"The Synergy of Conservation and Civil Rights: No Community Left Behind."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces Federal civil rights laws, to ensure equal access to its programs and activities, and those of its recipients of Federal assistance. The Service provides numerous grants to State fish and wildlife or natural resources agencies, and in return for receiving this Federal assistance, the recipient State agencies agree to abide by Federal civil rights laws. The most prominent grants to State agencies are for Sports Fish Restoration and Wildlife Restoration.

The Federal civil rights laws which Federal assistance recipients must adhere to include:

1. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in recipient programs and activities.
2. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in recipient educational programs.
3. The Age Discrimination Act of 1975. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in recipient programs. Any age is covered; however, special programs are allowed for youth and seniors, due to the traditional exclusion of these groups from recreational programs.
4. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in recipient programs.
5. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This law prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs operated by State and local governments, whether or not they receive Federal assistance.
6. The Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. This law requires recipients of Federal assistance to ensure that all new construction and major renovations is done according to accessibility standards (Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards).

In addition, recipients are required to abide by Presidential Executive Order 12898, which prohibits environmental policies or practices which have an adverse impact on minority or low income communities (this is known as the “Environmental Justice” Executive Order). Recipients also must abide by Presidential Executive Order 13166, which requires equal services to persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
Both of the above-cited Executive Orders are linked directly to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The recipient programs and activities most impacted by the above legal requirements include: hunting, fishing, boating, nature observances, and any other activity involving public access. If recreational programs are either sponsored or permitted on recipient facilities, they must be inclusive to the different demographic groups named above. Covered educational programs include hunter education, aquatic education and boating education.

Relative links:

Memorandum on The American Recovery Act and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Notice on Civil Rights Obligations Applicable to the Distribution of Funds

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