I work in this sector. I think part of the reason is that it sometimes behooves these programs to be a bit under the radar. If the average conservative found out that the government was spending their tax dollars on touchy feely environmental nature stuff they would have a huge fit about wanting to cut government spending. They are ironically the party of small government. Sometimes the best course of action is to quietly support hunting, fishing, and farming, so that the useful conservatives understand the value of the program without alerting the average faux-libertarian and MAGA idiot that someone is using their taxes to make the land a better place to live in for their children.
I work in this sector. I think part of the reason is that it sometimes behooves these programs to be a bit under the radar. If the average conservative found out that the government was spending their tax dollars on touchy feely environmental nature stuff they would have a huge fit about wanting to cut government spending. They are ironically the party of small government. Sometimes the best course of action is to quietly support hunting, fishing, and farming, so that the useful conservatives understand the value of the program without alerting the average faux-libertarian and MAGA idiot that someone is using their taxes to make the land a better place to live in for their children.