Implementing catch shares in commercial-only fisheries can be a useful tool for managing harvest of marine fisheries. However, they are an inherently inappropriate tool for recreational-only and mixed-sector fisheries. In fisheries where there is a large and growing recreational sector, exclusive fishing rights proposals maximize benefits to the commercial fishing industry while ignoring and ultimately…
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 (TSEs)….
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…
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…
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, and…
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 in…
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…
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…
In an attempt to encourage novice hunter participation, many states now offer some form of apprentice hunting license that permits hunters to take to the field with a mentor prior to completing a formal hunter education course. The apprentice hunting license is a tool for recruitment that provides both youth and adult novice hunters the…
Several states have passed legislation that allows non-resident, full-time college students to obtain hunting and/or angling licenses at the same price as state residents. The intent of these bills are to increase hunter and angler recruitment and retention within a subset of sportsmen and women which are especially prone to being restricted from hunting due…
The vast majority of states throughout the nation offer an online component of the hunter’s safety course, which provides potential hunters a way to receive their hunter safety certification at their own pace. By offering new hunters an easy and efficient way to gain hunter safety certification, more people will have the opportunity to begin…