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Senator Blanche Lincoln |
Sen. Blanche Lincoln shares her love of the great outdoors
Sen. Lincoln, a native of Helena, Ark., started her career as a public official in 1992 when she was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives for Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District. She served two terms in the House from 1992 to 1996. After a brief sabbatical from public service and the birth of her twin boys, Reece and Bennett, she returned to public service in 1998, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the United States Senate. She was re-elected in 2004 and is now Arkansas’ senior senator.
She is chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Sen. Lincoln, who has served on the Agriculture Committee since her election to the Senate in 1998, has been a champion and long-standing friend of conservation causes, specifically during the 2008 Farm Bill debate. She assumed chairmanship of the committee in September 2009.
Sen. Lincoln also serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Finance and the Special Committee on Aging. — Eds.
As the daughter of a seventh generation Arkansas rice farmer, I was taught at a young age what it means to preserve and care for the land. I grew up surrounded by the beauty of the St. Francis National Forest and the White River National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest timber wetlands in North America. I gained a tremendous amount of respect for the open spaces and habitat from my dad, the best conservationist I’ve ever known. He loved caring for the land and, for him, farming was just another way to enjoy the outdoors.
My husband, Steve, and I also share a great love for the outdoors, a wonderful gift passed on from our parents. We have 13-year-old twin boys who enjoy hunting, fishing and being outside as a family. It is important we instill in our sons the opportunity to preserve the outdoors for future generations.
Hunting and fishing have been a favorite pastime for many Arkansas families, just as they have been for ours. The NWTF successfully promotes wildlife conservation and habitat improvement through conservation projects, hunter safety programs and outreach programs for the disabled, women and youth. Last year, I took my boys to the youth duck hunt opener and, just this past summer, signed them up for the hunter’s safety course with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. These and other similar programs are funded by Congress to encourage young people to become involved and hunt safely. As a member of Congress, I feel a great responsibility to support these activities, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Access to habitat is important for sportsmen, and it is critical that Congress be creative in working with local communities and landowners who want to set lands aside. Land value is going up, and it now costs increasingly more to set aside properties for wildlife habitats and refuges. In the Senate Agriculture Committee, we worked to secure nearly $4 billion for conservation programs in the last Farm Bill. As the new chairman of the committee, I will continue to support these programs because they protect our fish and wildlife and have tremendous potential to open lands to public access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation.
America’s outdoor enthusiasts are also an integral component of the country’s economic engine, injecting billions of dollars annually into the economy of rural communities in Arkansas and across the country. Recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, hiking or simple outdoor enjoyment contribute more than $76 billion annually to the economy and provide a tremendous boost to rural America.
We have a responsibility to preserve our outdoor heritage so that future generations can enjoy the beauty of our great land, and it is an honor for me to serve as chairman of a committee that shares these values. I am committed to being a strong voice for these issues on behalf of our nation’s hunters, anglers and the people I represent. — U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) Ark.
With nearly 500,000 Arkansans in need, Lincoln pushes Hunters Feeding the Hungry
With nearly 500,000 Arkansans living in poverty, U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, is promoting a program that has provided one million meals to Arkansans since 2000.
Through the Hunters Feeding the Hungry program, Arkansas hunters donated 46,000 pounds of venison and other wild game to be processed and distributed to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food banks last year.
With even more Arkansans in need this year, Lincoln is working to spread the word of the program’s good works. She introduced a Senate resolution recognizing the efforts of hunters, sportsmen’s associations, meat processors, hunger relief organizations, and state agencies that make the program such a success in Arkansas. Lincoln’s resolution was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee in December.
“As chair of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, and as a hunter, I am proud to recognize the efforts of this program that have helped over one million Arkansans feed their families,” Lincoln said. “As the number of hungry people continues to rise in Arkansas and across the country, the Hunters Feeding the Hungry program is helping bring food to those most in need and is a wonderful example of neighbors helping neighbors. After my family’s recent deer hunting trip, my sons were able to donate their own game and experience the joy of giving.”
Under the Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry program sportsmen donate game taken during the current hunting season to one of 40 participating processors who packages the meat and sends it to a hunger relief organization. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, 184,991 deer were taken during the 2008-2009 deer season, the second highest on record.
Lincoln is also a co-sponsor of legislation that would provide a tax benefit to sportsmen who donate processed venison to anti-hunger programs and to processors who participate in venison donation programs.
For more information on Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, visit www.arkansashunters.org.