A program of Conservation Visions®
PARADISE NEARLY LOST
Wildlife in North America was relatively abundant at the time of the arrival of European settlers. By the late 19th century, however, tidal surges of exploitation had laid waste to the continent’s wildlife capital. American bison, for example, were reduced from 20 - 30 million to about 1,000 by 1889. By 1902, the passenger pigeon, once numbering at 3 - 5 billion, had become extinct in the wild.
Had there been anything like an Endangered Species Act at the time, elk, mule deer, wild turkeys, wood ducks, pronghorn antelope, white-tailed deer, and many other familiar species would likely have been listed.
WILDLIFE RECOVERY IN NORTH AMERICA
AN INCREDIBLE RECOVERY
The
recognition of the resource crisis helped amalgamate a revised sense of social responsibility in the US and Canada. Personal responsibility and natural limits became the foundations of a new resource-use philosophy. This movement was led by a rising class of hunters committed to democratic access to nature, the sustainable use of wildlife for personal rather than market purposes, and a European standard of fair chase in hunting. Together, these beliefs can be viewed as the first North American conservation ethic. Social and political movements for wildlife and sustainable use soon developed into a systematic arrangement of conventions, policies, and laws –the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, a model for incentivized conservation that facilitates sustainable consumption. NORTH AMERICAN MODEL OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION
Wildlife resources are a public trust White-Tailed Deer Pre European Settlement Early 20th Century Today Elk Wild Turkey Wild Sheep Wildlife can be killed only for a legitimate purpose Markets for game are eliminated Science is the proper tool to discharge wildlife policy Democracy of hunting is standard Allocation of wildlife is by law Wildlife is considered an international resource 1. 5.2. 6. 3. 7. 4. 10 Million 10 Million 10 Million 1.25 Million 500,000 100,000 200,000 25,000 30 Million 1 Million 6.2 Million 80,000
DISCONNECT
many people question
value today and also fail to acknowledge
and consumption of
critical to the
and
economies,
of people in
America and around the world.
evidenced not just
in
is
numbers and
of
troubling
the primary
contributors
in
A MODERN
Sustainable use remains a crucial mechanism for wildlife conservation in Canada and the United States. Yet,
its
that the harvest
wildlife remains
diets,
cultures,
livelihoods
North
This disconnect is
by increasingly negative public attitudes toward wildlife harvests and harvesters, but by a dramatic decrease
hunter
the increasing average age
participants. This
especially
since hunters and anglers are
financial
to wildlife management and conservation
North America. AMERICAN HUNTERS 1985 - 2016* *USFWS 1985, 1996, 2006, 2016 1985 1996 2006 2016 Number of Hunters (Millions) 20 15 10 5 0 11% Guns & Ammunition 11% Bows & Arrows 10% Sport Fishing & Equipment 3% Electric Outboard Motors EXCISE TAXES ON OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT IN THE US DOLLARS RAISED FOR CONSERVATION $18.8 BILLION* $9.8 BILLION* Pitman-Robertson Act Raised Sport Fish Restoration Program 1937-2018 *Congressional Research Service 2019 1950 - 2018 *USFWS 2019 AVERAGE AGE OF HUNTERS The average age of hunters has been increasing, as fewer young hunters are being recruited. 1991 2011 *USFWS, 2016 65+ 55-64 45-54 35-44 25-34 18-24 16-17
Our North American system of wildlife management is in trouble. Despite past investments in hunter & angler recruitment, retention and reactivation, viable solutions have remained out of reach.
THE GAME-CHANGER
The Wild Harvest Initiative® is the first serious effort to synthesize and evaluate the combined economic, conservation and social benefits of recreational wild animal harvests in American and Canadian societies. Its innovative and science-based approach, combined with its long-term knowledge mobilization and advocacy plan, will reframe debates and provide new insights concerning the relevance of wild and natural harvests in modern North American society.
The Wild Harvest Initiative® is not a project; it is a narrative-changing program.
It is not a finite intervention; it is a relentless innovation. It does not seek to change society; rather, it takes its energy from society’s culture of change.
The program’s combined primary emphasis on food security and wildlife conservation is tailored to change conversations and provide new ways of communicating the relevance and benefits of recreational hunting and angling to the broad public. It will demonstrate the magnitude of annual recreational harvests of wildlife and fish in the US and Canada and increase public awareness of the positive health and nutritional benefits of this wild food. This will highlight the existing contribution recreational animal harvests make to food security and, thus, the importance of wildlife and fish habitat as food reservoirs for modern society.
By doing so, the program will purposefully discuss the potential for increasing food security through increased reliance on sustainable recreational harvest of wild renewable food resources.
SIGNIFICANT
White-tailed Deer
Meat per Animal: 24.90 kg
SECURITY
CANADA*
THE
Wild Pig/Boar
Meat per Animal: 42.40 kg
1 in 10 American homes are food insecure
Meat per Animal: 87.10 kg
1 in 8 Canadian homes are food insecure
Meat per Animal: 129.24 kg
Mule Deer
Meat per Animal: 23.20 kg
1 in 6 Canadian and 1 in 6 American children experience hunger due to food insecurity
*USDA, 2017 and Canada Without
Production and management of the Wild Harvest Initiative® Database
True economic assessment of food market value of recreational harvest in the US and Canada
Complete list of species recreationally harvested in the US and Canada
Comprehensive economic valuation of recreational wild meat harvest, including food market value Comprehensive dataset of most recent harvest data for all species
Critical evaluation of environmental and economic replacement costs for wild meat and fishFirst ever evaluation of total food biomass from recreational wild animal harvests
Regular progress reports
Calculation of a Social Sharing Index for wild meat and fish
Formation of the Wild Harvest Initiative® Partnership Alliance, a uniquely diverse coalition of invested stakeholders
Popular and academic publications
Aggressive, ongoing and strategic communications and social media outreach plan
Increased public awareness of the importance of habitats as food reservoirs
Greater efforts and advocacy for wildlife, fish and habitat conservation
Series of high-profile, public events celebrating the Wild Harvest Community
Elk
Moose
CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD SECURITY FOOD
IN
US AND
Poverty, 2016
1. 1. 6. 6. 2. 2. 7. 3. 3. 8. 4. 4. 9. 5. 5. WILD HARVEST INITIATIVE ® KEY DELIVERABLES KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION ADVOCACY
Hunters and anglers have many natural allies in the sustainable wild harvest of renewable natural resources.
A WILD HARVEST COMMUNITY
The Wild Harvest Initiative® will positively align wild animal harvests with other commonly practiced and well-accepted natural resource use traditions, such as berry-picking, wild mushroom foraging, beekeeping, and firewood gathering. It will facilitate alliances with other consumptive users of these wild products, in addition to healthy and green-living advocates.
The program’s broad and inclusive focus provides a non confrontational platform to engage discussions with non-hunters and non-anglers, and even those opposed to traditional sustainable use activities. We forecast powerful social connections of mutual support.
BEYOND NORTH AMERICA
Understanding the importance of wild meat to food security, livelihoods and economies is a global concern for international scientific, social, and political institutions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, there has been a disproportionate focus on the study of wildlife harvests in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
We believe modern wild meat harvests in temperate regions, such as North America, should be studied alongside other regions, and that they are likely to provide valuable insights and help guide solutions to address unsustainable harvests in other parts of the world. It is remarkable that the US and Canada have successfully developed a wildlife management system in which human harvests of wildlife have laid a foundation for biodiversity recovery and long-term sustainable management. The North American system provides a good practice example of how incentivizing environmental stewardship can produce positive gains in biodiversity and ecosystem services, while the Wild Harvest Initiative® communicates these benefits not just to educate, but to bolster international support and tolerance for sustainable wildlife use.
The Wild Harvest Initiative® will positively influence policy and attitudes concerning the sustainable wild harvest of natural resources in North America and around the world
THE WILD HARVEST INITIATIVE
PARTNERSHIP ALLIANCE
The program’s reach is reflected in a diverse and expanding partnership which features state governments, conservation-based NGOs, outdoor industry leaders, and individual philanthropists. There can be no doubt of its potential to contribute to a normalizing of hunting and angling, to a renewed and enhanced appreciation of wildlife’s value, to encouraging hunter and angler recruitment, retention and reactivation, and to increased efforts for conservation.
Wild harvest matters, and it should matter to you. To learn more about the Wild Harvest Initiative® contact Conservation Visions at insights@conservationvisions.com or 1-709-754-4780.
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