Hunting is ConservationIt's That Simple

Thanks to scientific, regulated hunting quotas and procedures, established by wildlife biologists and professional big game managers, wildlife species sought by hunters are in fact thriving. Each state wildlife agency uses hunting as a game management tool in line with the North American Wildlife Conservation Model to help manage predator and prey populations alike.

Wildlife managers use scientific data, on-the-ground monitoring and hunter survey information to formulate and implement meticulous hunting regulations and license requirements according to the species sought, sex of species, time of year, time of day, means of take–being rifle, archery or crossbow, and location.

After hunting season, managers follow up by seeking hunter input and conducting surveys to then adjust quotas for the benefit of maintaining sustained wildlife populations.

Today, game animals that were once considered threatened exist in sustainable populations throughout the country. How did that happen? It happened due to carefully established and regulated hunting requirements plus vital funding generated by hunters.

Every time a hunter or a recreational shooter buys a gun, ammunition or archery equipment, not only is the economy positively impacted but there is an 11 percent excise tax on those purchases that is –by law– apportioned to each state’s fish and wildlife agency for wildlife conservation. Since 1937, that has generated more than $14 billion.

There are no fees to view wildlife. On the other hand, licenses and fees are mandatory to hunt. And hunters pay $796 million annually to do so. That revenue funds state agencies and pays for salaries of their employees who oversee wildlife conservation.

Research shows that in 2011, hunters and anglers combined to take more than 711 million trips and spent $90 billion along the way that included $25 billion for trucks, ATVs, boats, cabins, etc., $11.6 billion for food and lodging, and $5.25 billion for shooting sports equipment. Hunters generated $5.4 billion in state and local taxes, a sum that could pay the wages of 113,000 firefighters or roughly 37 percent of all professional firefighters nationwide. If you add in federal taxes paid by hunters, the number doubles to $11.8 billion.

If there were no hunting and the millions of hunters feeding their families had to suddenly go to the grocery store to purchase beef, pork, poultry or other meat to replace what they cannot hunt, it would cripple the U.S. agriculture infrastructure and create an immediate food security crisis.

In 2018 alone, Wyoming resident hunters sustainably harvest 25,091 elk, yielding approximately 4.6 million pounds of lean protein for their families. At 6 ounces per meal, that’s a healthy serving of protein for 12.2 million Americans. Multiply that by the number of elk hunters nationwide. Then add the more than one million whitetail and mule deer, plus pronghorn, moose, wild turkey, ducks, geese and other wild game and you can quickly see how fast that adds up.

All of this done sustainably in a fashion that ensures these game animals will be around for years to come.

Hunter education classes are conducted in all 50 states with specific goals to instill hunters with firearm safety, knowledge and skills, ethics and ensuring the comprehension of laws and regulations.

Individuals who target dogs, cats, other pets, livestock or even people with archery equipment or firearms are not hunters. They are criminals acting illegally and should be reported to authorities, prosecuted and punished.

Hunting should not be confused with poaching which is the illegal taking of wildlife—including hunting without a license, doing so out of season, ignoring hunting rules and regulations, targeting endangered species, trespassing on private land, using illegal weapons, spotlighting animals at night, filling a tag not your own or leaving a harvested animal to rot. This is not hunting. In fact, more often than not, hunters are the first line of defense against poaching and illegal wildlife activity.

Hunters take great care to do things right. They care for wildlife. They care for wild landscapes.

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is an advocate of ethical, fair chase hunting.

Key to that effort is adherence to rules, regulations, seasons, quotas and other guidelines spelled out by state agencies that oversee hunting for the purposes of wildlife management, filling the freezer and recreation.

Hunters are held accountable for following those regulations by other hunters, landowners, game wardens, check stations, meat processors and many others.

Those afield who ignore the rules and take game out of season are not hunters—they are poachers.

In 1776, the human population in the United States numbered roughly 2.5 million – and was just along the Atlantic ocean. Today, it’s approximately 326 million and stretches from coast-to-coast.

The North American Wildlife Conservation Model is a set of principles that guide wildlife management practices of predators and prey alike. The model dictates that fish and wildlife belong to all Americans and need to be managed in such a way that their populations will be sustained forever.

Thanks to adherence of these guidelines, with regulated hunting used as a key management tool, North America by far boasts the most thriving and robust wildlife populations in the world.

Additionally, hunting pays for wildlife conservation thanks to the purchase of licenses and fees, donations to groups like the RMEF and an excise tax on guns, ammunition and archery equipment. Without that significant funding, wildlife habitat and wildlife populations suffer.