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Sportsmen:
Stewards of our Nation’s
Wildlife and Wild Places
California Reverses Ban on
use of GPS for hounds
Cam Pauli
Digital media specialist
N
obody works harder
for conservation than
sportsmen, and the proof is
in the numbers. Since 1937,
hunters and target shooters
have paid more than $10.1
billion in excise tax through
the Pittman-Robertson Act, a
self-imposed tax created by
the firearms and ammunition
industry to fund state wildlife
agencies, hunter’s education
programs and shooting
projects
Sales of hunting, fishing
and trapping licenses generate
an additional $1.42 billion
annually for conservation
efforts, and help fund all state
wildlife agencies – that’s all on
top of the $600-plus million
contributed through fees to
conservation groups, duck
stamp sales and donations.
While these numbers
speak volumes to the financial
investment sportsmen make
in our nations wildlife, what’s
harder to quantify is the
amount of time sportsmen
spend volunteering to
improve habitat, assist wildlife
professionals or working to
raise funds for species-specific
organizations.
One such organization
is the National Wild Turkey
Foundation (NWTF), whose
members have invested $488
million in wildlife conservation
and programs. In addition
to their epic fundraising
9
SPORTSMEN’S MONTHLY
May | 2016
abilities, NWTF has improved
more than 17 million acres of
wildlife habitat and introduces
over 100,000 people to the
outdoors every year.
While enhancing wild
turkey populations may be
the primary focus of NWTF,
their work impacts countless
species, entire ecosystems and
people across the country.
A recently completed
habitat improvement project in
New Mexico not only bolstered
wild turkey populations,
but created diverse habitat
that benefitted scaled quail,
meadowlarks, scissor-tailed
flycatchers and pronghorn
antelope. After the project
was completed, landowners
reported seeing both antelope
fawns and turkey poults for
the first time in a decades – a
resource both hunters and
non-hunters can enjoy for
years to come.
Many other organizations
engage in similar work – Delta
Waterfowl, Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, Pheasants
Forever and Mule Deer
Foundation, for example –
which creates habitat for
wildlife populations to grow
and flourish. But while these
good guys get their hands
dirty and volunteer their time,
anti-hunting organizations
want to destroy the foundation
of the North American Model
of Wildlife Management – the
most successful conservation
program ever, which was built
upon the backs, billfolds and
sweaty brows of sportsmen.
If anti-hunters prevail in
ending our way of life, who
will make up for the time
and money once invested by
sportsmen in conservation
efforts? Who will pick up the
torch and protect our nation’s
wildlife and wild places?
W
ith a unanimous 3-0 vote, the California
Fish and Game Commission voted to
abolish the longstanding ban on the use of
Global Positioning System (GPS) collars for
hounds. As of July 1, houndsmen will be able to
use GPS collars to train and hunt in California.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance and its long-time
partner, California Houndsmen for Conser vation,
advocated for the correction of this antiquated
prohibition based on a number of factors.
“The decision by the commission to allow
the use of GPS dog recovery equipment for
California’s hounds corrects an egregious
policy that prevented hound owners from
affording the greatest level of care to their
four-legged hunting partners,” said Josh
Brones, government affairs coordinator of
western operations for the Sportsmen’s
Alliance. “For the commission to vote in
support of the department’s recommendations
to end the ban, indicates their recognition
of the role and value of logic and science in
resource policy-making decisions.”
The use of GPS is legal for every other kind
of dog in California including those used for
upland and waterfowl hunting, livestock herding
and pets. In addition, California was the only
state in the nation to have had such a ban.
“We are delighted by the decision of the
commissioners to correct this flawed regulation
in stark rebuke of the irrational arguments of the
animal-rights community that inexplicably argued
against this animal welfare measure,” said Brones.
“This was a deeply personal battle for me that
I started in 2008 following the death of one of my
most beloved hounds, Dodger, by an automobile
while hunting in late 2007,” said Brones. “The
fact that I was prohibited from using GPS solely
because Dodger was a hound was a kind of
discrimination we sought to end once and for all in
our hard-fought battle for California’s hounds.”
As a hunter, you are part of
a great tradition that includes being a
safe and responsible firearms owner.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s
“Own It? Respect It. Secure It” campaign is
designed to keep firearm safety top of mind.
Your hunting club, shooting range or business
can help promote this important safety reminder
by using the “Own It? Respect It. Secure It.” tag
on websites, printed materials and in social
media. More than 1,100 industry companies and
organizations like the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
are doing their part to help promote responsible
firearms ownership every day of the year. Join
them to amplify this safety message.
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“Own It? Respect It. Secure It.”
logo and other firearm safety resources at
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