Some of the greatest successes in wildlife and fisheries conservation has been made thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.
For nearly 80 years the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program
has funded conservation through an excise tax on sporting gear.
When you buy a box of shotgun shells, or fishing lure, or associated other items used for hunting, fishing, boating, or shooting,
you pay a tax that ensures that state fish and wildlife managers
have adequate funding to research and manage
wildlife and fisheries. Outdoor men and women make a positive difference in conservation in the United States
I work for the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. It's been around for
78 years and
it's cumulatively produced over 19 billion dollars for conservation in the United States
Excise taxes are collected off of sporting goods like firearms, ammunition,
motorboat fuels, fishing equipment - by the Treasury, and then it's apportioned back out to the states through our program.
That's the primary funding source for state game and fish agencies, so hunters and anglers
directly benefit through stocking programs, hunter education programs, and
game management, all the survey work
that's done across across the country.
Across this country every autumn, hunters go afield with friends and family.
They feel the scratch of gravel under their boots,
the bristle of thorns on their pant legs.
They watch with a heightened sense of self as a pointing dog set stiff as
he detects a bird scent in the bush. The sudden whirl of quail wings
followed by a dull thud of a shotgun kick on your shoulder fills your senses
Let it go!
[2 Gun Shots]
I hit one.
I think I got one too.
They are all part of the real, full-emersion experience of hunting
that could never be duplicated, and hunting is a key part of conservation in the United States.
It is an enjoyable family experience that has been shared by generations of Americans.
I love being outdoors with my family: my kids.
It gives us gives us an opportunity to do things together.
It's a bonding experience.
I got to hunt with with my father, and
I feel like I'm passing down a hunting heritage to my daughter.
It brings us together in nature so we get to see wildlife really up close and personal.
It's memories. Coming with my dad, we have stories to tell,
things that we can remember for a long time.
It's fun to come and bond over
wildlife and things that he loves to do, and I'm glad that he brings me out here like he said he
went hunting with his dad and so him passing it down is just pretty cool, so I get the experience and memories.
Hunting is a colorful part of the American heritage.
It's been practiced by virtually all of our ancestors.
Hunting fuels an intimacy one feels with wildlife and wild places and stirs one to care about conservation
We're holding two male Mearns quail.
To me, it's the trophy bird of the Southwest.
They're incredibly great for dogs.
They hold really tight and they've got great scent for the dogs, and as you can see from this bird's plumage
they're just beautiful birds.
One of the names for this bird is "elegant quail" I believe and
Harlequin quail.
The feathers on these birds are just incredible.
So the Mearns quail, unlike all the other species of quail in the Southwest, digs for its food and this bird has really long nails that it uses for digging
roots and tubers out of the ground. That's very distinct and very different than the other birds.
Other birds will eat seeds on the top of the
ground or just off the plant. That's a very unique to this bird.
It reminds me of something that Aldo Leopold wrote:
There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm.
One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery.
The other: that heat comes from the furnace.
As it is with farmers,
hunters are not merely observers of nature, but intimate participants.
I've only ever hunted quail twice:
this time and one time before.
It's really interesting hunting behind dogs because you're always watching how they're going to react how they're moving
throughout the field and
what when they pick up a bird it's a huge adrenaline rush.
All your senses are focused on that on trying to get that bird. It's just amazing.
Hunters care about conservation. They care about habitat.
They were on the forefront of an emerging conservation ethic
some 80 years ago, and today remain an integral part of the future of conservation.
Hunting is hugely important to the American economy
and conservation funded by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program extends far beyond quail covers and deer woods.
It's an amazing program
That was created by
some people who had some
incredible vision and passion for the outdoors
and really wanted to see it
managed better than it had been in the past.
There was a Depression-Era
legislation that was developed to basically protect what resources were left.
What we have left is a legacy like no other.
Eighty years ago
wildlife species such as elk, whitetail deer, wild turkey, rough grouse,
bighorn sheep, and pronghorn populations were dangerously low.
Today, thanks to the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program
and scientific management, these iconic species have rebounded,
and provide sustainable hunting as well as wildlife viewing opportunities for the American public.