Established more than 150 years ago, the North American Wildlife Conservation Model is a set of seven principles established by Theodore Roosevelt and other hunters. It outlines the vital importance of both protecting and managing wildlife so they can be forever sustained.
The model’s third principle focuses on the “democratic rule of law.”
America’s forefathers consulted with the public and came together to form a nation by establishing laws and guidelines. The same basic process goes for overseeing activities related to our fish and wildlife.
The establishment and implementation of hunting and fishing regulations was created through a public process where citizens have the opportunity and responsibility to weigh in on the development of systems for wildlife conservation and use.
Wildlife managers from state agencies rely on research, population counts, habitat conditions, hunter surveys and other important criteria. That information is used to formulate hunting quotas for particular locations by various methods of take, and is then made available for public comment. With that input, regulations are established and set in place.
Those regulations also spell out punishment for breaking the laws which govern and protect fish and wildlife management.
The bottom line is hunters helped create a supporting network of laws, agencies, industries and partnerships that give wildlife a fighting chance into the future.
And the North American Wildlife Conservation Model stands as living, effective example of how hunting is conservation.