WASHINGTON, D.C, October 28, 2021 – Earlier this month, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas joined 54 other members of the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition to submit a set of formal recommendations for the Biden Administration’s “America the Beautiful” initiative, also referred to as “Thirty by Thirty.” The recommendations highlight several priorities of the sporting-conservation community as they relate to the development of the Administration’s forthcoming American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, which will serve as a measure of conservation and restoration progress to date.
The recommendations submitted to President Biden’s interagency working group reflect the priorities first outlined in the Hunt Fish 30×30 Coalition’s “Hunting and Fishing Community Statement on the 30×30 Initiative” that was developed in response to “Thirty by Thirty” legislation introduced at the state level in 2020. In the statement, which has currently been signed by 66 sporting-conservation organizations, the Coalition highlights the important role that sportsmen and women have played in the conservation of fish, wildlife, and natural ecosystems in the United States. Recognizing this history of conservation successes, the current recommendations present an opportunity to advance pragmatic, successful conservation efforts while recognizing many existing efforts that have, to date, been largely overlooked relative to this initiative.
“MRAA is excited to work with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation to assure that moving forward the 30×30 initiative is inclusive of the recreational boating, fishing, and hunting communities,” said Matt Gruhn, President of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “We applaud the Biden Administration for including us in this conversation and assuring that recreational boating, fishing, and hunting will only continue to grow through the America the Beautiful Initiative.”
These recommendations were designed to provide an initial framework as the Administration’s interagency working group begins developing the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas.
Key priorities of the recommendations include:
•Clearly defining “conservation” to support the active management and sustainable use of our nation’s public trust fish and wildlife resources.
•Collaborating closely with entities devoted to achieving measurable biodiversity conservation objectives, including:
oState fish and wildlife management agencies,
oRegional fish and wildlife management bodies,
oMembers of the sporting-conservation community,
oThe more than 500 federally recognized Native American tribes, and
oPrivate landowners through voluntary, incentive-based opportunities.
•Recognizing and including all efforts directly contributing to biodiversity conservation in the forthcoming American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, including those on lands subject to multiple uses.
To learn more about the America the Beautiful Initiative and MRAA’s involvement, read our past blog here. If you have any questions about this initiative or how MRAA has been working with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and other key partners, please contact MRAA’s Government Relations Manager Chad Tokowicz at chad@mraa.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com or contact us at 763-315-8043.
