The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the most successful conservation model in the world. (wiki)
photo David Harrington
It's hard to pin down the origin of the North American Model to any particular time or person. I'd think it was sometime in the early 1930s when Universities began to have departments of Game Management and Aldo Leopold wrote his seminal book of the same name (later changed to Wildlife Management). That was the time when the concepts and most especially the funding via the huge amount of revenue generated via the Pittman Robertson act coalesced into the ideas now broadly defined as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Passage of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (1929), some early game management lectures at a few universities, and the proclamation of the American Game Policy in 1930, linked up with the formation of the Senate Special Committee on Conservation of Wildlife Resources under the leadership of Carl Shoemaker to provide impetus for future wildlife legislation and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (The wildlife society)
Everyone is familiar with the story of how we came close to exterminating the bison, and how we did cause the passenger pigeon to become extinct. Less well known is the fact that by the early twentieth century populations of many mammals and birds had been depleted to such an extent that in many places there were none left.
Ironically it was hunters who restored all manner of animals to the current level of abundance we see everywhere.
It is the ideas enshrined in the following seven principals, and the generous funding supplied by hunters and now fisherpeople too, that pay for and protect all species and purchase critical habitat.
1. The animals are owned by all the people collectively. Even on private land, no matter what state, the government is only the caretaker.
2. Strict rules about selling. No market meat. It's against the law to sell wild meat of any kind. Antlers and furs are ok but no meat for sale. (In developing countries wild meat at the market is a large source of species eradication.)
3 Democracy. All laws about animals are made via the democratic and open process.
4 Opportunity and funding by all. Everyone can hunt and fish. The cost of conservation is paid for by a ten percent tax on all hunting and fishing tackle. In most of the developed world the forests and the life within them is a resource of the landed gentry.
5 Use what you take. There must be a reason for the taking of any animal. The meat must be saved. Taking for fur or to protect domesticated animals or self is also legit. (this now includes taking to assist biologists in maintaining population objectives) A style of women's hats using feathers just about wiped out some birds, that one is now a no no. No more buffalo tongue and leave the carcass to rot.
6 International. We coordinated with our brothers and sisters up north who say "eh" all the time. Wildlife is considered an international resource. Now includes Mexico. That's why it's called the North American Model not the US one.
7 Science. Science based management. Decisions about wildlife are based on the best available science.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://www.azgfd.gov/...
http://www.rmef.org/...
http://joomla.wildlife.org/...
http://www.rmef.org/...
This is the first diary of a new DK group I'm calling Hunting and Fishing Kos. I'm hoping that anyone with an interest in either activity follow, contribute, join, edit, and hopefully all four. If anyone is a strong advocate of hunting and fishing and would like to administrate I'd be more then happy to have them do so. I'm starting the group because no one else did.
Wildlife plays an important part in many types of legislation.The just passed budget bill being a prime example. During the 08 presidential campaign, President Obama made a concerted and successful effort to reach out to sportsmen (not my favorite moniker but there you have it) The US Fish and Wildlife Service is one of the few agencies in which President Obama made an effort to increase funding in his budget.
Hunters and fishers besides being the oldest and largest wildlife conservation group also make by orders of magnitude the largest financial contribution to conserving habitat and wildlife.