Hunting is ConservationIt's That Simple

Man has hunted since he walked the Earth. Every early culture relied on hunting for survival. Through hunting, man forged a connection with the land and learned quickly that stewardship of the land went hand-in-hand with maintaining wildlife – and their own way of life.

The Titans of Conservation

In the first half of the 20th century, leaders like Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold shaped a set of ideals that came to be known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. They articulated the philosophy that all wildlife belong to all of us. That every citizen is entitled to the opportunity to hunt and fish. And that ethical, regulated hunting is the driving force that maintains abundant wildlife.

Simply put, the United States has the most successful wildlife management system in the world. Hunters and anglers have contributed more financial and physical support to that system than any other group of individuals.

RMEF members and all of you, who contribute to conservation organizations like the RMEF, are proving every day that hunters truly are the titans of conservation.


25 Reasons Why Hunting Is Conservation

Reason #1Elk

In 1907, only 41,000 elk remained in North America. Thanks to the money and hard work invested by hunters to restore and conserve habitat, elk numbers grew to 550,000 by 1984 when RMEF was founded. Today there are more than 1.1 million.

Reason #2White-Tailed Deer

In 1900, only 500,000 whitetails remained. Thanks to conservation work spearheaded by hunters, today there are more than 30 million.

Reason #3Wild Turkey

In 1900, only 100,000 wild turkeys remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are more than 6 million.

Reason #4Ducks

In 1901, few ducks remained. Thanks to hunters’ efforts to restore and conserve wetlands, today there are more than 32 million.

Reason #5Pronghorn Antelope

In the 1920s, only 13,000 pronghorn antelope remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are more than 1.1 million.

Reason #6Non-hunted Species

Habitat, research and wildlife law enforcement work, all paid for by hunters, help countless non-hunted species.

Reason #7Hunting Licenses

Through state licenses and fees, hunters pay $896 million a year for conservation programs.*

Reason #8Donations

Through donations to groups like RMEF, hunters add $440 million a year to conservation efforts.*

Reason #9Taxes

In 1937, hunters requested an 11% tax on guns, ammo, bows and arrows to directly fund conservation. That tax, so far, raised more than $17.7 billion to date & nearly $1 billion in 2024.

Reason #10State Agency Funding

Sixty percent of budget funding for state fish & wildlife agencies, which are tasked with responsible wildlife management, is generated by hunters & anglers thanks to excise taxes & the purchase of licenses/fees.

Reason #11Conservation Programs

All together, hunters pay more than $1.6 billion a year for conservation programs. No one gives more!

Reason #12Hunting Approval

Four out of five Americans approve of hunting, partly because hunters are America’s greatest positive force for conservation.

Reason #13Sportsmen and Women

Every single day U.S. sportsmen and women contribute $8.1 million to conservation.

Reason #14Public Access

Hunters generate funding for land conservation and public access work. In 2024 alone, RMEF completed 18 land projects in 12 states that conserved 25,594 acres of elk habitat.

Reason #15Land Conservation

Hunters generate funding for land conservation and public access work. In 2024, RMEF opened or improved public access to 21,816 acres.

Reason #16Forest Management

Hunters generate funding for active forest management techniques that enhance habitat for elk and other wildlife while also improving overall forest health. In 2024, RMEF completed 138 habitat stewardship projects in 22 states that enhanced 178,081 acres.

Reason #17Wildlife Management

A wildlife management tool, hunting helps balance wildlife populations with what the land can support, limits crop damage and assists with disease management.

Reason #18Scientific Research

Hunters generate funding for scientific wildlife research. In 2024 alone, RMEF allocated $1,027,508 that leveraged $5.8 million in partner funding for elk research in 13 states and three projects of national benefit.

Reason #19Predators

Hunters help manage growing numbers of predators such as mountain lions, bears, coyotes and wolves. The government spends millions to control predators and varmints while hunters have proven more than willing to pay for that opportunity.

Reason #20Motorists

Deer collisions kill 200 motorists and cost $7.5 billion a year. For every deer hit by a motorist, hunters take six.

Reason #21Hunting Heritage

RMEF provides support for hunter education, outdoor/conservation events for youth/ adults, mentored hunts, recreational shooting programs & more. Creating/strengthening bonds with nature spawns the next generation of conservationists.

Reason #22Hunters Boost Economy

Hunters and recreational shooters annually combine to create $45 billion in wages/income & support 970,000 jobs.

Reason #23Healthy Nutrition

Hunters provide for conservation and for their families. Hunting is a healthy way to connect with nature and eat one of the world’s most organic, lean, free‑range meats.

Reason #24Elk Restoration

With funding from hunters, RMEF helped restore wild elk herds to eight states and provinces.

Reason #25Habitat Conservation

RMEF was founded by four Montana elk hunters seeking to ensure the future of North America’s most majestic game animal. Today, more than 98 percent of our members are passionate hunters.

*Info via the National Sporting Goods Association (2019) and National Shooting Sports Foundation

Measuring the Value of Conservation

Countering Anti-hunting arguments

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.

North American Wildlife Conservation Model

The North American Wildlife Conservation Model is the only one of its kind in the world. In the mid-1800s, hunters and anglers realized they needed to set limits in order to protect rapidly disappearing wildlife, and assume responsibility for managing wild habitats. Hunters and anglers were among the first to crusade for wildlife protection and remain some of today’s most important conservation leaders.

The North American Wildlife Conservation Model has two basic principles – that our fish and wildlife belong to all Americans, and that they need to be managed in a way that their populations will be sustained forever. The principles of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model are explained more fully through a set of guidelines known as the Seven Sisters for Conservation.

Sister #1Wildlife is Held in the Public Trust

In North America, natural resources and wildlife on public lands are managed by government agencies to ensure that current and future generations always have wildlife and wild places to enjoy.

Sister #2Prohibition on Commerce of Dead Wildlife

Commercial hunting and the sale of wildlife is prohibited to ensure the sustainability of wildlife populations.

Sister #3Democratic Rule of Law

Hunting and fishing laws are created through the public process where everyone has the opportunity and responsibility to develop systems of wildlife conservation and use.

Sister #4Hunting Opportunity for All

Every citizen has an opportunity, under the law, to hunt and fish in the United States and Canada.

Sister #5Non-Frivolous Use

In North America, individuals may legally kill certain wild animals under strict guidelines for food and fur, self-defense and property protection. Laws restrict against the casual killing of wildlife merely for antlers, horns or feathers.

Sister #6International Resources

Wildlife and fish migrate freely across boundaries between states, provinces and countries. Working together, the United States and Canada jointly coordinate wildlife and habitat management strategies. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 demonstrates this cooperation between countries to protect wildlife. The act made it illegal to capture or kill migratory birds, except as allowed by specific hunting regulations.

Sister #7Scientific Management

Sound science is essential to managing and sustaining North America’s wildlife and habitats. For example, researchers put radio collars on elk to track movements to determine where elk give birth and how they react to motor vehicles on forest roads.

How You Can Help Do More

When you join or donate to RMEF, you continue to prove how Hunting is Conservation. RMEF volunteers play an important role in improving habitat for elk and other wildlife as hundreds commit annually to remove hazardous fencing, install wildlife water sources, plant native seeds and saplings, and carry out other habitat enhancement work.