Excluding Hunters/Hunting from Wildlife Management

[bayoublaster7527]

Interesting article from Outdoor Life. Folks in Colorado and Washington are seeing it first hand.

Are Animal-Rights Activists Hijacking Our Wildlife Commissions?

In the first of a 4-part podcast series, OL’s hunting editor and Randy Newberg discuss what’s at stake for America’s hunters and anglers.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[hjg_wy]

Lots of interesting thoughts in the podcast so far, though I am just getting started.

 

[hjg_wy]

I just finished the first episode in this podcast series and I recommend it. There is good reason to pay attention to these guys since they hobnob with the folks that are responsible for governance and policy in many states. they do a good job of portraying the argument that as the role of hunters changes in wildlife management, we are going to need to evolve our rhetoric and consider how we interact with other folks, else we will lose our seats at the table. Listen with an open mind, it might be a bit tough to hear in places, but it seems very important.

 

[Hackleback]

More and more positions at all levels and agencies are being filled by non-consumptive users. This includes both large fields of land management and wildlife management. If you want to hunt and fish in the future, make sure that like minded young professionals go into this field. One of the big drawbacks of the natural resource field as a whole is low pay compared to other equally educated positions.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

Makes me think of the UN's Target 3 or 30x30 Plan.

The way Biden laid out his vision of supporting the global 30 X 30 plan, it makes sense these types of infiltrations become highly and effectively strategic from the top down to federal agencies down to state agencies down to local advisory board selections down to game management hiring practices down to "never saw it coming." It's not just an animal rights tactic, IMO.

https://www.nrdc.org/bio/helen-oshea/biden-administration-lays-out-30x30-vision-conserve-nature

Try as I may, I haven't found where in that plan for global conservation of federal lands guarantees or even suggests hunting privileges will remain. We need to wake up and pay attention to the hazards beyond the hazards!

 

[actionshooter]

Watching this unfold first hand here in Washington... We really didn't see it coming (most of us) and we are in for a hell of a fight.... coming to your state shortly

 

[Arthas]

The Equity plans implemented in every blue institution of the country have to be part of this discussion. Every one of those plans has the stated goal of remaking the institution. For public land management and wildlife agencies that remake means without hunters as part of the conservation strategy.

Here is the opening passage in the US Forest Service's Equity Action Plan executive summary (bold added):

"The 2022 Forest Service Equity Action Plan represents a broad set of high-leverage actions with potential for creating high impact and enduring systemic change that benefit employees, Tribes, partners, and the public. Delivering the Forest Service’s mission in a purposefully equitable manner requires changing traditional perspectives, processes, actions, and performance measures to ensure the full suite of benefits, outcomes, and opportunities to participate are made available to all, especially in rural and urban places that have been marginalized or overlooked."

 

[bayoublaster7527]

The Equity plans implemented in every blue institution of the country have to be part of this discussion. Every one of those plans has the stated goal of remaking the institution. For public land management and wildlife agencies that remake means without hunters as part of the conservation strategy.

Here is the opening passage in the US Forest Service's Equity Action Plan executive summary (bold added):

"The 2022 Forest Service Equity Action Plan represents a broad set of high-leverage actions with potential for creating high impact and enduring systemic change that benefit employees, Tribes, partners, and the public. Delivering the Forest Service’s mission in a purposefully equitable manner requires changing traditional perspectives, processes, actions, and performance measures to ensure the full suite of benefits, outcomes, and opportunities to participate are made available to all, especially in rural and urban places that have been marginalized or overlooked."

That last sentence is especially laughable here in Colorado. Rural places and people are exactly who is being marginalized and overlooked currently by the Polis administration and in regard to wildlife management.

 

[Arthas]

That last sentence is especially laughable here in Colorado. Rural places and people are exactly who is being marginalized and overlooked currently by the Polis administration and in regard to wildlife management.

Inclusion of rural communities is primarily platitude; however, that is typically a cryptic way of saying enacting a climate change related agenda or stopping resource extraction projects they do not like. As someone noted in another thread advocates for this agenda often point to legacy mining as beneficiaries of these plans.

My response to that is legacy mining communities have been a known issue for like 50 years. We do not need to re imagine and re invent every local state and federal goverment agency to identify and allocate funding to legacy mining communities.

No, the dei and equity plans are an existential threat to hunting and wildlife conservation on their own but what you are seeing is the plans implementation as a key vector for the anti hunting movement to inject themselves into public resource management agencies ie Forest service, state wildlife agencies, appointed positions.

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Inclusion of rural communities is primarily platitude; however, that is typically a cryptic way of saying enacting a climate change related agenda or stopping resource extraction projects they do not like. As someone noted in another thread advocates for this agenda often point to legacy mining as beneficiaries of these plans.

My response to that is legacy mining communities have been a known issue for like 50 years. We do not need to re imagine and re invent every local state and federal goverment agency to identify and allocate funding to legacy mining communities.

No, the dei and equity plans are an existential threat to hunting and wildlife conservation on their own but what you are seeing is the plans implementation as a key vector for the anti hunting movement to inject themselves into public resource management agencies ie Forest service, state wildlife agencies, appointed positions.

Agreed. It is completely disingenuous to say they are looking to “benefit rural places” when the resulting policies, anti-hunting being one of many, will disadvantage rural populations the most. Platitudes is exactly right.

For folks that are concerned (at least with the future of hunting in Colorado) and want to help, I would ask you to consider making a donation to Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management. CRWM is on the front lines here in Colorado and making a real difference.

Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management

We focus on the public’s interests for maintaining a century-old track record of our natural resources, including wildlife, habitat, and farms and ranches.

savethehuntcolorado.com

 

[Archer86]

Watching this unfold first hand here in Washington... We really didn't see it coming (most of us) and we are in for a hell of a fight.... coming to your state shortly

Not sure how you could have not seen this coming over the last few years in Washington.

Glad I moved when I did. Its to bad really washington has some very good habitat and if it was properly managed it could have really good Wildlife population other then just predators

 

[Arthas]

Until hunters realize wildlife management and hunting has been captured at the institutional level with dei and equity frameworks, this situation won't improve.

Landscape level projects are the new initiative at multiple federal agencies. At state level, it is no coincidence that the further along the path for institutional wide equity inplementation, more hostile to hunting and wildlife conservation by hunters that state is. Washington, CA, CO are all prime examples. Do not believe me? Here is a recently published and relevent work from academia directly applicable to the situation in WA.

An environmental justice framework for large carnivore reintroductions and recoveries​

Meeting at the crossroadsAn environmental justice framework for large carnivore reintroductions and recoveries

As global environmental changes continue to accelerate, research and practice in the field of conservation biology may be essential to help forestall precipitous declines in the earth’s ability to sustain a diversity of life. However, many conservation programs have faced scrutiny for the social...

online.ucpress.edu