In 1984, a landmark expansion of the Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) Program was signed into law that set in motion unprecedented improvements to recreational boating access across the United States. These new provisions (collectively named the Wallop-Breaux amendments after their Congressional sponsors) capture the portion of the federal tax on gasoline attributable to recreational boating and distribute the funds to state agencies for the development or renovation of facilities that improve the accessibility of waters to recreational boaters. In 2008, acting director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Rowan Gould requested that the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (Council) undertake an assessment of the boating access provisions of the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program ..".to ensure that it continues to provide maximum benefits to our fishing and boating stakeholders." The Council formed an 11-member subcommittee for this purpose, which included members from state agencies and key boating-related constituencies as well as others knowledgeable about boating access programs and needs. During 2008 - 2010, this Assessment Subcommittee worked closely with state agencies and Service personnel from around the country to assess the effectiveness of the program using the following guidelines: Is the program meeting its legislative intent? How well is the program performing? Are there redundancies in the program (what does it do that it might not need to do)? Are there deficiencies in the program (what should it be doing that it currently is not)? This report details the results of that assessment.

For more than 100 years, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and its predecessors have played a vital role in the conservation and management of this nation's fisheries and aquatic resources. The FWS Fisheries Program is uniquely positioned to reach across state and international boundaries to coordinate major fisheries management and conservation initiatives Unfortunately, a lack of clarity in its fisheries-related responsibilities, coupled with a shortage of funds and differing expectations from its diverse stakeholders, erode support for the Fisheries Program. The program must be strategically redefined to meet the fisheries conservation needs of a new century in a manner that can be supported by the Office of Management and Budget, Congress and other relevant stakeholders. To that end, the FWS asked the Sport Fishing Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC) to gather input from a broad array of stakeholders, including the states, tribes and other organizations. This report provides the consensus recommendations from that group. The report offers 22 recommendations that together provide a new sense of direction for the Fisheries Program. The recommendations ate organized around six major topic areas: Aquatic Species Conservation and Management, Public Use, Cooperation with Native American Tribal Nations, Leadership in Aquatic Science and Technology, Aquatic Habitat Conservation and Management, and National Aquatic Habitat Plan. These recommendations build on an earlier SFBPC report, "Saving a System in Peril: A Special Report on the National Fish Hatchery System." Only through the thoughtful implementation of these joint recommendations in partnership with the full community of stakeholders will the Fisheries Program return to its position of leadership. Such leadership is essential to the health of our nation's fisheries resources. The report also advances a major initiative to help resolve the major crisis facing fisheries in the United States - massive habitat loss and degradation. The initiative asks the FWS to assume a leadership role in convening a wide array of interests to begin the process of developing a National Aquatic Habitat Plan (NAHP). This could become the aquatic analog of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, a science-based, landscape-scale, partnership driven model for habitat conservation. The steering committee believes that if the recommendations presented in this report are implemented, the FWS Fisheries Program can again become a full and committed partner in conserving America's fisheries.

The 1998 Sport Fishing and Boating Safety Act (Act) directed the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC), to develop and implement a National Outreach and Communications Program aimed at increasing participation in recreational boating and fishing, and promoting conservation and responsible use of the Nation's aquatic resources. The Program is guided by a stakeholder-developed strategic plan created in 1998. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) was formally established in October 1998 to carry out objectives of that plan. Pursuant to the Act, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to undertake periodic reviews of the Program. Responsibility for undertaking the required assessment was delegated to SFBPC, on behalf of the Secretary, through a 1999 memorandum of understanding which states the SFBPC "will monitor the implementation of the program, will evaluate effectiveness of the program by communicating regularly with its stakeholders, and will regularly report findings to the Secretary and the signatories of this agreement." In 2002, the SFBPC undertook the first review resulting in the report, Implementation of the Strategic Plan for the National Outreach and Communications Program, a progress report to the Secretary of the Interior. This assessment constitutes a second review of the Foundation and its implementation of the Program.

For more than a century, the National Fish Hatchery System (NFHS) has played a valuable role in providing cultured fish to benefit Americans. The Department of the Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages the system, consisting of 66 national fish hatcheries, seven fish technology centers, and nine fish health centers. Unfortunately, the NFHS has serious problems that have developed over several decades. Funding for hatchery operations and maintenance has declined by about 15 percent since 1992. NFHS facilities are old and outmoded. As a whole, the system suffers from a maintenance backlog of approximately $300 million. Twenty-five percent of hatchery personnel positions are vacant. To a troubling degree, these problems reflect an erosion of congressional and public support. In August 1999, the FWS asked the federally chartered Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC) to undertake that review. Following the FWS request, the SFBPC convened a special National Fish Hatchery Project Steering Committee to review the NFHS and develop recommendations regarding the system's roles, responsibilities and strategic funding policies. Overall, the steering committee believes the NFHS is uniquely positioned to influence and benefit state and tribal fishery programs, fulfill tribal trust responsibilities, and provide technical assistance to private aquaculture. Although the intent of the steering committee's report is to provide recommendations for future management of the NFHS, the steering committee concluded that without a national vision to define regional goals and objectives designed to fulfill overall FWS Fisheries Program strategies, the national hatchery system will continue to drift and will be in peril. It is essential that the FWS move aggressively to ensure that the NFHS and the products it produces fit within a publicly reviewed national strategy developed with state and tribal partners and stakeholders. The FWS must commit to implementing the plan it produces, and the FWS, the administration and Congress must be prepared to fund adequately the activities outlined by this plan. In addition to its observation regarding the need for a Fisheries Program national strategy, the steering committee's review resulted in 20 consensus based recommendations, presented without priority, in the programmatic categories of Scientific Excellence and Accountability, Mitigation, Recreation and Other Cooperative Programs, Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery, and Native Species Restoration. The steering committee's recommendations acknowledge the NFHS' vital roles in meeting federal mitigation obligations, restoring and maintaining native fisheries, and participating in the recovery of threatened and endangered aquatic species. The recommendations also urge the FWS and the NFHS to strengthen cooperative efforts with states, tribes and partners and improve accountability with Congress, stakeholders and the general public. A repeated theme in the report is the requirement to produce and use cultured products from the NFHS in conformance with the best possible science-based management principles and practices. The recommendations emphasize the crucial role fish technology centers, fish health centers and the national broodstock programs play in ensuring these principles and practices are followed. The report acknowledges the NFHS' role in providing fish to mitigate the impact of federal development activities and asks for legislative clarification of that responsibility and authority for full cost recovery for mitigation-related expenses from the parties responsible for development projects. The report also recommends that Congress clarify the role the NFHS should play in supporting recreational fishing objectives beyond the current benefits provided by mitigation and restoration activities.

Fifteen years after passage of the original legislation creating the Clean Vessel Act, the program can be deemed a success. By all indications, the program has fostered significant advances in achieving its goal of reducing the environmental impacts from recreational boaters. More than $134 million has been invested through the CVA program to achieve this goal and with recent amendments to the legislation authorizing this program, even more is expected in the next fifteen years. Recognizing the benefits of a systematic evaluation of a program of this magnitude and maturity, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) requested that the Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council conduct an independent review to help "The Service expand awareness and use of the program and improve its delivery." By all accounts, state and federal agencies as well as boaters and the boating community deem this program a success. As with any long running program, some changes will prepare the CVA program to build on this track record of success in the future. For example, the program and constituents would greatly benefit from improvements in accountability and measures of progress not only to make it more transparent to program partners and policy makers but also to help boaters pinpoint facilities more easily. Further, as a mature program, many of the facilities constructed with CVA funds are now showing their age. The top reason that boaters cited for failing to use a pumpout when one was needed was inoperable pumpout equipment. Public confidence and continued use of pumpouts by boaters relies on equipment being in working order when needed. These recommendations and others are discussed and detailed in the pages that follow. In this report, the CVA Review Panel outlines a series of enhancements that we feel will make this a stronger program for America's boaters and the environment. Many of the recommendations are fine tuning procedures that are already in place, while others will require the commitment of the Service, states, and the boating community to effectively implement. The boating community can be proud of the investments that have been made with their dollars through the Clean Vessel Act. The Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council stands ready to work with the Service, the states and the boating constituency to implement the recommendations outlined in this report and create a stronger, more vibrant CVA program that is ready to meet the challenges of the next fifteen years.