{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://kind.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/key-sportsman-groups-endorse-rep-kind-s-bipartisan-bill-manage-and", "Key Sportsman Groups Endorse Rep. Kind\u2019s Bipartisan Bill to Manage and Prevent the Spread of Chronic Wasting Disease", "2017-11-21", "2017", "2017-11", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Ron Kind", "K000188", "kind.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, key sportsman groups endorsed Rep. Kind\u2019s bipartisan Chronic Wasting Disease Management Act. The bill will support state and tribal efforts to develop and implement management strategies as well as support research regarding the causes of chronic wasting disease and methods to control the further spread of the disease. CWD positive deer have been found in or within 10 miles of Grant, Vernon, Crawford, Richland, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Portage, and Wood counties.\nBelow are comments from groups who have endorsed the bill: \u00a0\nWisconsin Wildlife Federation\n\u201cThe funding and help with research outlined in Reps. Kind and Sensenbrenner\u2019s legislation would give the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources the kind of support it needs as it grapples with the spread of chronic wasting disease in the state,\u201d said George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. \u201cWisconsin\u2019s deer herds are critically important to the state\u2019s more than 600,000 gun hunters and 225,000 bow hunters. They represent an estimated $1 billion in annual economic benefits for the state.\u201d\nCongressional Sportsmen\u2019s Foundation \n\u201cThe Congressional Sportsmen\u2019s Foundation (CSF) has long recognized that increased attention to, and funding for, regular screening and testing of cervids at the state level is necessary to ensure a timely response is possible in the event of a Chronic Wasting Disease outbreak,\u201d said Brent Miller CSF\u2019s Senior Director, Northeastern States. \u201cWe commend the leadership of Congressional Sportsmen\u2019s Caucus member, Congressman Kind, and Congressman Sensenbrenner on this critical wildlife management issue.\u201d\nNational Wildlife Federation\n\u201cChronic Wasting Disease poses a grave threat to North America\u2019s deer, elk, and moose herds, and the hunters and communities that depend on them,\u201d said Collin O\u2019Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. \u201cYet as this terrible disease spreads rapidly across our country, it\u2019s received neither the urgent attention nor sufficient resources from Washington to combat it. That is about to change thanks to the leadership of two great sportsmen, Representatives Ron Kind and Jim Sensenbrenner,\u00a0who understand how serious this threat and why immediate action is needed.\u00a0The National Wildlife Federation enthusiastically supports their bill to provide states and tribes the support required to respond to this critical threat to America\u2019s wildlife.\u201d\nChronic Wasting Disease Alliance\n\u201cIn the last decade, while CWD has relentlessly spread to new areas and increased in prevalence, the funding and resources to fight it have dwindled,\u201d said Matt Dunfee, Program Coordinator for the CWD Alliance. \u201cGiven that CWD may pose the greatest risk to the sustainability of North America\u2019s deer, elk, and moose populations, it is beyond vital that we ramp up the funding and resources needed to manage this disease. This proposed legislation goes a long way in getting the wildlife management community the tools they need to fight CWD at a level appropriate to the severity of the disease.\u201d\nNational Deer Alliance\n\u201cAt the North American Deer Summit, held earlier this year in Austin, TX, the states represented made it clear that more funding was needed for CWD monitoring and research. We are glad that our coalition of conservation groups was able to work with Congressman Kind and Congressman Sensenbrenner to craft this important legislation,\u201d said the National Deer Alliance. \nQuality Deer Management Association\n\u201cThe importance of healthy white-tailed deer populations to the future of wildlife conservation and our hunting heritage cannot be overemphasized,\u201d said QDMA CEO Brian Murphy.\u00a0 \u201cExpenditures by whitetail hunters account for nearly half of the entire U.S. hunting economy which employs nearly 500,000 Americans, contributes tens of billions to our economy, and funds significant portions of state wildlife agency budgets for both game and nongame species.\u201d\nAssociation of Fish & Wildlife Agencies\n\u201cChronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological disease that affects members of the deer family, and may be one of the biggest challenges in modern wildlife conservation history,\u201d stated Virgil Moore, President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Director of Idaho Fish and Game. \u201cThis legislative package, if passed, will move forward and strengthen state and tribal chronic wasting disease management strategies\u00a0by providing critical funding to help protect our nation\u2019s wildlife.\u201d\nWith 88% of Wisconsin\u2019s 763,384 hunters participating in deer hunting and an economic impact of $2.5 billion, it is critical that action is taken to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease.\nThe bill is co-sponsored by Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI). It has three main components.\n Authorizing funding to state and tribal agencies responsible for wildlife management to implement management strategies to address CWD.\n\tDirecting USDA to make grants to expand and accelerate applied research on CWD.\n\tDirecting USDA and the Department of Interior to work cooperatively with the states to conduct research and implement state CWD response plans to reduce the spread and prevalence of the disease.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://kind.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/key-sportsman-groups-endorse-rep-kind-s-bipartisan-bill-manage-and"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5189102850854397, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}