GUEST EDITORIAL
Promoting the North American Model
By Jeff Crane
Courtesy of Jeff Crane
Jeff Crane is
President of the
Congressional
Sportsmen’s
Foundation.
The United States and its neighbors in North
America have an abundance of fish and wildlife
for all citizens to enjoy. Our system of conserving that wildlife is the most successful in history,
envied throughout much of the world. Known as the
North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, this
system provides conservation funding for wildlife
and fisheries to ensure a diversity and abundance of
species. Hunters and anglers contribute the majority of funds through their purchase of licenses and
equipment related to hunting and fishing. Their contributions lie at the core of the North American Model’s
system of conservation funding, and allow state fish
and wildlife agencies to hire professional managers
who make scientifically sound decisions that benefit
wildlife and habitats.
to promote the Model and develop new strategies to
reach the millions of citizens who also have a stake in
its survival. We also need to ensure that the American
public shares more of the cost of natural resource
conservation so that the burden doesn’t continue to
rest largely on the traditional hunting and fishing
communities. This can perhaps be accomplished by
encouraging new funding from broad-ranging energy
and climate legislation.
Today, the numbers of hunters and anglers supporting
this system are in decline, which creates a two-fold challenge. First, we need to find new funding sources that
are permanent and dependable. Second, we need to
inform and engage the estimated 71 million Americans
who participate in some form of wildlife recreation and
directly benefit from conservation funding.
One challenge we face is that most Americans do not
claim a direct interest in hunting, fishing, or similar
outdoor activities. Urbanization is partly to blame:
Approximately 85 percent of our citizens now reside in metropolitan areas, where there is often little
direct interaction with the resources the Model helps
protect. Therefore, the future of the Model will in
part depend on making it relevant to non-traditional
interests. This could be accomplished by underscoring the importance of how funds derived from wildlife
recreation help sustain ecosystem services such as the
quality and quantity of clean air and water, and how
responsible harvest of game species helps reduce overpopulation of ungulates such as white-tail deer, which
can cause human health and safety concerns.
At the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF),
we work with the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, other elected representatives, and a
host of public and private groups to support legislation and initiatives that benefit hunting, angling, and
other forms of wildlife recreation. For example, CSF
supported Executive Order 13443 titled Facilitation of
Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation. Signed
by President Bush on August 17, 2007, it directs federal
agencies “to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management
of game species and their habitat.” CSF also played an
instrumental role in organizing the first White House
Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, held
last October. This historic meeting concluded with the
announcement of a new 10-year program to increase
access for hunters as well as a challenge to carry
forward and implement a far-reaching recreational
hunting and wildlife conservation plan.
Among our priorities in the year ahead, we hope to
update and improve communication about the North
American Model in order to increase public awareness
about how it benefits wildlife conservation. Members
of The Wildlife Society and other wildlife professionals
concerned about species and habitats should continue
Another vital task we face is to increase public understanding of and support for science-based fish
and wildlife management. This is true even within
traditional interest groups who care about the proper
management of natural resources. We must better
explain the role that science-based management can
play in wildlife conservation, and the unintended
consequences that well-intentioned but ill-conceived
management can impart. For example, it’s well known
that natural wildfires were nature’s way to control and
rejuvenate natural landscapes. Yet modern efforts to
suppress wildfire have resulted in fuel loads greater
than historic norms as well as insect infestations, disease outbreaks, and the spread of invasive plants, all
of which threaten millions of acres of forests, range-lands, wetlands, and communities.
Finally, we clearly need to expand the number of seats
at the conservation table while ensuring that traditional
hunting and fishing interests retain a prominent voice.
If we are successful in tackling all these challenges, the
North American Model and science-based management
will continue to be integral parts of conservation in the
United States. The time for talk on these action items is
over. We all need to walk the walk.
