PHOTO/CALEB REGAN
Caleb Regan battled snowy conditions during an elk hunting trip near Gunnison, Colo.
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the upkeep is funded by them.
The U.S. Fish and Game receives its funding by taxes on hunting and fishing licenses as well as taxes on all sportsmen goods sold, ranging from gloves to shotguns. Then each state's department (Kansas's is the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks) uses funding from the federal organization to fix
the problems with wildlife in their state.
Since 1997, the whitetail deer population in Kansas has been stabilized by increasing the number of deer tags sold and extending the antlerless deer season into January, says Lloyd Fox, big game program coordinator with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Before 1997, the deer
population was growing each year, and deer-related car accidents were also increasing, he says.
"Since we've increased the number of deer taken each year, the population has leveled off, and car accidents are occurring at a lesser rate each year. That was the goal from the start and we've been successful," Fox says.
Hunters have to tag their game, making them accountable for what they kill. Now hunters in the area surrounding Lawrence may purchase up to six tags: one that allows the taking of an antlered deer and five that allow for the taking of an antlerless deer.
Michael Pearce, outdoor writer and photographer for the Wichita Eagle, guided hunts for 10 years and has been a full time outdoor writer since 1981. He says when he grew up, there were hardly any deer or turkey in Kansas. He even got sent to the principal's office in grade school for telling a teacher he had seen a deer. They were that scarce.
killers., It's the, whole outdoor experience, and we pay a great deal of money and pass on the concepts to our kids."
In the 1930s, the wild turkey population in the U.S. was around 20,000 to 30,000. Today, that population, at a conservative figure, is around 5 million. "That was funded by sportsmen," Pearce says. "Sportsmen aren't the real
Pearce also says that success
stories are plentiful with game. Turkey, ducks and deer are the most openly acknowledged successes that sportsman have helped fund."If it weren't for duck hunters," Pearce says, "we'd have no ducks."
There is an odd sort of balance that the outdoor sportsman and the U.S. Fish and Game organization have struck. We are responsible, through funding.
around .14 million, hunting licenses purchased in the U.S. this year, and with a membership of their own at around four million, a large percentage of
for the emergence of big populations. But we also fund the control of each population for the best overall balance in the environment, he says.
The National Rifle Association champions the cause of hunters because it's an issue concerning their members. There were
Hunter retention
their members are hunters, according to Autumn Fog. spokesperson for the NRA.
Hunter retention is an issue at the forefront of our current work and the national recruitment rate is .69, she says. "In other words, for every 100 hunters who leave the sport for whatever reason, only 69 replace them," Fog said.
To combat this drop, the
NRA has been working to get the Mentored Hunting Program started, which would allow children who want to try hunting to experience hunting in a safe environment.
"We want to keep hunting alive in this country. We have such a strong tradition, and we want to make sure grandfathers and grandmothers can still pass
on, that, tradition, to, their kids and their kids' kids, "Fog says."
Land access and a general lack of understanding about the positive aspects of hunting have caused a drop in the number of young people currently taking up the hobby. With the scarcity of land available for purchase, people have a harder time retaining family land for hunting purposes. And with the reliance on indoor entertainment, most children aren't interested anyway unless it is a family tradition.
Bonding with friends and family, being in a foreign habitat, giving the animal an equal chance, tradition and a passing on of that tradition and a genuine love for the outdoors are all reasons to pursue whatever game we pursue.
Josh and I didn't bag any great monster to bring back home and put on Mom's dinner table and on the wall. But we got close, heard him bugle (one of the most beautiful sounds in nature) and watched him put on a display of his own strength and smarts. And we survived the elements when things started to get scary, standing outside of our tent as the snow came down. All we could do was watch, take pulls off a bottle of Kentucky Gentleman and chase it with snow to save our water. This is why we hunt.