Bear hunting is often one of the first activities attacked by those who seek to divorce science from wildlife management .
The Hypocrisy : In his breakdown of political barriers , Koontz highlighted the appointment of commissioners , the use of wildlife as a resource , undefined words and phrases , as well as confused governance and decision making . These are all points that Koontz and other Washington commissioners used to justify their vote on spring bear hunting , and continue to leverage to skew management of other predators , prey species and furbearers . Like Phillips , Koontz highlighted the ugly actions of a few , while ignoring similarly poor and threatening behavior by those promoting animal-rights ’ beliefs . I ’ ve taken calls from a legitimately crying mother as she turned to the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance to help protect her twin preteen daughters from threats because they hunt , from a nurse who needed help after being doxed for posting a picture holding a dead mountain lion as animal-rights extremists called the hospital demanding she lose her job . These are not uncommon circumstances : people being maligned , threatened , stalked and their careers put in jeopardy for engaging in a legal activity . Two wrongs do not make a right , but save the victimhood for those truly deserving of empathy .
The underlying point for each presenter was that the North American model is broken , outdated and needs replacing . They all used loaded political language connected to larger societal or even global issues while ignoring 100 years of successful wildlife management .
The North American model is on trial , one that would make Puritans in 1600s Salem proud . Just as people who didn ’ t fit religious mandates then were unfairly burned at the stake , today wildlife management is being forced to conform to the emotions and opinions of a mob . The absence of an alibi or evidence against larger , unrelated societal charges only further condemns the model and anyone who believes in it .
ADOBE STOCK ( TOP ); COURTESY OF HOWARD COMMUNICATIONS ( BOTTOM )
Sportsmen care about wildlife populations and habitats beyond hunting season and are willing to pay to ensure both stay healthy .
THE BOTTOM LINE FOR SPORTSMEN If you want wildlife management to survive this trial , you must push back . Push back in commission meetings when they try to lower barriers for commission appointments or when they attempt to adopt these philosophies . Push back in newspaper op-eds and anywhere else you can elevate a voice of reason . Turn the condemnation back upon the persecutors by pointing out the flaws in their model . The most glaring being that they have no consistent , stable , protected funding mechanism .
When confronted with this question , to a person the panel members answered with increased general funding and passage of the Recovering America ’ s Wildlife Act ( RAWA ). However , as we went to press RAWA had failed to pass , and general funding is neither stable nor consistent . In fact , state agencies must claw to receive and protect current funding levels . The panelists are either naïve or willfully deceiving people if they believe Republicans and Democrats are going to join hands to increase conservation funding for newts , songbirds and insects when homelessness , mental health issues , drug use and crime plague cities and states nationwide . Point of fact , that historical prioritization of civilization over wildlife was the very impetus for the North American model and its pay-to-play funding mechanism .
It ' s time to stand as a witness for wildlife , wild places and the North American model before it ’ s too late .
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