Hunting Sense

Over the years, I’ve hunted both private and public lands. As more and more of the private land was no longer available for hunting, public land allowing access became much more important. Public hunting land was the always-there-to-fall-back-on option. And then, I started seeing the available public land start to slowly disappear as it was sold off or closed to hunting activities.

The fact that private land is sold off and developed into housing additions, business, or other types of uses that make hunting unavailable is a sad but expected reality as the population grows. The loss of public land for hunting, though, is another thing. It is the one thing that in my mind should be guaranteed to be there. It is what the government should make every effort necessary to insure it never disappears.

That is why I’m glad to hear that President Bush has taken steps to make sure that happens. The chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality has been issued the order to create a White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy. The main purpose of this conference is to develop a Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan that will be a ten year plan in insuring that hunting is promoted in public lands across the country.

The necessary federal agencies will work closely with the Sporting Conservation Council, a twelve member federal advisory committee for the sporting and conservation community with members from the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International and other big game hunting and game bird hunting organizations, and State and tribal fish and wildlife agencies. They must then release a plan based off their collaborative efforts no later than one year after their conference.

PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, has already began complaining.

“This is political meddling posing as a conservation policy,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “This order reads like it was written by a lobbyist.”

They seem to think that this bill favors hunting over all other outdoor recreational land use. I wonder, do they realize that properly managed land, which includes the use of hunting to control population of game animals, helps make the land more enjoyable for everyone to use? Without it, the probability of diseased wildlife, overpopulation, and wildlife/human encounters and attacks could become a real issue. In my books, their complaining only proves that Bush and this plan of action is on the right track. Now I only hope that I’m not proved wrong.

hunting, hunting sense, public land, White House Council on Environmental Quality, White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, Sporting Conservation Council, National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, White House, President Bush