Talk of gun control after the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings in December has lead to panic gun buying across the nation. The surge in sales has the potential to benefit wildlife. (A number of articles on the subject also mention the improving economy and the popularity of the movie The Hunger Games, which lead to interest in archery, for some of the increase.)

The federal Pittman-Robertson Act has collected an 11 percent excise tax on hunting gear (including shotguns and archery bows) since the Depression and distributed that money to the states. Along with hunting licenses, it is how most wildlife conservation on the state level is funded.

Most articles report a windfall. PressConnect.com of Binghampton, NY predicts a windfall, even though Congress will siphon off more than eight percent of the funds under the sequester legislation.

This doesn’t mean that spending the extra money will be easy. In an article in the Charleston (WV) Gazette, Curtis Taylor, wildlife chief for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources points out the state’s need to match the federal funds, 25 cents on the dollar.

Plus, with other funding plummeting, and the panic sales not expected to last forever, states such as West Virginia must invest in things that won’t require a lot of overhead in the future. And, oh yeah, that means adding more staff is probably out of the question.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel takes the time to report that the fisheries side of things won’t be getting a windfall. A separate federal law taxes fishing equipment to protect fisheries, and well, sales of fishing equipment just haven’t sky-rocketed.

The Charleston Gazette article is the most nuanced, but here is some other coverage of the gun sale windfall:
Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh region)
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
PressConnects.Com (Binghamption, NY)
Spokane Spokesman-Review