WHEREAS, Maine has a rich and storied tradition of hunting and angling that dates back further than the state itself and carries forward to this day; and

WHEREAS, hunting and angling continue to be an integral component of the cultural fabric of communities throughout the state, and over recent years have offered a growing number of participants an opportunity to connect with nature on a personal level while simultaneously providing food security, a sense of self-sufficiency, and both mental and physical health benefits; and

WHEREAS, Maine's sportsmen and women were among the first conservationists to support the establishment of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to conserve fish, wildlife and their habitat, and through their license fees helped fund state efforts to provide for healthy and sustainable natural resources; and

WHEREAS, upon realizing that license fees alone were insufficient to restore and sustain healthy fish and wildlife populations, sportsmen and women supported self-imposed excise taxes on firearms and ammunition, fishing tackle and motorboat fuels to raise additional conservation funds; and

WHEREAS, to this day, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is funded, in part, by sportsmen and women, through this American System of Conservation Funding – a "user pays – public benefits" approach that is widely recognized as the most successful model for funding fish and wildlife management in the world; and

WHEREAS, last year alone, hunters and anglers in Maine generated over $20 million through this system to support the conservation efforts of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; and

WHEREAS, 607,382 hunters and anglers support Maine’s economy through their spending, contributing to the $2.7 billion spent on outdoor activities in Maine last year;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim Saturday, September 23, 2023 as

National Hunting and Fishing Day

in Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize the many and varied social, cultural, economic, and ecological benefits of our time-honored traditions of hunting and angling.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this nineteenth day of September Two Thousand Twenty Three