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Turning environmental values into priorities for Texas
Teaming with Wildlife Coalition: Fund Parks and Wildlife with All of the Sporting Goods Tax
The Teaming with Wildlife Coalition, a group of pro-conservation organizations, businesses and agencies, wants all of the tax dollars collected from Texas' sporting goods tax to be devoted to funding state parks and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.
The Texas coalition, which includes the League and groups such as Environmental Defense Fund, Audubon Texas, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, Texas Conservation Alliance and The Nature Conservancy - Texas Chapter, has submitted a letter and testified before the Joint Committee on Use of the Sales Tax on Sporting Goods.
The sporting goods sales tax was always supposed to have funded Parks and Wildlife, but somehow only a portion of the tax revenue was ever allocated to the department, the rest remaining in the General Fund. It's time for Texas to devote the resources needed in order for our state parks to deliver the kind of positive economic impact Texas communities need. It's time for Parks and Wildlife to have the funds it needs to fulfill its mission. Texas is rapidly growing and losing parks and open space to development and other uses. It's time for Parks and Wildlife to have the support it needs. Texas state parks should be a point of pride for Texans, not a point of embarassment. And Texas kids need to get outdoors and into the wild landscapes more and more often. Only by fulling funding the parks deparment with all of the sporting goods tax can this be accomplished.
The Teaming with Wildlife Coalition will be doing all we can to help assure needed funding for our precious parks and for wildlife protection.
View the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition's letter to the Joint Committee here:
10-27-08%20Ltr%20to%20Joint%20Committee%20on%20Use%20of%20the%20Sales%20Tax%20on%20Sporting%20Goods.pdf
Monday, August 04, 2008The Texas coalition, which includes the League and groups such as Environmental Defense Fund, Audubon Texas, Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, Texas Conservation Alliance and The Nature Conservancy - Texas Chapter, has submitted a letter and testified before the Joint Committee on Use of the Sales Tax on Sporting Goods.
The sporting goods sales tax was always supposed to have funded Parks and Wildlife, but somehow only a portion of the tax revenue was ever allocated to the department, the rest remaining in the General Fund. It's time for Texas to devote the resources needed in order for our state parks to deliver the kind of positive economic impact Texas communities need. It's time for Parks and Wildlife to have the funds it needs to fulfill its mission. Texas is rapidly growing and losing parks and open space to development and other uses. It's time for Parks and Wildlife to have the support it needs. Texas state parks should be a point of pride for Texans, not a point of embarassment. And Texas kids need to get outdoors and into the wild landscapes more and more often. Only by fulling funding the parks deparment with all of the sporting goods tax can this be accomplished.
The Teaming with Wildlife Coalition will be doing all we can to help assure needed funding for our precious parks and for wildlife protection.
View the Teaming with Wildlife Coalition's letter to the Joint Committee here:
10-27-08%20Ltr%20to%20Joint%20Committee%20on%20Use%20of%20the%20Sales%20Tax%20on%20Sporting%20Goods.pdf
Labels: state parks, Teaming with Wildlife, TPWD
Preventing Wildlife from Becoming Endangered
The Texas Teaming with Wildlife Coalition is a group of organizations, businesses and individuals working to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered in Texas. The Coalition represents sportsmen and environmentalists, fish and wildlife managers and tourism and nature businesses who all want to advocate in support of State Wildlife Grants, the only federal program in this area in every state. According to Teaming with Wildlife, since 2001, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has received more than $24 million in State Wildlife Grants.
The Coalition also works to educate the public and officials about the importance of the State Wildlife Action Plan developed by TPWD-- aiming, ultimately, for dedicated public funding for the prevention of wildlife endangerment.
Endorsements of this type are good and helpful, but it is doubtful that the Texas legislators will devote sufficient resources to the Parks and Wildlife Department, to our state parks and for the protection of wildlife until they are forced to by their constituents.
All the more reason to support pro-environmental candidates in November's election for the Texas House and Texas Senate.
Labels: parks and wildlife, state parks, TPWD
