Missouri's Unique Conservation Legacy

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75 Years of Conservation

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Overhunting

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E. Sydney Stephens

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Turkey Restoration

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Greater Prairie Chicken

Male greater prairie-chicken in courtship display.

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Boy Fishing

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Trail Walking

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to all citizens, not any one individual, and is held in trust by government for the benefit of present and future generations.

Other Revenues that Support Missouri’s Conservation Legacy

For more than 75 years, sportsmen have been buying hunting and fishing licenses. These funds are vital to restore habitat, purchase public lands, and bring back Missouri’s fish and wildlife populations. When a person purchases a hunting or fishing license, they are investing those dollars in conservation for the benefit of all Missourians and future generations. Fishing and hunting licenses account for approximately 20 percent of the Department’s annual revenue, totaling more than $31 million.

MDC also receives about $22 million a year from federal sources, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration programs. The Wildlife Restoration Program, originally called the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, is a program funded by taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. Those funds are specifically provided to states to restore, conserve, manage and enhance fish and wildlife.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program, created by the Dingell-Johnson Act of 1950, is funded by taxes on fishing tackle, motorboat fuel, electric outboard motors and sonar equipment. Funds are distributed to states for sport fish restoration, motorboat access development and aquatic resource education. Federal aid also comes from the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.