After months of fighting by marine industry advocates to retain the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s funding, the Department of the Interior terminated RBFF’s grant June 10 in a letter that appeared to emphasize that the funding “no longer meets program goals or DOI priorities,” according to an article by OutdoorLife.com.
“We were working very hard behind the scenes with members of Congress, their staff and staff at Interior to figure out where the funding was, whether it was going to be released and when it was going to be released,” Rob Shane, public affairs manager at the American Sportfishing Association, said in the OutdoorLife.com article. “That timetable kept getting pushed back and back and back. That was our frustration in some respects; this all happened without any transparent or open communication with RBFF and with the industry.”
The federal funds canceled — mandated under the National Outreach and Communications Program — come from excise taxes collected from the sale of fishing tackle, licenses and boat fuel. That money cannot be redirected without an act of Congress.
These user-pay/public-benefit dollars fueled RBFF’s conservation work and public access initiatives across all 50 states, helping to generate an estimated $230.5 billion economic impact on the U.S. economy, supporting 1.1 million jobs, generating $263 million in tax revenue, and contributing an estimated $2 billion annually for fisheries and habitat restoration.
In addition to national awareness efforts under the Take Me Fishing brand, RBFF also administers state-level recruitment, retention and reactivation grants; supports youth outreach through First Catch Centers; and equips stakeholders with tools, research and digital platforms that amplify industry engagement. Without RBFF guidance and resources, state and local programs will be left scrambling to cover costs and activity plans this summer and beyond.
