Hunting Think
Tank II
September 6-8,
2011
Dundee,
Illinois
Convened by Orion-The
Hunters’ Institute and supported by the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation
and the Pope and Young Club
Prepared by Eric Nuse
The
value of hunting as a tool of wildlife management and to the economy is well
known. However, the intrinsic values of hunting to society and to hunters is
not well articulated or researched.
The
meaning of the term hunting is regularly contested. Many organizations and
writers use descriptors to narrow what they believe hunting to be, such as
modern, sport, or subsistence.
At
the first Hunting Think Tank we explored these topics in depth. We came up with
a list of next steps that led to Think Tank II.
Questions we explored:
1.
Has there ever been a comprehensive literature review of works seeking
to define hunting? If not, find a way to do this.
2.
Based on the results of our work, can we frame the word “hunting” so
that it is accurately understood by the public and evokes a positive image?
3.
Can we develop mental tools to help with decision making prior to going
afield and during the hunt to help hunters make good, ethical choices?
Our first step will be to conduct an
exhaustive literature search on hunting, resulting in an annotated bibliography
of the hunting literature with a focus on defining hunting, both historically
and in the modern era. This work will help us build a better foundation on
which to define hunting – both what it is and what it is not. Professor John
Edwards at West Virginia University will oversee a graduate student in doing
this work starting January 2012.
A
working group headed by Dr. Thomas Baumeister will be collaborating to build an
“American Model of Hunting” analogous to the North American Model of Wildlife
Conservation. The Model will be
based on the core tenets and principles inculcated in modern hunting that
hunters can be proud of and that the conservation community can use to build
public support.
By
articulating what makes up the core of hunting, organizations and individuals
can examine different hunting practices and based on the specific facts,
determine if they meet the definition of hunting. The tenets could be
incorporated into hunter education training and other hunter curricula.
Currently, several writers who
participated in the Think Tank are writing articles based on issues explored
that will be published in the outdoor press. An outdoor writer workshop with a textbook is also being
developed.
This
information will be made available to professionals, outdoor writers and
hunters for distribution and discussion.
The anticipated long term
results
are: clear, honest thinking on why we hunt; clarifying the values we
collectively bring to hunting; recognizing the needs hunting fills for us; and recognizing
the individual and societal benefits it brings. This clarity and focus on what
is important should result in raising the bar of hunter behavior, enable a
rational and clear defense of hunting, assist in recruiting and retaining
quality hunters, and increase public support for democratic hunting.
Participants:
Dr.
John Edwards, West Virginia University
Jim
Posewitz, Orion-The Hunters’ Institute, author
Galen
Geer, author and lecturer
Phil
Seng, DJ Case and Associates
Dr.
Thomas Baumeister, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Del
Benson, Colorado State University and McGraw Wildlife Foundation
Michael
Sabbeth, Attorney and author
Jim
Dudas, McGraw Wildlife Foundation, writer
Eric
Nuse, Orion-The Hunters’ Institute
Also
assisting:
Dr.
John Organ, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Dr.
Jim Tantillo, Cornell University
A pseudo-conservation
group, Sportsmen For Fish and Wildlife, is spearheading biologically bankrupt
anti-predator schemes that are guaranteed to waste millions of dollars and
undermine legitimate wildlife management.
Field buffers not only protect soil and water quality, but can be quality habitat for pheasants and quail.
