Pertinent stats from the Report "Hunters and Anglers: Bright stars of the Economy", 2007.

There are 30 million anglers in the United States alone.

CONSERVATION DIVIDEND
A Shore Thing
Thanks to fuel taxes, the Federal Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Fund now receives $570 million a year from boaters, used mostly for coastal wetlands and fisheries conservation.

Spawn of a new Era - 1.4 Billion fish restored
Federal excise taxes and state license revenues generated by hunters and anglers allow states to own and manage 15.4 million acres of habitat, leading to dramatic increases in native fish populations.

Hunters and anglers pay billions to benefit
Hunters and anglers have traditionally been - and continue to be - the largest contributors to government wildlife conservation programs.
Through excise taxes and license revenues, they have contributed more than $10 billion dollars to conservation and annually provide more than 80% of the funding for most fish and wildlife agencies.

SUCCESS STORIES
$6.6. Billion for Wildlife Restoration
Over the years, Federal excise taxes and state license revenues have helped bring back dozens of species, including ducks, wild turkeys, and white-tailed deer. Fewer than 100,000 wild turkeys remained in the nation in 1900 , and today there are 7 MILLION.

Delivering habitats
Through Federal Duck Stamp purchases, hunters have generated more than $700 million, all of which goes into the National Wildlife Refuge System. This money has been used to purchase more than 5 million acres of land, offering some of the best public outdoor recreation and wildlife watching opportunities in the country.

The statistics used in the report come from the following sources:
-2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife Associated Recreation
-American Sportfishing Association
-Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
-US Department of the Interior
-Fish and Wildlife Services
-US Dept. of Commerce
-US Census Bureau

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There is much more information available to underscore that being required to purchase licenses to hunt or fish actually continues to HELP wildlife, and that obeying the laws of the land requiring such things does not feed into some kind of giant government plan to make us all unthinking automotons.