The MRAA and other outdoor recreation organizations are building a comprehensive list of Land and Water Conservation Fund-eligible recreation projects for funding through the Great American Outdoors Act. With the passage of GAOA this summer, we have an unprecedented opportunity to have our voice and priorities carried out through LWCF and the maintenance backlog. Now it’s on […]

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted yesterday to reduce the Atlantic menhaden quota by 10 percent, establishing a quota of 194,400 metric tons for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years. Atlantic menhaden are a primary food source for numerous sportfish populations, especially striped bass. The harvest reduction comes in […]

On October 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Save our Seas 2.0. Led by House Ocean Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Don Young (R-AK-At Large) in the House, and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), this bipartisan legislation which is supported by the recreational boating industry will […]

On October 1, President Trump signed into law a short-term funding bill to fund the federal government at current spending levels until December 11. The measure includes a provision that extends the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund until October 1, 2021– a significant priority for the recreational boating industry Funded through excise taxes […]

On Thursday, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Angus King (ME-I), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act. This bipartisan legislation, which matches companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, would allow the Small […]

Yesterday, the latest COVID-19 economic aid package was proposed by a 50-member bipartisan group of House legislators. The Problem Solvers Caucus announced a $1.5 trillion package dubbed their “March To Common Ground” that split the difference between the $3.4 trillion HEROES Act passed by House Democrats in May, and the $1 trillion HEALS Act proposed […]

On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy proposed a repeal of the overwhelmingly bipartisan sales tax cap on boats as part of his revised nine-month 2021 state budget to make up for a $5.6 billion budget shortfall due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Governor’s $1 billion tax hike also includes a third attempt to raise […]

Hurricane Laura made landfall on Texas and Louisiana’s coasts early Thursday morning as the strongest hurricane to hit the region since 1861. The Category 4 hurricane with a life-threatening storm surge brought significant inland flooding and 150 mph winds. Fortunately search and rescue teams have found no reports of widespread fatalities. Hurricane Laura is the […]

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission votes to improve menhaden management WASHINGTON D.C. —The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted unanimously today to improve management strategies for Atlantic menhaden,
 by requiring consideration for the small baitfish’s impact on fish up the food chain. Economically important sportfish such as striped bass rely on healthy menhaden populations […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 4, 2020 – President Trump today signed the strongly biparisan Great American Outdoors Act, the most significant conservation package in a generation, into law. This comes after the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate overwhelmingly passed the package to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the significant […]