HUNTING & CONSERVATION By Liz Barton

 

As another hunting season gets under way, it is very important to understand the hunter’s role in conservation.  Unlike other state governmental agencies, Game and Fish is funded mainly by the traditional “user pays” philosophy.  This means that the majority of their funding comes mainly from the annual sales of licenses to hunters and anglers.  License fees are the largest portion of the hunter’s contribution to state wildlife departments, furnishing them with about 90 percent of their budget each year.

 

In essence, hunters and anglers shoulder nearly all the financial burden of paying for wildlife conservation and management,  though a variety of other stakeholders have interests in how Wyoming’s wildlife species are managed.    Many other individuals, businesses and organizations—in addition to hunters and anglers—benefit from the recreational opportunities and financial benefits that Wyoming wildlife provides.  There are more than 800 species of wildlife in Wyoming.  Only about 100 or so do we actually pursue with guns, bows, traps and fishing rods.

 

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey in 2001 showed that a total of 498,000 people participated in wildlife viewing activities in Wyoming.  Compare that to 133,000 people who hunted, and 293,000 people who fished during that year.  People who enjoy viewing wildlife are reaping the benefits of conservation and management programs, but currently there’s neither a requirement nor a funding mechanism for non-hunters and non-anglers to help pay for the management and conservation of wildlife in Wyoming.

 

Because of the many ways license fees are used for the benefit of all wildlife, the purchase of a hunting license, whether by a hunter or non-hunter, is one of the best contributions that can be made for wildlife conservation.

 

Three acts were passed between 1937 and 1972:  The Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Dingell-Hart Bill and the Dingell-Goodling Bill.  These acts place a 10 to 11 percent excise tax on handguns, archery equipment and sporting guns and ammunition. 

 

 

The combination of these three taxes formed one of the best programs ever created for the benefit of wildlife, game and non-game.  It is also important to realize that land acquisitions from taxes on sporting arms, ammunition and license fees, provide the non-hunting public as well as the hunter with state-owned recreation grounds.

 

Practically all of the conservation agencies came into being after the turn of the century and, with few exceptions, were organized with strong support and endorsement of the hunter.  The results achieved by these dedicated conservationists are evident in healthy wildlife populations throughout most of the nation.

 

Many species of wildlife such as deer, pronghorn, elk and wild turkey are not only secure, but in many instances, far more numerous than they were pre-1900’s.  The service that the hunters provide in harvesting these animals is necessary.  If an over abundance of game is present, nature takes over in a cruel and harsh way, decimating wildlife populations.  Weather, more than any other factor, often decides the fate of wildlife.  Just as wildlife will flourish in good weather conditions, such as mild winters and abundant springs - the opposite is true when the seasons are harsh.  In a hard winter, when an oversized deer herd depletes all available food, death by starvation is inevitable.  Predators attack the young and hunger-weakened stragglers.  Disease and parasites add to the death toll.  The end result is a weak, unhealthy herd containing far fewer deer than would be present if hunters had harvested a reasonable number in the fall.

 

Research shows that a healthy deer herd, reasonably sized to make the most of available habitat, can be reduced each year by as much as 40 percent with no ill effect on future populations.  Hunters in most states rarely take more than 15 percent.  If left alone, a deer herd can double in size in only two years quickly consuming the available food supply creating mass die-offs.

 

These are just a few examples in the variety of roles that the responsible hunter plays in the conservation of our natural resources.  Good luck and happy hunting!

 

Information from Wyoming Wildlife News, July- August 2006, p.2

Game and Fish Website- WyomingTourism.org