This Saturday - 9/27 -is the 36th annual observance of National Hunting and Fishing Day.

Hunting and fishing are an integral part of America's history and culture. Once necessary to survive, hunting and fishing are now two very popular forms of recreation. Today, roughly 18 million hunters and 50 million fishermen enjoy the outdoors and generate roughly $70 billion in revenue each year.

Thanks to hunters dollars generated through licensing fees, habitat stamp fees and direct involvement, America's wildlife and overall conservation programs have never been more vibrant, healthy and strong.
Our wildlife management system is envied around the world by other conservationists.

The dollars hunters provide for state wildlife coffers provide for roughly 75% of all funds for state wildlife agencies. Considering that hunters constitute roughly twelve percent of the population, it is abundantly clear that hunters carry the vast majority of the financial burden to ensure America's wildlife thrive.

In addition to game animals, hunters' dollars also provide for habitat and research for non-game species. Wildlife photographers, artists, bike riders, bird watchers, campers, etc., all ride on the financial coat-tails of the American outdoorsmen.

There are more duck, turkey, elk, pronghorn antelope and whitetail deer than at any time in our nation's history. This phenomenal success story that dominant media has ignored is because of hunters.

American families spend millions of accident free hours in the great outdoors hunting. Hunting is one of the safest recreational activities in America, not to mention that wild game meat is very healthy.

Whitetail deer are everywhere. In fact, there are too many of them.
While many state wildlife departments have begun to address this by providing hunters more tags to kill does, we must do more.  Hunting seasons should be expanded and other common sense hunting opportunities must be immediately implemented.

Hunters must demand that state wildlife agencies rescind out-dated laws and regulations that are counterproductive to recruiting new hunters and limit the enjoyment of current hunters.  I shake my head in disgust at some of the ignorant regulations foisted upon hunters by static or out of touch bureaucrats who subscribe to "that's the way it's always been" management style.

Hunters deserve better than status quo bureaucrats. We deserve to be treated with respect, common sense, and dignity.  Permitting erroneous, outdated, scientifically unsupported laws and regulations to remain in effect is spitting in the face of conservation.

Clearly the health and welfare of wildlife and habitat, must always take precedence in any biodiversity and conservation management decision.  All hunters support this.  However, if the health and welfare of game or their habitat will not result in a negative consequence, state wildlife management agencies should always make decisions based upon expanding opportunities for hunters and fishermen.

America's outdoorsmen and private landowners have created the world's most successful wildlife management system. For that, they should be recognized and applauded today just as they were 36 years ago when President Nixon created this most auspicious date -   National Hunting and Fishing Day.    (read about it's history at www.nhfday.org)   TY W.P.

See you 'round the campfire