Sportsmen’s Heritage Legislation H.R. 1825 Secures 100th Co-sponsor
Safari Club International 07.29.13
An important milestone has been reached as 100 co-sponsors have now signed onto the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act, H.R. 1825, introduced by Congressman Dan Benishek of Michigan. The legislation received bi-partisan support when it was voted out of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources on June 17th and now awaits a floor vote.
“America’s hunters and anglers have worked diligently to lobby their members of Congress, asking H.R. 1825 to be passed into law. 100 co-sponsors have heard this call, and the U.S. House of Representatives should now pass H.R. 1825 to protect hunting and fishing on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands permanently,” said Safari Club International President Craig Kauffman.
“SCI would like to thank Congressman Benishek for his leadership along with the other organizations who are supporting H.R. 1825,” said SCI’s Director of Government Affairs Melissa Simpson. “This legislation continues to be the most pro-active and positive bill currently moving in the House to ensure that future generations of sportsmen and women will have equal access to opportunities to hunt and fish on federal lands without having to continually fight legal battles.”
Safari Club International hosted a “Lobby Day” on May 10th and more than 80 hunters traveled to D.C. to meet with their elected officials on the importance of H.R. 1825. On the same day, SCI’s Melissa Simpson testified at a hearing before the Committee on Natural Resources Sub-Committee on Public Lands in support of H.R. 1825. More recently SCI hosted a breakfast briefing on July 10th with the members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus.
“With over 30 million hunters and anglers across the U.S. and an additional 30 million Americans who participate in the shooting sports each year, it is imperative that the U.S. House of Representatives take speedy action to pass H.R. 1825 and protect the outdoor heritage that we all share,” concluded Simpson.
Protecting hunters’ rights and promoting wildlife conservation, SCI’s two areas of focus, historically has been the interest of hundreds of individuals long before SCI was established. But how did SCI as an organization begin?
Forty years ago, there were many safari clubs across the country made up of local, unaffiliated groups of hunters. One such was Safari Club of Los Angeles, which was formed in April 1971 by forty-seven individuals. In early 1972, an out-of-towner from a similar club in Chicago attended one of the monthly Wednesday night meetings, and it was decided that the L.A. club should attempt to combine with the one in Chicago to make it an affiliated chapter. The founder of Safari Club of Los Angeles, C.J. McElroy, went to the Windy City and instituted the new chapter.
Eleven months after the formation of Safari Club of Los Angeles, on March 9, 1972, the name was changed officially to Safari Club International. SCI continued to reach out to other independent safari clubs throughout the United States in an effort to combine them into a single overall organization.
Today, interest in SCI’s two primary missions has grown a worldwide network. Subsequent involvement and promotion of these missions is rooted in each of our 55,000 members, supported through each of our 190 membership chapters found across the globe, and put into action by government representatives and personnel both nationally and internationally.
In this way, we can encourage an appreciation for nature and wildlife so that conservation efforts remain strong, while also fighting to protect our rich hunting heritage. Big changes can be achieved through the endeavors of many who are united in a mission – the mission of Safari Club International.
