Boone and Crockett Club Receives Funding from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund for Policy, Research, and Virtual Education

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund recently provided a $70,000 grant to the Boone and Crockett Club to support policy development and outreach efforts, the Club’s Poach & Pay project to address wildlife crime, and for expanding conservation education programs. The renewal of funding from the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund helps serve two vital purposes of the Club: advocacy and education programs, and coordination and leadership within the sportsmen’s community.

“We greatly appreciate the continued support from the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund which allows the Boone and Crockett Club to be an effective leader in conservation policy and in the virtual conservation education arena,” said Tony A. Schoonen, Boone and Crockett Club Chief Executive Officer. “With all the challenges facing the outdoor community in terms of moving the needle in a positive direction for conservation and access, the Outdoor Fund grant will be even more important to support our coordinated efforts on federal and state legislation.” 

The Club is focused on several key conservation policy issues and the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund grant will allow continued efforts on these issues in Washington, DC. Priorities include increasing funding available for conservation, in particular through enactment of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act that passed through committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate earlier this year. In addition, policies to support state management of Chronic Wasting Disease through a bill currently being addressed in both chambers of Congress; habitat and forest health, in particular implementation of the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; supporting policies to improve big game migration corridors and seasonal ranges; engaging on the Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative; Endangered Species Act policy improvements; and much more. The Club will also be continuing work on research that will support state legislative action to raise the stakes against poachers through the Poach & Pay project. Additional funding through this year’s Outdoor Fund grant will be used for the conservation education program, providing much-needed infrastructure for the in-person education facilities at the Club’s Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center (RWCC) on the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (TRMR) as well as increasing delivery of virtual conservation education content.

“Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops, and the Outdoor Fund are proud to stand alongside sportsmen and women across the United States and Canada in support of the Boone and Crockett Club. The Club’s leadership in conserving wildlife and habitat dates back to the very dawn of the conservation movement in our country,” said Bob Ziehmer, Senior Director of Conservation for Bass Prop Shops and Cabela’s. “We sincerely thank our customers whose generosity supports this grant and the Outdoor Fund generally.”

About the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund

Under the visionary leadership of founder Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's is leading North America's largest conservation movement. Together with our partners in conservation, we're positively shaping the future of the outdoors through donations, grant-making, and advocacy. The 501c3 Outdoor Fund raises funds to support conservation efforts by activating more than 200 million passionate sportsmen and women rounding up their purchases in Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s stores and online. For more information, visit www.basspro.com/conservation.