Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Clays Shoot Supports Conservation Efforts

MAy 24, 2013

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance, originally sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, has maintained conservation as a core mission since its founding in 2007.The group’s mission statement says:

Through conservation projects and strategic partnerships, USA members will volunteer their skills and resources to expand and improve hunting and fishing access, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreational opportunities for all to enjoy, now and in the future.

The alliance has proven once again that there’s no better way to raise funds to support conservation efforts than sponsoring a competitive clays shoot.

Attendance for the 2013 Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s SMART New Jersey Sporting Clays Shoot tripled from 2012.On May 4 in Port Republic, N.J., more than 90 union members, shooting enthusiasts, corporate partners and other guests gathered in support of their unions and the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance’s conservation efforts.

The shoot set a financial record.This year, participants raised eight times as many dollars as the 2012 event, for a total of $60,905. Fundraising matched efforts to provide needed recreation to service members. Through the support of Helmets to Hardhats and the Freedom Alliance, 34 shooter spots were donated by USA sponsors and filled by veterans and active duty service men and women.

Alliance leaders thanked the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) International and its leadership for hosting the event.

“…The obvious success of this event can be can be directly tied to their title sponsorship this year and unwavering dedication to the USA conservation mission,” said USA Executive Director Fred Myers.

The USA’s robust, 26-city sporting clays and trap shoot tour will travel to 25 cities across 19 states this year. Aside from raising funds for conservation, the national tour also introduces skilled union volunteers to the impact they can make on conservation projects in the communities where they live, work and play.

Recently the group sponsored Boots on the Ground, a conservation effort in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Currently, members are volunteering for the Adopt-A-Park campaign to help rebuild and restore the nation’s state parks.

For more information or to find out how you can get involved, visit www.unionsportsmen.org/events.

The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) is a union-dedicated outdoor organization whose members hunt, fish, shoot and volunteer their skills for conservation. The USA is uniting the union community to expand and improve hunting and fishing access and wildlife habitat while passing on our national outdoor heritage. For more information, visit www.unionsportsmen.org or www.facebook.com/unionsportsmen.