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Show Utah To Get $829,690 Wildlife Fund Utah has been apportioned a preliminary total of $829,690 in federal aid funds by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finance fish and wildlife programs the first half of Fiscal year 1976. The service apportioned a total of over $43 million for fish and wildlife restoration and hunter safety programs to the states and the governments of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Funding for the second half of Fiscal year 1976 will be apportioned in December after the Treasury Department completes the tally of fiscal year 1975 tax receipts. The break down in Utah's apportionment is as follows: $608,527 for wildlife restoration; $26,000 for hunter safety; and $195,163 for tisheries restoration. Fisheries money will be spent on conservation pools, research and a hatchery effluent study, according to Division of Wildlife Resources Federal Aid Coordinator Sam King. Research projects include the cutthroat enhancement project at Bear Lake and studies at Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell, including the striped bass rearing project. King said wildlife restoration monies are used for land acquisition, studies of the Shiras moose in the Uinta Mountains, deer productivity and other research. Additionally, the monies fund classification of deer and elk and brood counts on all upland game birds. A new indoor rifle range in Ogden for hunter safety was financed by federal aid monies. Hunter safety monies are optional in that they can be used for hunter safety and or game projects. This year's allottments are an Increase over last year's by 12 percent for wildlife monies 37 percent for hunter safety funds and 23 percent for fisheries restoration. Funds for fish restoration programs come from a 10-percent excise tax on fishing rods, reels, creels and artificial baits, lures and flies. Funds for wildlife restoration and hunter safety programs come from an. 11 percent excise tax on sport-' ing arms and ammunition and a 10 percent excise tax on pistols and revolvers. Of the total distribution, $30 million has been allotted according to a formula based on hunting license holders and the area of each state for wildlife programs; $2.6 million on the basis of state population for hunter safety programs; and $10.8 million based on the number of sport fishing license holders and the area of each i tale for fisheries program. |