Right to Hunt and Fish top 2010 achievement
The South Carolina Camo Coalition, brimming with confidence after the overwhelming passage in November of the Constitutional amendment guaranteeing citizens the Right to Hunt and Fish, has laid out a list of nine priorities for the 2010 legislative session.
“An 89-percent approval in the election is incredible,” said Ben Gregg, executive director of the S.C. Wildlife Federation, which oversees the coalition. “That tells me that while many do not hunt and fish in South Carolina, they are strong supporters of our outdoors heritage.”
And that, Gregg said, is a trump card the Camo Coalition can play in future dealings with the legislature. The Coalition is a group of 24 conservation organizations, ranging from the S.C. Wildlife Federation to the S.C. Coonhunters Association to Trout Unlimited, that have partnered to influence legislation affecting sportsmen and the natural resources of South Carolina.
The coalition’s legislative priorities for 2011 include: a freshwater fisheries bill; anti-bear baying laws; prescribed fire legislation; state regulations to implement the water conservation bill from 2010; funding for natural resources agencies, including the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and the S.C. Forestry Commission; secure adequate funding for the Conservation Bank; protecting SCDNR law enforcement from being removed from the agency; a new migratory bird stamp; and a proposal by SCDNR to implement a buck deer tagging program.
Funding for the natural resources agencies in an era of budget cutting remains a top priority, according to Heather Clarkson, SCWF coordinator for the Coalition. Clarkson said passage of the proposed Freshwater Fisheries Bill, which consolidates existing fisheries laws to make them easier to understand for fishermen and for law enforcement is also a high priority.
“Bear baying could turn out to be a big thing, as well as the migratory bird stamp and buck tag proposals,” she added.
Cary Chamblee, a lobbyist for the Coalition, said the group will support legislation to outlaw bear baying, which was allowed in recent years by the legislature.
“We support ethical hunting,” Chamblee said, adding that bear baying has been publicized in recent months and gives hunting a black eye.
Although the Conservation Bank needs $7½ to $8 million, Chamblee said the Coalition will push for at least a part of that funding to keep the program going. Since 2004, The Conservation Bank has funded the preservation of, and public access to, nearly 153,000 acres of wildlife habitat, natural areas, historical sites, sites of unique ecological significance, forestlands, farmlands, watersheds, open space and urban parks.
The Coalition will also work to extend the life of the Conservation Bank, which was given initial legislative authority through 2013, for another 10 years.
An SCDNR plan to combine the migratory bird permit with the S.C. Waterfowl Stamp was approved by the legislature several years ago but was vetoed by the governor. The Coalition will work again in 2011 to bring all migratory bird hunting under one permit at a cost of $11.50.
The Coalition will also support proposed legislation to require a tag for every deer shot, the same as the requirement in most other states that have regulated deer hunting.
“In addition, informing legislators about specific legislative priorities, we will be reminding lawmakers that the state’s economic backbone is the outdoors,” Gregg said.
“Combine outdoor pursuits, tourism, farming and forestry, and here’s what you get: about one-third of the state’s workforce. Those who wisely use and cherish South Carolina’s natural resources are South Carolina’s greatest economic success story.”
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