Firearm and Bow Hunter Safety and Education Program (Section 10 Hunter Education Program)

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The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, 50 Stat. 917 as amended; 16 U.S.C. 669-669b, 669-669k, popularly known as the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, was approved by Congress on September 2, 1937, and began functioning July 1, 1938. The purpose of this Act was to provide funding for the selection, restoration, rehabilitation, and improvement of wildlife habitat, wildlife management research, and the distribution of information produced by the projects. The Act was amended on October 23, 1970, to include funding for hunter safety programs and the development or the operation and maintenance of firearm and archery ranges. Congress saw a need for additional funds to support hunter education and shooting range development, if States were to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Congressional Resource Committee had broad support from sportsmen¿s organizations who stated that States were not using their possible allotments to support these programs or there was not a consistent level of effort to further the future of hunting. As a result, Congress passed the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act of 2000 and as part of this Act created the Firearm and Bowhunter Education and Safety Program (Section 10) to address these concerns. The passage of Section 10 set aside $7.5 million in 2001 and 2002 and $8 million thereafter to ¿enhance¿ existing hunter education or shooting range programs. Additional information about Section 10 is on the internet at http://wsfrprograms.fws.gov/Subpages/GrantPrograms/HunterEd/HE.htm.

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