47 



TESTIMONY BEFORE THE HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE 



ON nSHERIES, WILDLIFE AND OCEANS 



ON THE "TEAMING WITH WILDLIFE" INITIATIVE 



Robert L. McDowell, Secretary/Treasurer 



International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 



June 6, 1996 



Thank you, Mr Chairman, I am Bob McDowell, Director of the New Jersey Division of 

 Fish, Game and Wildlife, and Secretary/Treasurer of the International Association of Fish 

 and Wildlife Agencies (lAFWA) On behalf of my 49 State Fish and Wildlife Director 

 colleagues, I sincerely appreciate the opportunity you have given us to bring to you the 

 most exciting fish and wildlife conservation initiative that all of us will be involved in for 

 the rest of this century Teaming With Wildlife (TWW) This funding initiative will 

 complete the process started by its predecessors decades ago with the passage of the 

 Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson (later Wallop-Breaux) Wildlife and Sportfish 

 Restoration Acts for game and sportfish conservation activities in the States Through 

 TW^, all of our citizens who use and enjoy fish and wildlife can join sportsmen and 

 women who for decades have contributed billions of dollars to the restoration and 

 sustainability of our fish and wildlife that are hunted and fished, but are also enjoyed by all 

 Americans As you know, our non-game species have also benefited by these efforts 

 fiinded by sportsmen through habitat enhancement, acquisitions and other conservation 

 endeavors More dedicated fijnds are vitally needed for projects focused specifically on 

 these species as well as providing support for associated outdoor recreation. TWW will 

 bring this financial support to these programs and equity to the long-term support of fish 

 and wildlife efforts in this country by all who enjoy these resources. 



The Association, founded in. 1902, is a quasi-govemment organization of public agencies 

 charged with the protection and management of North America's fish and wildlife resources 

 The Association's governmental members include the fish and wildlife agencies of the states, 

 provinces, and federal governments of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. All 50 states are 

 members. The Association has been a key organization in promoting sound resource 

 management and strengthening federal, state, and private cooperation in protecting and 

 managing fish and wildlife and their habitats in the public interest. 



As you are aware, Mr. Chairman, the State fish and wildlife agencies are public trustees offish 

 and wildlife resources within their bo.deifs uiid have statutory authority to ensure the vitality 

 and stewardship of these resources for the use and enjoyment of their citizens, both present and 

 future State jurisdiction for migratory birds, anadromous fish and listed threatened and 

 endangered species is concurrent with the USFWS. Most fish and wildlife species (approx. 

 1800 across the US) are not hunted, fished, or listed as threatened or endangered species. In 

 New Jersey, for example, our popular game species include the wild turkey and white-tailed 

 deer, but we are also home to 195 species of "non-game" birds as the American goldfinch and 

 osprey, 62 species of non-game mammals as the Tuckahoe masked shrew and 29 sf>ecies of 



