The Scandinavian Model
A Different PAth to WilDlife MAnAgeMent
By Scott M. Brainerd, Ph.D., and Bjørn Kaltenborn, Ph.D.
Scott M. Brainerd,
Ph.D., is a Wildlife
Research Coordinator
with the Alaska
Department of Fish
and Game and a
Research Scientist
with the Norwegian
Institute for Nature
Research. He
served 15 years
as the national
wildlife specialist
for the Norwegian
Association of
Hunters and Anglers.
Credit: Bjørn Kaltenborn
Many once-depleted wildlife populations in Sweden and Norway are flourishing today. Moose (Alces alces) are a prime
example: Though nearly exterminated only a century ago due to overhunting, concerted efforts by
Scandinavian hunter-conservationists and legislators have brought the species back from the brink
(Swedish Hunter’s Association 1992; Søilen 1995).
Today, Sweden’s annual harvest of moose totals
more than 80,000 animals, and Norway’s is nearly
40,000. This pattern of overhunting and recovery may sound familiar to North Americans. In
many ways, the successes of wildlife conservation
in Scandinavia have paralleled those of the North
American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
these species through hunter harvests (e.g., Ankney
1996, Merrill et al. 2006, Connor et al. 2007).
To find solutions to such problems, it makes sense
to observe wildlife conservation successes elsewhere
in the world. With more than 60 years of collective experience working in both North America and
Scandinavia, we believe that certain facets of the
Scandinavian approach to wildlife management,
if used wisely, may have potential application in
North America.
What is the Scandinavian Model?
We propose the following as the eight guiding
principles of the Scandinavian Model of
Wildlife Conservation:
The North American Model has been lauded as a
great success and incorporated into the policy of the
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Prukop and Regan 2005). Yet there is room
for improvement, as evidenced by problems such as
chronic overpopulation of deer and geese in North
America, and an inability to adequately regulate
1) No one owns living wildlife, but landowners own wildlife legally harvested on their
property. Living wildlife in Scandinavia is considered a public resource (Danielsen 2001). Animals
that die of natural causes, are killed as part of
special public control measures, or are otherwise
Bjørn Kaltenborn,
Ph.D., is a Senior
Research Scientist
with the Norwegian
Institute for Nature
Research.
Credit: Scott M. Brainerd
A moose-hunting team
in norway retrieves a kill
from the field. like other
hunters in Scandinavia,
the group leases
moose-hunting rights
on privately owned
forest land, paying the
landowner permit fees
to harvest a set number
of animals. Moose
numbers are thriving
under this system.
Credit: eyvor Aas
