Strengthening America’s Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities Sporting Conservation Council Strengthening America’s Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities Strengthening America’s Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities Sporting Conservation Council Bob Model, Chair Jeff Crane, Vice Chair John Baughman Peter J. Dart Dan Dessecker Rob Keck Steve Mealey Susan Recce Merle Shepard Christine L. Thomas John Tomke Steve Williams Edited and produced by Joanne Nobile and Mark Damian Duda Responsive Management The views contained in this report do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Government. Cover photo © Ducks Unlimited Table of Contents Preface vii Executive Summary 1 The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: Enduring Achievement and Legacy 7 S.P. Mahoney, V. Geist, J. Organ, R. Regan, G.R. Batcheller, R.D. Sparrowe, J.E. McDonald, C. Bambery, J. Dart, J.E. Kennamer, R. Keck, D. Hobbs, D. Fielder, G. DeGayner, and J. Frampton Federal, State, and Tribal Coordination 25 Chair and Author: S. Williams Contributor: S. Mealey Wildlife Habitat Conservation 31 Chair: D. Dessecker Authors: D. Dessecker, J. Bullock, J. Cook, J. Pedersen, R. Riggs, R. Rogers, S. Williamson, and S. Yaich Coordinating Oil and Gas Development and Wildlife Conservation 43 Chair: S. Mealey Authors: S. Mealey, J. Prukop, J. Baughman, and J. Emmerich Climate Change and Wildlife 49 Chair: S. Mealey Authors: S. Mealey, S. Roosevelt, D. Botkin, and M. Fleagle Funding the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in the United States 57 Chairs: John Baughman and Merle Shepard Authors: J. Baughman and M. King Preserving the Tradition of Hunting: Education, Recruitment, and Retention 65 Chairs: C. Thomas and J. Tomke Authors: C. Thomas, J. Tomke, and D. Humburg Perpetuating Hunter Traditions: Access to Public and Private Lands 73 Chair and Author: S. Recce Conclusion 79 Appendices Appendix 1. U.S. Department of the Interior Press Release of March 23, 2006: Creation of the SCC 81 Appendix 2. Executive Order 13443 of August 16, 2007: Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation 83 Appendix 3. Final SCC White House Conference Recommendations 85 Appendix 4. CEQ and USDA-DOI Response to Final SCC White House Conference Recommendations 90 Appendix 5. Important Federal Wildlife Resource Laws That Authorize or Require Federal, State, and Tribal Coordination 92 Appendix 6. Seven Principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (Geist 2006) 93 Appendix 7. New Science and Changing Habitats Should Motivate Paradigm Shifts in Habitat Assessment and Planning Processes: A Case Study of Big Game in Forest Landscapes 94 Appendix 8. Remarks by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, October 1–3, 2008, Reno, Nevada 100 Appendix 9. Remarks by Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality James Connaughton at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, October 1–3, 2008, Reno, Nevada 105 Appendix 10. Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, October 1–3, 2008, Reno, Nevada 110 Appendix 11. Remarks by Vice President Dick Cheney at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, October 1–3, 2008, Reno, Nevada 113 Contributors 119 vi Preface “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.” —Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 The North American continent contains a vast array of wildlife species and habitats. This diversity includes species as physically varied as a 1,500-pound moose and a 1.5-ounce mouse. Habitats range from coastal marshes to alpine meadows, prairie grasslands to desert shrublands, northern hardwood forests to conifer-covered mountains. Throughout most of the continent, the diversity of wildlife is rivaled only by its abundance. Wildlife and associated habitats drive economic, ecological, cultural, and social benefits that have and continue to shape our nation. Unfortunately, most Americans are unaware of the efforts to sustain our rich wildlife legacy. Many believe that wildlife will survive best without any form of human intervention. The history of conservation contradicts that false belief. The wildlife species that we enjoy today do not exist by accident; rather, they grace this land because of the dedicated work of millions of individuals and hundreds of organizations over more than 100 years. Two centuries of settlement and development of our nation’s lands and waters, unregulated market hunting, and a belief that wildlife was an impediment to and an unlimited food source for civilization devastated wildlife populations and their habitats across the continent. The unrestrained slaughter of the American bison and unsustainable forest, rangeland, and agricultural land practices in the late 1800s motivated a clarion call from individuals like George Bird Grinnell, Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt, and others to take clear and decisive action. In response, the nation’s hunters and conservationists established new organizations dedicated solely to protect and conserve wildlife. The Boone and Crockett Club, founded in 1887, was the first national conservation organization. Soon after, other organizations and individuals added their voices to the call for conservation. This citizen-driven conservation movement ultimately led to the development of treaties, conventions, laws, regulations, and protections for wildlife and their habitat. Our young nation’s wildlife policy evolved from an individually owned, opportunistic, unrestrained, domination-minded approach to a public trust, democratic, sustainable use, and conservation-minded approach. This evolution was captured in seven core principles that evolved over time and constitute the foundation of what we now call the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. As described herein, the North American Model has been extremely successful in driving conservation efforts continent-wide. At the heart of the North American Model are citizens, hunter conservationists who serve as the stewards for all wildlife. Hunters have successfully campaigned for a regulatory framework for access, opportunity, and use of wildlife while providing the majority of funding to administer state and federal government regulation. The American public is the beneficiary of this altruistic approach, one that manages all wildlife in trust for the public. The history of the North American Model and the conservation movement has been punctuated by noteworthy and critical events that were responses to the wildlife conservation challenges of vii their times. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt called on the nation’s governors, industrialists, politicians, and conservation leaders to confront the unchecked and widespread natural resource exploitation that dominated the landscape of the United States. The Conference of Governors, which was held at the White House, was in large part the creation of Gifford Pinchot, then the Chief Forester of the United States. This conference was a seminal event in conservation history. It provided notice to our nation’s political and business leaders that conservation was essential for the survival of our nation’s economy and, in Roosevelt’s august opinion, its morality. Twenty two years later, in 1930, Aldo Leopold presented the first American Game Policy at the American Game Conference, now the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. The Policy was prompted by the recognition that the existing approach to wildlife conservation, primarily involving restrictions on take of wildlife, had not succeeded in stemming the declines in wildlife populations. The Policy established a focus on habitat and wildlife restoration, with equitable and permanent funding, as well as the establishment of the wildlife management profession. Outcomes of this effort included improved resource agency organization, university wildlife programs, the formal establishment of a wildlife management profession, and permanent funding for state wildlife agencies. This permanent funding exists today in the form of hunting and fishing license and permit revenues and as the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs, where federal excise taxes paid by firearm, ammunition, archery, and fishing equipment manufacturers along with the federal tax on motor boat fuel, are allocated to every state and territorial fish and wildlife agency. In 1971, the wildlife profession coalesced to refine and expand the 1930 Policy as the North American Wildlife Policy, which was presented at the 1973 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Washington, DC. Durwood Allen, a respected wildlife university professor, provided the leadership to address issues confronting wildlife conservation, including the continued expansion of the human population, increased resource consumption, recreational use of fish and wildlife, endangered species, habitat management, and multiple-use policies. The 1973 Policy set the stage for efforts to sustain our hunting heritage, focus on nongame and game species, establish international agreements to support wildlife conservation, provide incentives for private landowners for wildlife habitat management, enhance