BEYOND FAIR CHASE

bear down as our ancestors did and face these emerging challenges head-on, incorporating diverse perspectives and the traditional ecological knowledge and great scientific advances we have developed, to introduce novel legal mechanisms and the public support necessary to enact them in order to achieve conservation. Wildlife professionals and policy makers need to understand such fundamentals as the Public Trust Doctrine and the critical role that eliminating wildlife markets served in the restoration of North American wildlife. Why? Because professionals and policy makers will be (and already are) confronted with initiatives to alter these policies. Most importantly, comparing the challenges of the past to those now emerging helps envision what bold new initiatives may be needed to ensure a continent rich in diversity of wild animals and wild places.

The Model, in enabling us to look back and celebrate our achievements formed during a time of seemingly insurmountable barriers, demonstrates that, yes, we can go forward and secure wildlife for the future. Those achievements could not have been accomplished without leaders who had the vision, fortitude and grit to leave us with what may in fact be one of America’s greatest gifts to humanity. We, hunters and non-hunters alike, are the custodians of that gift entrusted to us, and we must work together if we are to overcome emerging challenges facing the conservation of our natural resources. The future of hunting in this construct will depend in large part upon the degree it is perceived by society as principled and ethical. Leaders in our midst who espouse those values will help secure this future.

BHA member John Organ serves on the governor-appointed Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board. He is a wildlife biologist and previously served as chief of the USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units and chief of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program for the northeast region USFWS. He is an Orion board member and past president of The Wildlife Society, which bestowed the Aldo Leopold Medal on him. He also received the George Bird Grinnell Award from the Wildlife Management Institute and the Meritorious Service Award from the Department of the Interior.

Editor’s Note: For those interested in a detailed explanation of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the author suggests the following references: Organ, J.F. 2018a. The North American model of wildlife conservation and the public trust doctrine. Chapter 13, pages 125 – 135 in B.D. Leopold, W.B. Kessler, and J.L. Cummins, eds., North American Wildlife Policy and Law. Boone and Crockett Club, Missoula, Montana, USA

This department is brought to you by Orion - The Hunter’s Institute, a nonprofit and BHA partner dedicated to advancing hunting ethics and wildlife conservation.

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