tennessee's rivers and streams and the quality of life that sportsmen and women currently enjoy would suffer. The state's tourism economy would suffer. Tennessee, and the nation, deserve much better.

Congress has a duty to address our fiscal problems in a way that is worthy of the support of Tennesseans who love the outdoors.