Title XXVIII NATURAL RESOURCES;CONSERVATION,RECLAMATION AND USE

Chapter 379 FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

SECTION 104 Right to hunt and fish.

379.104 Right to hunt and fish.---The Legislature recognizes that hunting,fishing and the taking of game are a valued part of the cultural heritage of Florida and should be forever preserved for Floridians.The Legislature further recognizes that these activities play an important role in the state's economy and in the conservation,preservation,and management of the state's natural resources.Therefore,the Legislature intends that the citizens of Florida have a right to hunt,fish,and take game,subject to the regulations and restrictions prescribed by general law and by s.9,Art. IV of the State Constitution.

sportmenslink.org/state/fl:

Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation:

Florida

Ranking first overall in the nation,The Sunshine Stare's 3.15 million hunters and anglers spend $5.9 billion per year and support 94,884 jobs.Working with CSF in a coordinated effort to protect and promote the sportsman's traditions in Florida are 13 members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus,Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus.

Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus

Florida Members---Your representatives in Congress.

Gus Bilirakis

Vern Buchanan

Ron Desantis

Neal Dunn

Alcee Hastings

Bill Posey

Thomas Rooney

Dennis Ross

John Rutherford

Ted Yoho

Governors Sportsmen's Caucus Member

Governor Rick Scott

Florida Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus

Halsey Beshears

Sportsmenslink.org

3.15 milion people(residents and non-residents)hunted or fished in Florida in 2011,more than the population of the Tampa,St,Petersburg and Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area(3.15 million vs 2.8 million).

Florida's resident sportsmen and women could fill every one of the state's professional sports venues(NFL,NBA,MLB,NHL and NASCAR)more than three and a half times(2.07 million vs 566,998 combined capacity).

Sportsmen and women spent $5.92 billion on hunting and fishing in 2011-that is almost twice the combined revenues for greenhouse/nursery products and oranges,the state's top two agricultural commodities that year($5.92 billion vs $3.27 billion in greenhouse/nursery and oranges receipts).

Hunters and anglers support 94,884 jobs in Florida,more than the Universities of Florida,South Florida,and Central Florida,combined(94,884 vs 59,138 combined employees).

Spending by sportsmen and women in Florida generated $611 million in state and local taxes in 2011-that's enough to support the average salaries of about 12,000 teachers.

Here are the facts on Florida's anglers and hunters.

Total Sportsmen:Participants 3,152,000,Days 62.8 million,Spending $5.9 billion,Jobs 94,884

Total Anglers:Participants 3,092,000,Days 57.6 million,Spending $4.95 billion,Jobs 80,211

Total Hunters:241,800,Days 5.2 million,Spending $965 million,Jobs 14,673

**The Economic impact is evident in the data provided by Sportsmen'slink.org**

Florida's Natural Resources are its greatest asset and unlike any other in the United States.Floridians take great pride in this,conservation is and will always be the Number one goal of our Hunters and Anglers.The North American Wildlife Conservation Model,the only one of its kind in existence,established in the 1800's by hunters and fisherman is a true testament to our passionate an unwavering support and protection of America's Natural Resources for we are the true conservationists.Our heritage of Hunting and Fishing is unsurpassed by no other state.In order to preserve this heritage so many of us treasure I'm asking each of you to weigh all the data presented to you,to afford we the people an oppurtunity to vote on this matter,in order to have our right to hunt and fish recognized in Florida's Constitution as it is already a State Statute,379.104.This is an excellent oppurtunity to show how the State of Florida feels about its rich tradition of hunting and fishing as well as support for continued conservation in the future that is handed down from generation to generation. Each of our Florida C.R.C. members have the oppurtunity that few have ever known as it only comes but once every twenty years,to sit and listen to the residents they represent and to afford its citizens the chance to make a beneficial change. If you feel as I do i know you will take this task to heart and pass this proposal onto the 2018 Election Ballot,Thank you and God Bless.