What Matters Most to Hunters and Anglers?

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by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

February 26, 2013

The TRCP has a simple mission. We strive to guarantee you a place to hunt and fish. Our work falls into three main categories:

strengthening laws, policies and practices affecting fish and wildlife conservation;
leading partnerships that provide a strong sportsmen’s voice in the decision-making process;
building consensus in the conservation community to advance policy solutions.

While our mission sounds simple, we often deal with complex issues. Laws, policies and decision making – the “insider baseball” that takes place on Capitol Hill can be hard for the average person to understand.

In an effort to put our work in tangible and applicable terms, we developed a “cheat sheet” for the everyday sportsman interested in conservation policy. The 2013 Sportsmen’s Conservation Priorities outlines the main areas where we at the TRCP will be focusing our work on behalf of hunters and anglers in 2013.

We’ll be hosting a live chat on Tuesday, March 5, to give you an opportunity to ask questions about the 2013 Sportsmen’s Conservation Priorities. Expect more information and a link to the video conference later this week. In the meantime, take a look and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

3 Responses to “What Matters Most to Hunters and Anglers?”

The Bryster February 27, 2013

What gives? Without the 2nd Amendment there can be no freedom to enjoy our passions in the mountains, fields or waterways and AT HOME! I know your thinking that it will take care of itself, it isn’t!
The time for a unified voice is here to stand up for our rights that have been fought for by those who gave all with loss of life, limb and happiness for US in the USA!
It doesn’t matter if you don’t own one or think that it shouldn’t be used, but what happens when they mention your grandpa’s 30-30 , dad’s 1100 or your 22 next time or ban plastic fishing baits!

February 27, 2013 at 2:10 am

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Gary R. Reed February 28, 2013

I live, hunt and fish in Colorado and have for all of my 65 years. What I see here is a Park and Wildlife Commission that is actively and openly pushing the curtailment of hunting and fishing in this state. It has been taken over by the left, and those people are all about taking nothing but pictures, killing nothing and practicing catch and release if they fish at all. That someone would actually eat their take or catch is abhorrent to them and their philosophy. To enact this idea, they make the regulations for hunting more and more complex; the application dates more and more restrictive, the myriad of different requirements and regulations in adjoining areas contradictory and confusing and then enforce such requirements and regulations with an iron fist. They do the same with fishing. Many hunters and fishermen I know have simply thrown up their hands and said “I quit.” When writers and journalists point to the lower and lower numbers of hunters and fishermen, I suggest they look at the reasons.

February 28, 2013 at 3:21 pm

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northwoods March 5, 2013

hunting and fishing regulations are not that complicated if you know how to read…

March 5, 2013 at 3:48 pm

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by: Eric Petlock

posted in:

Conserving the Last of the Old West

Nevada is truly a sportsmen’s paradise, a place where you can still find vast expanses of public lands and feel like you’ve got it all to yourself. If you haven’t already had the opportunity to hunt or fish in the Silver State, I hope that someday you will.

The TRCP is working closely with sporting groups across the West to make sure that places like this will be available for future generations of hunters and anglers to enjoy, and we need your help.

It’s no secret that the continual development of new roads, power lines, pipelines, gas wells and wind farms on public lands creates pressure on our best fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing across the West. Energy development is important and necessary, but if we develop irresponsibly and in the wrong places, our outdoor traditions will suffer.

The fragmentation and loss of key habitats are serious threats facing fish, wildlife and our sporting heritage. In Nevada, specific threats largely come from wind developments as well as transmission projects

Sportsmen are at the center of it all. The amount of quality habitat that could be lost just in our lifetimes is staggering. Hunters and anglers are at a crossroads, and the direction we move will have lasting ramifications for generations to come.

To that end, sportsmen across the West are getting involved in a grassroots effort to identify and conserve our highest value intact fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing areas on BLM lands. By promoting the creation of “backcountry conservation areas” (called “backcountry wildlife conservation areas” in Nevada), sportsmen are acting to maintain our sporting traditions and the Western way of life.

We need you to speak up for the responsible management of our best fish and wildlife habitat. Learn more and let the BLM know that Nevada’s backcountry lands are important to hunters and anglers.

“I feel pretty lucky to be able to work is such an amazing state. There are so many amazing places in the West, and each has its own special character. Nevada is one of those special places where you can still get away from crowds in vast unspoiled landscapes. Whether your passion is hunting for big game, pursuing upland birds, or fishing, the only way we’re going to protect the Western way of life is to get involved, stay informed and speak out – and then get out and enjoy our Western public lands.”

– TRCP’s Nevada Field Representative, Eric Petlock.

If we want to continue chasing big bull elk, mule deer, antelope and bighorn sheep in the West we must take action and get involved – and work together to conserve areas of core habitat key to the fish and wildlife we cherish. The more habitat we lose the more hunting and angling opportunity we will lose.

Learn more about the TRCP’s efforts to ensure backcountry conservation.

by: Annie Wilson

posted in:

February 20, 2013

Wednesday Win: TRCP Staff Trivia

For this week’s Wednesday Win, we’re exploring the past of one of our awesome staff. Which TRCP staff member received their Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Montana School of Forestry? Check out our staff page to look through bios and discover the answer.

Submit your answer by Friday, and we will send one lucky winner the first season of “MeatEater” featuring Steven Rinella.

by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

February 19, 2013

North American Model of Wildlife Conservation

Thanks to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, America’s hunting and fishing resources are characterized by a unique system of management.

Hunting and fishing in North America, and the management of our wildlife and fisheries, are characterized by a unique and successful system of management called the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Underlying principles behind the North American Model include the ideas that 1) wildlife is owned by the public, 2) wildlife can be killed only for legitimate purposes and 3) the management of our wildlife resources should be accomplished through science-based management.
The model is a concept that distinguishes the U.S. and Canada from many other nations where the opportunities to hunt are restricted to those who have special status, such as land ownership, wealth or other privilege.

by: Christen Duxbury

posted in:

February 17, 2013

Small Game and Hunting Access

Small game hunting has a special place in the hearts of hunters and is the perfect platform from which to introduce people to hunting, ethics and the outdoors.

For most of America’s history, gaining access to hunting grounds has been as easy as a knocking on a landowner’s door, but with public access declining, it becomes harder to get kids hunting.
Hunters and anglers contribute $7.4 billion a year in taxes and fees and help to fund some of the most important conservation work.
Programs such as the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program have been short-changed by Congress, and with the Farm Bill still not signed, states have had to put access programs on hold.

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