While the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) incensed many hunters and anglers earlier this year with funding cuts to public-land management agencies like the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the organization is tracking down some questionable federal grants in other areas.
One such example is a contract between the Department of the Interior and the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) that was canceled on June 10. Prior to its repeal, the grant was funneling nearly $14 million a year into a fishing and boating awareness campaign designed to increase participation in the activities.
RBFF is no stranger to federal money. In fact, the organization has been dependent on it for the majority of its funding since establishment in the 1990s. For the last 27 years, they’ve received large sums of money through the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Outreach and Communications Program—to the tune of $13,728,577 in 2023 and $14,328,508 in 2024. The program is funded entirely through excise tax dollars collected on fishing equipment and motorboat gas.
Over the last few months, however, the nonprofit has come under scrutiny over its use of taxpayer money. “Washington fell hook, line, and sinker into padding the pockets of overpriced recreational consultants,” said Iowa senator Joni Ernst—who led the charge in targeting RBFF—in a statement to Fox News.
Ernst’s skepticism of the organization is based in part on the six-figure salaries of its executives. The nonprofit’s publicly available tax documents indicate that eight executives made over $100,000 in 2024. That included $318,735 for director David Chanda, former head of the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Division; $255,880 for president James Hemenway; and $226,749 for the SVP of marketing & communications.
Salaries aside, the usage of the money raised Ernst’s eyebrows as well. RBFF’s flagship effort for the past decade has been its “Take Me Fishing” campaign, designed to catch the interest of new, aspiring anglers. Over the years, it’s manifested in the form of radio and TV commercials, YouTube videos, and social media content targeted at youngsters.
In 2024, as part of the campaign, RBFF paid $5.15 million to an advertising agency in Minneapolis called Colle Mcvoy to produce short, animated films encouraging kids to get out fishing, including one that aired on TV networks near Father’s Day last year. Subcontracts also included $1.99 million to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to air the ads on Disney-owned channels. According to an RBFF report, the alliance “produced thousands of Take Me Fishing guided fishing excursions pushing off from Walt Disney World Resort marinas.” (Walt Disney generated around $22 billion in quarterly revenue in 2024).
Similarly, in a statement to MeatEater, RBFF said they had “led the national effort to increase fishing participation to record-high levels in 2024, directly benefiting local communities, independently owned businesses, and manufacturers across the US.” The statement continued, “[since grant termination] fishing license sales are down 8.6 percent across 16 states that report to the national dashboard, representing an estimated loss of over $590 million in angler spending and 5,600 jobs.”
That statistic, however, could be misleading. Nationwide fishing license sales are decreasing, but it’s unlikely a result of the grant shakeup. Generally, license sales have been declining since a high in 1980 of about 31.5 million license holders nationwide. On the tail end of COVID in late 2023, the number spiked to a record high of 32.2 million, likely as a result of more people recreating outside during the pandemic. License sales have been dropping ever since.
Though it’s difficult to measure the success of a campaign like “Take Me Fishing” on overall angler recruitment, it’s undoubtedly only a very small piece of the puzzle. And despite the grant cancellation this summer, the organization may still have a shot at future federal money from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The outreach grant application for the next two years is open, and RBFF indicated to MeatEater that they plan to apply again.
To receive the money, however, RBFF will likely have to make some major changes. According to the termination letter, the previous grant “no longer effectuated the priorities of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.” Some media outlets have reported that RBFF may have to dial back their participation in the Vamos A Pescar program, which helps Hispanic people get into fishing, but RBFF made no mention of it to MeatEater.
Going forward, the grant cancellation could represent a public-relations show from DOGE, and the nonprofit could be funded again, or it could be the end of an era for RBFF. There’s no doubt that Take Me Fishing has been responsible for many a young angler’s forays into the sport, but it’s also padded the pocketbooks of nonprofit staff and corporations like Disney with exorbitant amounts of money. The fate of the organization will be decided on October 1, when Outreach and Communications grantees will be notified of the next round of funding.
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