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Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, 



My name is Dick Schulze. I am a former Member of Congress, 

 having been privileged to represent the 5th District of 

 Pennsylvania as a Republican for 18 years. 



During my time in the House of Representatives, I served on 

 the Armed Services, Banking, Ways and Means, and Interior 

 Committees. I am the founder of the Congressional Sportsmen's 

 Caucus and the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus Foundation. I 

 have also been involved with international wildlife issues as a 

 member of the Migratory Bird Commission and as a Director of the 

 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. 



Before coming to Washington in 1975, I served 4 years in 

 the Pennsylvania State Legislature, where I was a member of the 

 Game and Fisheries Committee. 



My legislative involvement in wildlife issues was the 

 natural outgrowth of a lifetime of sporting activity. I have 

 been shooting, hunting, fishing, bird watching, camping, and 

 hiking for more than 55 years, and I also have been involved in 

 the issues affecting those activities for much of that same 

 period. 



As a result, I am very familiar with the Migratory Bird Act 

 and the problems related to baited fields. And while I cannot 

 speak to the details of the specific cases before this committee 

 - - involving the charity dove hunt conducted by the Florida 

 Sheriffs Youth Ranch last October or the subsequent actions of 

 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -- I would like to share my 

 thinking on these issues in general . 



As committee members are aware, the problem centers on the 

 use of bait to attract migratory fowl for hunting purposes. 

 This is expressly forbidden by Federal law. And the U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service has a responsibility for enforcing the law 

 when its agents encounter willful violations. They also have 

 the right to determine when and where supplemental feeding 

 should cease before an area can be hunted. 



I would add that any hunter worthy of the name of 

 "sportsman" both honors this law and appreciates the role of the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service in its enforcement. 



It is also important to understand that supplemental 

 feeding -- whatever name we give it - - can be beneficial to many 

 forms of wildlife. Properly employed, it can be an important 

 tool in wildlife management, especially when we are attempting 

 to encourage increases in certain animal populations. And I 

 would note that private landowners make an important 



