January 19, 2023 (Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) announced the new leadership of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) for the 118th Congress. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus is a bipartisan, bicameral, caucus that features approximately 200 members in the House and Senate, representing all 50 states. The CSC champions efforts on behalf of America’s 55 million sportsmen and women that promotes fish and wildlife conservation, sporting access and opportunities, and works to combat efforts that seek to limit our time-honored traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, and recreational shooting. Collectively, the CSC is one of the most powerful and organized Caucuses on Capitol Hill. In the new Congress, the Senate leadership is comprised of Co-Chair Senator Joe Manchin III (WV), Co-Chair Senator John Boozman (AR), Vice-Chair Senator Angus King Jr. (ME), and Vice-Chair Senator Roger Marshall (KS). In the House, leadership consists of Co-Chair Representative Bruce Westerman (AR), Co-Chair Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA), Vice-Chair Representative Garret Graves (LA), and Vice-Chair Representative Jared Golden (ME). “Outdoor recreation is a way of life in Arkansas that has shaped me and countless other Natural State residents,” said Sen. Boozman. “I’m proud to serve as a Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, which has been such a strong leader in advancing policies protecting the environment and conserving our planet for future generations to enjoy. I look forward to working together to continue this advocacy, crafting legislation to safeguard the long-term health of wildlife habitat and promoting responsible stewardship.” “I am honored to once again serve as the Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus in the 118th Congress. Growing up in West Virginia, I was introduced to all that the outdoors has to offer from a young age and to this day, I remain an avid sportsman. Our nation’s hunting and fishing heritage is so important to who we are as a country, and the number of visitors to our public lands only continues to grow as more Americans fall in love with the great outdoors. I look forward to working with my fellow caucus members to ensure that people across this nation can continue to enjoy hunting, fishing, recreational shooting and the outdoor traditions we know and love,” said Senator Manchin, Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. “It’s an honor to serve as a Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen Caucus in the 118th Congress. I look forward to working with fellow Co-Chair Bruce Westerman (AR), our colleagues in the Caucus, and with the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation to promote the necessary conservation practices in order to perpetuate people's privilege to fish and hunt,” said Rep. Panetta. “As the U.S. Representative for the 19th Congressional District, I have some of the West Coast’s most pristine spots to fish and forests to hunt. However, we on the American West face the enduring threat of extreme weather events from wildfires to flooding which can restrict and reduce our outdoor activities. The Congressional Sportsmen Caucus will continue to advance bicameral, bipartisan legislation to help conserve, manage, and restore our forests, oceans, lakes, rivers, rangelands, wetlands, and grasslands and protect at-risk species and wildlife so that we also can support and sustain our nation's outdoor recreational heritage." “Hunting and fishing are a way of life in my home state of Arkansas, so I very much look forward to serving as the Republican Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus,” said Rep. Westerman. "My role as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee presents a unique opportunity to further collaborate with the Caucus, as we will work together on many issues. I am eager to work alongside my friends, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, Senator Boozman, and Senator Manchin, to advance the priorities of sportsmen and women around the country.” “The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation extends our gratitude to the new leadership of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus,” said CSF President and CEO Jeff Crane. “In the previous Congress, CSF was encouraged by the number of critical conservation priorities that were ratified into law as well as the amount of anti-sporting initiatives that were defeated. This good work would not be possible without the work of the CSC, which is a model for bipartisan cooperation and science-based lawmaking, two things that can be in short supply in our current political climate. The leadership of the CSC in the 118th Congress brings unique and diverse expertise to the sporting-conservation policy arena, and CSF looks forward to all that can be accomplished for America’s original conservationists, our sportsmen and women.” Notable Accomplishments of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus in the 117th Congress included: - The inclusion of the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act and the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act into the Omnibus Bill;
- The enactment of the Modernizing Access to Our Public Lands Act;
- The enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contained over $40 billion in funding for sportsmen and women;
- The enactment of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Reauthorization Act of 2022;
- The passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act in the House and the Committee level in the Senate;
- The Committee passage of the Cottonwood Fix, the RISEE Act, and the America’s Outdoor Recreation Act;
- The inclusions of the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 language into the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023; and
- Defeating numerous pieces of legislation that sought to negatively impact our sporting-conservation heritage.
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