Summary “No-Net-Loss” of public lands has become increasingly important to ensure access to public lands and waterways for current and future generations of sportsmen and women. Sometimes referred to as “Hunting Heritage Protection Acts,” these policies limit the loss of access to hunting and fishing opportunity by establishing a minimum acreage of publicly- owned areas …
Introduction Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a progressive, fatal, degenerative neurological disease occurring in farmed and free-ranging deer, elk, caribou, and moose. The disease was first recognized in 1967 as a clinical ‘wasting’ syndrome of unknown cause in captive mule deer in Colorado. CWD belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies …
Summary Cited as one of the most pressing environmental challenges facing this generation, climate change represents an opportunity for sportsmen and women, the original conservationists, to reassert their role as leaders in supporting healthy ecosystems. By viewing a changing climate as a conservation challenge, the sportsmen’s community can continue to utilize management practices that have …
Summary In addition to the American System of Conservation Funding, some states have begun to seek alternative methods of funding for their fish and wildlife agencies. A conservation sales tax on all taxable goods is one such mechanism that states might consider implementing. This excise tax is primarily applied to sporting goods such as firearms …
Summary 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 …
Summary 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 …
Summary The first residential hunting licenses were introduced in 1895 and were considered widely successful in creating funds for the newly established state fish and wildlife agencies. Despite having jurisdiction over the fish and wildlife within the state, the overwhelming majority of state game agencies have little control over setting the price of licenses, permits, …
State Agency Authority to Set License, Permit, and Tag Fees Read More »
Summary Established with the dedicated purpose of protecting and conserving wildlife, game commissions have been understandably staffed by experts in the field throughout their existence. Such experts’ ability to make responsible and effective decisions regarding wildlife management has become contested through non-sportsmen and women pushes for representation on game commissions. Having board members that are …
Anti-Hunters Pushing for Seats on Game Commissions Read More »
Summary Instead of discarding or wasting legally harvested game meat or surpluses of meat harvested through nuisance or crop damage licenses, donation programs have developed across the country with the objective of turning the meat into meals for those in need. Many hunters who wish to donate individual animals they harvest through regulated hunting participate …
Stay current with the latest news, policy activity and how to get involved.
Sign up for Newsletters
