Sitting down to write this article, especially when I am citing a VERY well-written article by Gabriella Hoffman on the Townhall website, makes it tough to offer a deep perspective of my own on her subject matter. She nailed the complexities of what is going on, and I won’t try to rehash her article, as it stands for itself and is worth your time to read. What I will offer are a few thoughts on some of the crazy that stuck out from her opinion piece and encourage you as a reader to make your voice heard to your reps.
The opposition to hunting is creative, I will give them that. They have actually been very creative for a long time and as part of that creativity, weaponized the court system in their favor. The part that really struck me as creative in this go-around was an initiative to deny Pittman Robertson dollars to Idaho and Montana because…they are hunting wolves. Creative, yes; a good argument, no. Those dollars work to keep habitat open for all species, including their beloved apex predators that are politically polarizing and tough to manage on top of that. Removing that money would be to the detriment of their cause as well.
What really concerns me, though, is that there is an effort supported by some Republicans, the party that tends to hold 2A close to the heart, who are okay with getting rid of Pittman Robertson under the misinformed idea that it is “anti 2A.” Pittman Robertson fuels hunting, which in turn fuels shooting, which in turn brings more people to the gun store. That one is a head-scratcher, and if you live in one of the places that elected these legislators, I would really encourage you to let them know this is a BAD idea.
Gabriella also nailed another thought—preservationist lines of thinking vs. conservationist lines of thinking. As a conservationist, I choose where to send my dollars. For instance, I know that we will never tear up the highways that run through some of my favorite mule deer migration routes. Where those two intersect is where I want to see fewer dead deer, antelope and elk on the side of the highway. The easiest way to do this is to fund more overpasses and underpasses with high fences directing the animals to use them. Wyoming has a place where I can put my money where my mouth is and donate to the cause every year. I can even get a cool license plate to match if I choose to go so far. My money, my choice, and we are conserving what we have and hopefully growing over time the mule deer population that has been hammered.
A preservationist would argue that the road should be torn up, all mineral exploration should cease and humans banned from the landscape to live in our concrete jungles with our solar panels reflecting brightly into the distance. If you can’t see the irony and sarcasm in the previous sentence, please re-read, as the rare earth metals in solar panels can’t exist without exploration. The point is that we will never revert back to the years before our technology; however, we can do our best to conserve what we have and grow the populations through smart management.
Bottom line is that we need to be as informed as possible and let our representatives know how we feel on these issues. Pittman Robertson repealed by misinformed “leadership” on either side of the aisle will be devastating for sportsmen and recreational shooters.
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