On Tuesday, February 11, 2020, President Donald J. Trump proposed a new $12.8 billion budget for the Department of Interior for the 2021 Fiscal Year. The budget features $1 billion requested for wildland fire control programs aimed to protect American citizens, their communities and the flora and fauna of the fire prone areas.

Speaking about recent fires, Secretary of Interior, David Bernhardt said, “In 2019, we treated over 1.4 mil- lion acres, but we must recognize that the length of our fire season is getting longer; fires are large; and risks are higher.”

Hunter Nation CEO, Luke Hilgemann applauded the announcement, “After experiencing the devastation of the fires in our Western and Mountain states in recent years and the utter devastation last year to Aus- tralia’s wildlife populations, it is clear this Administration is dedicated to putting the money and resources where they are needed to address these fires.”

“This budget will also allow for expanded access to public lands and encourage and enable more recrea- tion on those lands,” said Hunter Nation co-founder Keith Mark. “It’s clear this Administration has heard the concerns of hunters and others who love the great American outdoors and who want recreational ac- cess to it.”

“This budget checks all the boxes by being proactive,” added Hunter Nation co-founder, Don Peay. “It will create a better habitat through improved fire protection and land management programs; better uses of our natural resource through targeted energy development; improved national security at and around our borders; and improve the government services on a regional and local basis by adding jobs to the work- force.”

“We are particularly excited to see nearly $2 million ($1.9M) of completely new funding allocated to en- hance the Department-wide Freedom of Information Act coordination, response and technical assistance. This Administration has obviously made it a priority to bring more transparency to how our conservation dollars are being spent,” Mark added. “Information is power, and this money will help get that information out to the people who care and vote”.

Bernhardt also noted, “We are also extremely appreciative of today’s proposal to once again include the creation of the Public Lands Infrastructure Fund, and we remain optimistic that Congress will finally ad-dress the tremendous backlog caused by insufficient funds to appropriately maintain our National Parks, our Indian schools and Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management facilities.

Hunter Nation is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Traditional American Values of God, Fam- ily, Country, Hunting and Conservation by fostering unity and cooperation among the nation’s outdoor enthusiasts. As America’s fastest growing grassroots hunting and conservation organization, Hunter Nation works tirelessly to educate and inform citizens and elected officials of the importance of the proper management of wildlife and the prudent conservation of their supporting ecosystems for the benefit of all. The Hunter Nation leadership and advisory team are the most noted and influential group ever assembled for this cause and invite new members to visit hunternation.org to lend their support and join today. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

For more information, contact info@hunternation.org

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