Celebrating 75 Years of Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration

The successful passage and implementation of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, aka Pittman Robertson (P-R)  in 1937 laid a groundwork for the sport fishing community, anglers, government and industry to enact a similar program some years later benefitting fisheries, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, aka Dingell Johnson (D-J).  Passage of D-J was tumultuous, but after 30 years of proven successful implementation these partners had the foundation to build a new and improved Sport Fish Restoration Act through the Wallop-Breaux (W-B) Amendments. One of the most important facets of W-B is that it included and incorporated the recreational boating community as a full member of the sport fishing community for the first time.  The July 2000 AFS Supplement to Fisheries, “Celebrating 50 Years of the Sport Fish Restoration Program,” wonderfully described  W-B with regard to its contributions to the sport of fishing, aquatic habitats and the science of fishery management.   The presentations at this symposium describe an array of awesome successes of the program. These opening remarks will set the stage for the fine presentations to follow with a description of how the W-B Amendment evolved utilizing the talents of a host of players. It is a story of forging a common goal through unselfish compromise and extreme dedication by many individuals and organizations. There were many obstacles on the road from conception to enactment of W-B involving individuals heretofore unrecognized.