The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray ,” wrote John Steinbeck in his 1937 classic Of Mice and Men — and those words might best describe today ’ s battle over the use of natural resources . The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation was carefully constructed over time , correcting the mistakes of the past and looking to the future with one eye focused on sustainability and another on funding . The Lacey Act of 1900 could be considered the beginning of the conservation movement
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, while the creation of the National Wildlife Refuge System , Migratory Bird Treaty Act , Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act , Pittman- Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts , as well as other legislation , regulations and ethics that took hold over the following century formed the foundation upon which the pillars of the North American model were built .
The model , through those acts and principled agreements , has provided consistent funding to support habitat projects , scientific research , law enforcement
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and more . It has brought species such as whitetail deer and turkeys back from the brink of extinction and turned their sightings into commonplace occurrences — with some urbanites even declaring them nuisances when they eat landscaping or foul yards .
Those best-laid plans , benefitting wildlife and wild places for more than 100 years , however , are under active attack by animal-rights extremists who don ’ t believe hunters belong on the landscape . And because the model is built upon legislation and regulation ,
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