1. Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 Elena Whitlock

2. What is It? The Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce to establish, conduct, and assist with national training programs for State fish and wildlife law enforcement personnel. It also authorized funding for research and development of new or improved methods to support fish and wildlife law enforcement.

3. Why is It Important and Why Was it Enacted? Fish and wildlife are important economic, aesthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific resources. They provide opportunity for hunting, commercial and sport fishing, trapping, and the countless aesthetic rewards of outdoor experiences. Collectively these pursuits have created significant employment opportunity and have generated an important outdoor recreation industry. Fish and wildlife have inherent values as components and indicators of healthy ecosystems. They often demonstrate how altered environments may effect changes in quality of life for humans.

4. Current Federal Agency The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce are responsible for the regulation of this act. This is a national law that also requires Congress to give them money to carry out their duties and to be reimbursed by the state for any payments.

5. Examples of What It Does Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 implement migratory bird treaties between the United States and Great Britain for Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia. These treaties protect certain migratory birds from take, except as permitted under the Acts. The Acts authorize the Secretary of the Interior to regulate take of migratory birds in the United States. Under this authority, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service controls the hunting of migratory game birds through regulations.

6. How It has Changed Public Law 105-328, signed October 30, 1998, amended the Act to allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to use the proceeds from the disposal of abandoned items derived from fish, wildlife, and plants to cover the costs of shipping, storing, and disposing of those items. Expanded the use of fines, penalties, and forfeiture funds received under ESA and Lacey Act to include the costs of shipping, storing, and disposing of items. Specifically prohibits the selling of items whose sale is banned under other laws.

7. Additional Links http://www.doi.gov/partnerships/pdfs/fis h_and_wildlife_authorities.pdfwww.doi.gov/partnerships/pdfs/fis h_and_wildlife_authorities.pdf