Why It Matters: State fish and wildlife agencies are staffed with wildlife biologists that are equipped with the experience and expertise needed to make sound, science-based decisions that benefit the state’s natural resources. Legislation that would impose unnecessary requirements on an agency, curtail its management authority, or add financial and staffing burdens threatens not only…
Why It Matters: Following an overhaul of the state’s regulatory processes by the Indiana General Assembly, the process through which harvest quotas are set in the Hoosier State has been significantly complicated. Rather than harvest quotas being set based on population data collected by the Indiana DNR, those quotas must now be set through a…
Why It Matters: Despite a steady increase in bobcat populations in Indiana, there is not currently a season in place for sportsmen and women to harvest the elusive predator. A bill that would establish such a season has now made its way through the Indiana Senate, and Hoosier sportsmen and women are one step closer…
Why It Matters: Bobcat populations have steadily increased in the Hoosier State, yet there is not currently a season in place for sportsmen and women to harvest the elusive predator. Active, science-based wildlife management, which often relies on regulated harvest by sportsmen and women, is critical to the continued success of conservation in Indiana. Highlights:…
Many sportsmen and women depend on federal lands managed by agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to activities like hunting, fishing and recreational shooting. As these agencies develop strategies to manage federal lands, it is critical for those who support these activities…
Properly managed wildlife habitat is essential for supporting sustainable and healthy wildlife populations. Well-managed lands containvarious successional stages that provide a diversity of habitats capable of supporting a diversity of wildlife. On federal lands, however, young forests and other early seral habitats are often underrepresented. The most efficient method to improve wildlife habitat is through…
Poaching stands as one of the greatest threats to both the social acceptance of hunting and professional wildlife management. By definition, poaching runs afoul of laws governing the harvesting of wildlife, thus upending the scientifically-developed regulations put in place by state wildlife managers. Further, anti-hunting communities have aimed to equate poaching with hunting in efforts…
The practice of farming cervids (members of the deer family such as whitetail deer, moose, and elk) in the United States has been around since the late 1800’s, and has existed elsewhere in the world for millennia; however, commercial cervid farms are a more recent phenomenon and have taken on a contentious rancor in recent…
National Hunting and Fishing Day celebrates the time-honored traditions of hunting and angling, as well as the immense conservation and economic contributions made over time by the original conservationists – sportsmen and women – who support sound, science-based wildlife management through license sales, excises taxes on outdoor gear, and sustainable-use models. National Hunting and Fishing…
More than half of the states in this nation do not protect the personal information that sportsmen and women are required to provide when purchasing hunting and fishing licenses. Some of these states require the information to be readily accessible to the public, while others mandate individuals to complete a request for public information application…
Shooting ranges have a long tradition of service to a wide variety of citizen groups. However, without adequate range protection laws, safe shooting ranges – which offer valuable public services and recreational opportunities in addition to supporting the American System of Conservation Funding – will be vulnerable to arbitrary sanctions and creative lawsuits. In recent…
Though hunting, fishing, and harvesting wildlife (including by trapping) have long been an American heritage, dating back to before the first Europeans arrived in North America, only recently has the “right” to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife come into question. To establish in perpetuity what has been assumed for centuries, several states have sought amendments…