The Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The Pittman-Robertson Act went into effect in 1937. These important acts both created voluntary federal excise taxes on gear that sportsmen buy. Let’s check out some numbers and learn about the impact that we have.

The Dingell-Johnson Act provides funding to manage, restore and enhance fisheries throughout the United States and its possessions. The act also provides money for aquatic education and the building of new boat launches, etc. Since its inception, this excise tax has generated more than $12 billion.

Who, or what, benefits from Dingell-Johnson funds? Folks that haven’t fully studied the outcomes might be dismissive and think just a couple of people that fish gain anything. Perhaps that was one of the original goals in restoring sport fisheries. But the truth is that you can’t clean up a lake, pond or stream or remove invasive species without making the environment better for all. It’s better for frogs, it’s better for ducks, it’s better for aquatic insects, and it’s also better for people.

The Dingell-Johnson Act revenue now amounts to roughly $1 billion per year. It has been used to create more than 9000 public boat launches nationwide. It helps fund more than 320 state fish hatcheries. As just one example, the State of Virginia has purchased 37 lakes and ponds with money from the Act over the years for the public.

Dingell-Johnson’s older sibling, the Pittman-Robertson Act, has generated almost $30 billion for wildlife conservation since being enacted. The total is being projected at about $1.2 billion for 2025. That’s a lot of money and it does an awful lot of good. We can all feel great about ourselves and the help we provide to the environment. Hunters and fishermen are the original conservationists and always will be.

Anyone that has ever suffered through a Hunter Education Course that I have taught knows I always talk at length about the Pittman-Robertson Act. I don’t do that just because it is part of the syllabus. I do it because I believe in it. It’s one of a scant few taxes that I can look someone in the eye and say that I am happy to pay.

The example that I always throw out during the course is of the endangered Eastern Bog turtle. Pittman-Robertson money was used to buy portions of the Bashakill Swamp in Sullivan County which is one of the last strongholds of those ugly little turtles. And every time sportsmen buy new equipment, we can feel good about helping all of the endangered and threatened species out there.

New York was set to receive about $32 million for 2025 from the two acts combined. Pennsylvania received over $34.5 million in 2024 (the most recent numbers I could find) from Pittman-Robertson and has received over $275 million since 1937.

So, let’s all take a minute to celebrate 75 years of the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 and 88 years of the Pittman-Robertson Act. Kudos to the folks who spearheaded these acts so long ago and to their fellow members of the Senate and Assembly that overwhelmingly passed them in a bipartisan manner. Kudos to Presidents Harry Truman and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, respectively, who signed them into law. And most of all, kudos to everyone reading this column who has ever bought a box of ammunition, a new rod or reel, some arrows, marine fuel for a boat, or any other such sporting goods and has helped to save the environment.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.