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nation's most pressing state and federal resource needs, but instead is 

 primarily an effort by lAFWA to fund its own constituency: state fish 

 and wildlife agencies. This plan limits too narrowly which agencies get 

 funded and defines too broadly how the money is to be spent. 

 "Teaming With Wildlife" allows for money to be spent on a wide array 

 of projects that do not address the principal concerns of those who 

 will be paying for the plan. 



Projects that "Teaming With Wildlife" proposes to fund include: the 

 building and maintenance of nature centers, observation towers, 

 interpretive signs, blinds and shelters; the conducting of wildlife 

 population studies; the production of backyard guides for wildlife 

 watching and the creation of wildlife curricula for schools. While these 

 projects are worthwhile, they primarily serve the general public and 

 ignore pressing public land issues that are facing the outdoor 

 recreation community. 



This Subcommittee is well aware that many of our nation's parks and 

 forests are overcrowded to the point of diminishing the recreational 

 experience. Despite this fact, as well as the fact that outdoor 

 recreation is a rapidly growing segment of tourism in this country, 

 funding for our natural resources is in a constant state of decline. Any 

 plan to raise money via the outdoor recreation community should be 

 tightly focused towards solving these problems. 



The "Teaming With Wildlife" plan has not allowed the outdoor 

 recreation community to play a significant role in determining where 



