parliamentary procedure and political bureaucracy give those activists entry points to cause chaos within the model .
Game Commissions Local groups and state directors for the Humane Society of the United States love to attack hunting at the regulation and season-setting level . Game commissions , like most political bodies , have public comment periods and open testimony during meetings . These opportunities are ripe for flooding commissions with coordinated attacks and rehearsed talking points that give the appearance of a commenting public opposed to hunting . While we ’ ve seen this tactic exploited to its fullest in Washington state with its Game Management Plan , so-called Conservation Plan and spring bear season , we ’ ve also seen it used extensively in California and Arizona .
Petitions Often used to elicit a comment or force a decision at both the commission and federal level , petitions are formal requests for action by a governmental body . They can presage a lawsuit on the topic if the comment or request isn ’ t acted upon . The power of a petition is making the stance of the agency or commission public and on record , and legal requirements force that answer in a timely manner . We ’ ve seen petitions used to attack hunting and trapping at the federal level and in states ; California ’ s fish and game commission unanimously rejected a petition last spring that called for the end of all bear hunting . The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance is using the tactic to provide a blueprint to delist and manage wolves nationwide .
State Legislation Considering the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance monitored nearly 1,500 bills and issued 400 alerts across all 50 states last year , legislation winding its way through state capitols is perhaps the fastest and least expensive means of passing anti-hunting laws . Even absurd bills that seemingly have no chance need to be watched in case they ’ re amended into other legislation , spending bills or quickly voted upon through manipulation of the procedural system ( which is different in every state ). The pure tonnage of information and moving parts keeps our Government Affairs and Communications teams scrambling from January through June .
Federal Legislation Most attacks on our hunting heritage come at the state level , as that ’ s where most management takes place . However , the federal government owns and controls vast swaths of land , including the National Wildlife Refuge System , Forest Service , National Parks and Preserves , Bureau of Land Management and more . Every year we see legislation in Congress devoted to changing management practices , like trapping in refuges or baiting in preserves , limiting access for activities or regulating the use of ammunition to exclude some hunters . This is where we also see importation bans pushed that would make it impossible to bring trophies home from Africa or other countries , as well as challenges to listing and delisting obstructions under the Endangered Species Act . Each of these battles must be challenged , as the precedent would impact millions of acres and hunters .
Lawsuits Legal action has become the calling card of such groups as Center for Biological Diversity , Western Watersheds Project , Humane Society of the United States , Sierra Club and others . If federal or state governments do something — like open a national forest to hunting or attempt to delist any “ charismatic megafauna ” from the Endangered Species Act — these groups file a lawsuit and use the Equal Access to Justice Act to recoup attorney ’ s fees . The actions have become predictable , but it ’ s an effective strategy for disrupting scientific wildlife management , advancing the antis ’ agenda and recouping court costs while simultaneously fundraising off the action .
Popular Vote Overall , 26 states have a ballot initiative or referendum process , which opens the doors to a popular vote that determines law not subject to the discourse found in state legislatures . It ’ s typically which side spends the most money to buy airtime that influences the uninformed general public that wins . Ballot box biology is a very dangerous mechanism that puts hunters at a severe disadvantage — the general public in every state outnumbers the hunting population , our financial collective resources are miniscule compared to just a single anti-hunting organization and their emotional messaging resonates much better than ours . Recently we ’ ve seen the ballot-initiative process used in Colorado to reintroduce wolves and now to potentially ban all hunting of cougars and bobcats , as well as in Oregon and several other states to enact gun control .
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