The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: Relic or Relevant?

1. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation:Relic or Relevant? John F. Organ John E. McDonald U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service University of Massachusetts, Amherst

2. North American Wildlife Conservation Precepts • Wildlife is a public resource: governments conserve for future generations • Wildlife has value when alive • Uncontrolled use leading to decline & extinction unacceptable • Wildlife can be used sustainably

3. Principles of Use • Use serves a practical purpose • Species or Population is not threatened or endangered • Method of take must be considered acceptable

4. Pre-1901 • Charles Hallock • Founded Forest & Stream magazine • George Bird Grinnell • Bought out Hallock and continued his theme • Concept of the Code of the Sportsman • Boone & Crockett Club 1887 • First organization to deal with national scale conservation issues

5. Roosevelt Era • After McKinley assassinated September 1901 Theodore Roosevelt becomes President • Begins to implement, at a national scale, the conservation ideas developed in concert with Grinnell • 1908 Governor’s Conference on Conservation • “Conservation as a National Duty”

6. 1930 AMERICAN GAME POLICY • Land acquisition • Partnerships:Landowners/ Hunters/Public • Experiment state-by-state ways partnership yields management • Research (find facts) • Joint conservation program with hunters and protectionists together with scientists and landowners • Establish wildlife management profession • Adequate, equitable, secure $

7. 1930’s Conservation Milestones • Duck Stamp Act • Cooperative Wildlife Research Units • Beginning of North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference and The Wildlife Society • Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman - Robertson) • Established secure funding stream based on user-pay idea • Protected state license funds • Promoted development of wildlife science

8. North American Model:Origin of a Concept

9. NA Model:Origin of a Concept • As Wildlife Conservation emerged in North America a distinct form developed • 7 Components essentially define the Concept • The 7 Components or Principles are not all unique to North America, but their collective association is • The NA Model is flexible and adaptable, yet true to underlying principles

10. North American Model of Wildlife Conservation • Wildlife as Public Trust Resources • Elimination of Markets for Game • Allocation of Wildlife by Law • Wildlife can only be killed for a Legitimate Purpose • Wildlife is considered an International Resource • Science is the proper tool for discharge of Wildlife Policy • Democracy of Hunting

11. North American Model of Wildlife Conservation • Geist, V., and I. McTaggart-Cowan. 1995. Wildlife Conservation Policy Detselig Press, Calgary, AB • Geist, V., S.P. Mahoney, and J.F. Organ. 2001. Why Hunting Has Defined the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation Trans. North Amer. Wildl. Natur. Res. Conf. 66:175-185. • Geist, V., and J.F. Organ. 2004. The Public Trust Foundation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation Northeast Wildlife, 58:49-56. • Prukop, J., and R.J. Regan. 2005. The Value of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation – an IAFWA Position Wildl. Soc. Bull. 33:374-377.

12. http://issuu.com/the-wildlife-professional/docs/twpfall2010

13. Sister 1 • Sister #1 – Wildlife 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. • Inappropriate claims of ownership • Unregulated commercial sale of live wildlife • A value system endorsing animal rights antithetical to public ownership of wildlife

14. 1. Wildlife as Public Trust Resources

15. Solidifying the Public Trust • Concept of a Public Legal Right • Enforceable against the Government • Consistent with Contemporary Concerns

16. Public Trust as Law(where the rubber meets the road) • Public Trust is Common Law (Judge-made Law) • Public Trust is State Law • Public Trust is Property Law

17. Solidifying the Public Trust • Government’s general obligation to act in public interest vs. greater obligation as a trustee • Does PTD equate to a judicially enforceable right? • Should it be illegal to reduce a free-ranging live amphibian or reptile to private ownership?

18. Sister 2 • Sister #2 – Prohibition on Commerce of Dead Wildlife • Commercial hunting and the sale of wildlife is prohibited to ensure the sustainability of wildlife populations • Commercial trade exists for reptiles, amphibians and fish. • Robust market for access to wildlife occurring across the country in the form of leases, reserved permits and shooting preserves

19. 2. Elimination of Markets for Game • “Commons” Theory • Rapid declines when value placed on dead wildlife

20. Elimination of Markets for Game • American Alligator Conservation and the Market • Overabundant species? Deer, geese, nutria?

21. Sister 3 • Sister #3 – Democratic 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. • Application and enforcement of laws are inconsistent • State authority over wildlife is often superseded by county, local or housing development ordinances. • Land use decisions indirectly impact allocation of wildlife due to land use

22. 3. Allocation of Wildlife by Law • Wildlife are not allocated by market, birth right, land ownership, or special privilege • Public input into allocation provides opportunity for all citizens to be involved in wildlife management • Secures the Trust for future generations

23. Sister 4 • Sister #4 – Non-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. • Take of certain species of wildlife does not correspond to traditionally accepted notions of legitimate use

24. 4. Wildlife can only be killed for a Legitimate Purpose • Food, Fur, Self-Defense, Property Protection • Laws define acceptable purpose for take • Code of sportsman mandates use without waste

25. Wildlife can only be killed for a Legitimate Purpose We don’t afford all species and taxa equal standing….

26. Sister 5 • Sister #5 – International 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 • Restrictive permitting can inhibit trans-border collaborations • Construction of a wall to prevent illegal immigration would have negative effect on trans- border movements

27. 5. Wildlife is an International Resource • Recognition that wildlife transcend boundaries • One Nation’s management can affect the other’s resources • C. Gordon Hewitt • CITES

28. Wildlife Considered an International Resource • Do we really consider wildlife an international resource, or are we really just trying to make sure our neighbors don’t shoot our ducks before we get a chance? • Species that are relatively abundant overall in North America are listed under US ESA

29. Sister 6 • Sister #6 – Scientific 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 the animals’ movements to determine where elk give birth and how they react to motor vehicles on forest roads. • Wildlife management appears to be increasingly politicized. Rapid turnover of boards , commissions and organizational structure are examples of politics meddling in science

30. 6. Science is the Proper Tool for Discharge of Wildlife Policy

31. Roosevelt Doctrine • Recognized “Outdoor Resources” as one integral whole • “Conservation through wise use” a public responsibility, and private ownership a public trust • Recognized science as a tool for discharging that responsibility, repeated later by Leopold

32. Science as an Effective Tool • Adaptive Management approaches • Adaptive Resource Management • Adaptive Harvest Management • Adaptive Impact Management • Learning Through Management!

33. Science is proper tool for discharging Wildlife Policy? • Politics will almost always supercede science • Science must be effective in influencing the political landscape

34. Sister 7 • Sister #7 – Hunting Opportunity for All • Every citizen has an opportunity, under the law, to hunt and fish in the United States and Canada. • Enforcement priorities often depend on available resources and social priorities • Local regulations of counties , local or housing developments may supersede the state • Many amphibians and reptiles are not considered as utilitarian and are traded as pets . Species are secretive so regulation s are hard to make and enforce

35. 7. Democracy of Hunting • Regardless of Land Ownership, Birthright, or Special Privilege • Abide by Societal Rules (Laws, Regulations) • North America: broad interest in maintaining wildlife (all are stakeholders)

36. Democracy of Hunting • Reduced access to land • Increased fee-based hunting • Shrinking societal support • Wildlife as pests rather rather than resources

37. Do All Wildlife Fall Within the NA Model? • YES, but…….. • Social, Institutional, and Cultural barriers inhibit full embrace • Closing the Gap requires: • Broad-based non-user-pay funding – State and Federal • Greater public awareness and appreciation • Furthering the partnerships (e.g., PARC) • Trusteeship in governance