The US Department of the Interior announced this week that Mississippi will receive $16,153,966 to support conservation and outdoor recreation projects. The amount is part of $1.1 billion in annual national funding going to state wildlife and fisheries agencies from revenues generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration acts.

The funds, which are distributed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, are derived from excise taxes paid on hunting, shooting, boating and angling industries on firearms, bows and ammunition and sport fishing tackle, some boat engines, and small engine fuel. Those taxes are paid by the manufacturers and the cost is passed on to the consumer.

According to Larry Castle, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks director of Technical Programs, the funding is vital to the agency.

"Critically, I think is a good word," Castle said. "I think most state (wildlife and fisheries) agencies would be shackled without PR and DJ funds.


"It reaches far past what people realize. They go back to the deer restoration in the 1940s. It pays for our wildlife management areas. It pays for our state lakes. All the boat ramps across the state — those are paid for by PRDJ dollars."

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The funding comes as a three-to-one match. For example, if the department has an approved project that costs $1 million, it is reimbursed $750,000 through PRDJ funds.

However, not all expenses are eligible for PRDJ funding.

"They are special fund accounts," Castle said. "There are restrictions on those.

"You can't use them on alligators. That's not an eligible species for PR or JD dollars."

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Funds are allocated to states based on the physical size of the state and the number of resident hunting and fishing licenses sold. Castle pointed out that the number of acres in Mississippi does not change, so license sales are more important than their face value.

To maximize the number of license sales, the department offers voluntary, $5 licenses for exempt youth hunters and for exempt seniors over 65 years of age it offers a voluntary, $5 lifetime license. While that may not seem like much revenue, Castle said it multiplies through the PRDJ acts.

"Typically, adding one license-holder to the license-holders we can count, we'll get about $10 back for every $5 license per year," Castle said.

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License sales are also vital to the agency because it is almost completely user-funded. The wildlife and fisheries bureaus receive no money from the state's general fund. Only the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and the parks division are allocated funds by the legislature and that has been described as limited.

"We get zero general fund dollars," Castle said. "We don't do anything hunting or fishing-wise with general fund tax dollars."