It’s only fitting that Georgia, the largest state east of the Mississippi, would also offer huge opportunities to hikers, hunters, fishermen, bird-watchers and just about anybody who likes being on a lake, in the woods or astride a mountain top.
As a hunter, fisherman and self-appointed naturalist and photography buff, who’s lived in virtually every region of the country, I can assure you the Peach State is hard to beat when it comes to prospects for outdoor recreation.
Georgia has vast amounts of public use land available, much of it purchased with taxes paid only by hunters. We can all thank the Pittman-Robertson Act, which has been around for 76 years. Under its provisions hunters and fisherman pay 10 or 11 percent on equipment. The tax generates hundreds of millions of dollars each year, and most of it is returned to the states to provide habitat for wildlife, scientific research and a host of other outdoor activities for the non-hunting outdoor enthusiasts.
According to the dedicated public servants at the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division, so rare were white tail deer that the mere sighting of one in the 1930s would be the talk of the town. Today, deer, wild turkey, black bear, birds of prey and other species nearly lost to lax hunting regulations and habitat destruction have rebounded. Deer populations in Georgia stand at over one million today and many game and non-game species are plentiful thanks to outdoor types who plunk down their money to buy guns, ammunition, archery or fishing equipment.
To date, the law which is also known as the Wildlife and Sport Fishing Restoration Program brings about $7 million dollars to Georgia every year, totaling nearly $150 million since the program began. This ongoing and dedicated funding stream has enabled Georgia to acquire or manage over 900,000 acres of land for hunting, fishing and other public uses.
The sportsmen pay the tax indirectly. It is actually an excise tax on manufacturers of guns, ammo, archery gear and fishing tackle. However, as with most taxes on the makers of goods, it is passed along to the consumer. In 1937, it was actually the hunters, state wildlife agencies and the arms and ammunition industry who urged the laws’ adoption.
In Cumming, one small but well known archery equipment maker –marketing under the names of Impact and Axion –says it is one of the few taxes where the benefits come back to those who pay many times over. Impact/Axion CEO Braham Khoshnood says, “These taxes have had a measurable impact on the habitat and on sustaining a healthy population of game and non-game species. Everyone, hunters and non-hunters alike are beneficiaries.”
Marty Farrell lives in Cumming and can be reached at martysyracuse@yahoo.com
