BOZEMAN – Wildlife officials say last year’s fears that the Obama administration would enact sweeping gun control reform have translated into a windfall for wildlife agencies nationwide.
Receipts for the Pitman-Robertson Fund, funded by an excise tax on guns and ammunition, are up 40 percent across the country. Adam Brooks, federal aid program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said that has meant a $3.5 million increase in cash for wildlife conservation in the state.
The tax, which is collected by the federal government, is levied on firearm and ammunition manufacturers, and the proceeds are distributed based on states’ shares of hunters and habitat. Brooks said Montana’s $12.5 million cut was delivered Feb. 12.
The taxes were collected between Sept. 31, 2008, and Oct. 1, 2009, and the increase correlates with the 2008 national election, which was marked in the West by speculation that Obama would pursue strict gun control legislation.
“A lot of it is related to the run on guns and bullets right after President Obama was elected,” said Ken McDonald, wildlife division administrator with FWP.
He said wildlife officials don’t expect the increase to continue.