02-22-2008, 06:10 PM
Removing barriers benefits Missouri's resources, people and economy.
JEFFERSON CITY-Hunters say their favorite pastime is good for their spirits. Health advocates say it is good for their bodies. Economists say it is good for business, and the Missouri Department of Conservation says it is an indispensable tool for managing wildlife. No wonder, then, that the agency is taking steps to keep hunting one of Missouri?s top recreational pursuits.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation showed that approximately 560,000 Missourians - 12 percent of the state?s population - hunted.
While the number of Americans who hunt has declined slowly in recent decades, the number of hunters in Missouri has increased during the past 10 years.
Part of the reason for the continued popularity of hunting in Missouri is a wide range of programs sponsored by the Conservation Department to perpetuate skills and attitudes necessary for safe, ethical hunting.
Besides hunter education classes staffed by a huge network of volunteers, the agency offers indoor and outdoor events to introduce women and children to hunting and shooting sports and make it possible for people with mobility impairments to hunt doves, ducks, deer and turkeys.
Most recently, the Missouri Conservation Commission created an Apprentice Hunter Authorization. For a $10 annual fee, the authorization enables nonhunters 16 and older to purchase any firearms hunting permit without showing hunter-education certification. Without the authorization, hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have completed an approved hunter education course in order to buy firearms hunting permits.
The authorization is available only for two consecutive permit years.
Hunting under the authorization and appropriate permits must be under the direct supervision of a licensed and hunter-education certified hunter at least 21 years old.
The Apprentice Hunter Authorization and Conservation Department hunter skills programs are intended to counter the national trend of declining hunter numbers.
"Why go to all this trouble?" Conservation Department Public Involvement Coordinator David Thorne says reasons abound. "Some of the least tangible benefits are most important to hunters.
"It's hard to put a dollar value on time spent hunting with family and friends," said Thorne. "The experience of connecting with nature and our pioneer past are hard to quantify, too.
"Other benefits for Missourians include the increasing number of studies and surveys that show outdoor and nature-related activities, such as hunting and fishing, enhance physical and emotional well-being. ?Some hunters say life would not be worth living if they could not hunt," said Thorne.
For those more interested in tangible benefits, Thorne cites the value of food generated by hunting. Deer hunters alone bring home more than 18 million pounds of venison annually. Multiply that by the cost of lean, organically-grown meat, and you have a tidy sum.
Similarly, Missouri hunters take home approximately 60,000 turkeys each year, plus millions of rabbits, squirrels, quail, pheasant, doves, ducks, geese and frogs. This is all meat that Missourians otherwise would have to buy. Missouri hunters donated more than 160 tons of venison to the needy through the Share the Harvest program last year, cutting the cost of state and federal social welfare programs.
Hunting's economic impact extends beyond food on the table. Thorne says all types of hunting combined create more than $2 billion in economic activity in Missouri, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service survey noted earlier. This economic stimulus takes the form of jobs making outdoor equipment or providing guide and other services, plus spending on everything from firearms and ammunition to food and lodging.
Deer and turkey hunting are Missouri's two biggest wildlife-related economic engines, attracting out-of-state hunters who bring tens of millions of dollars into Missouri annually.
Another benefit of hunting is what doesn't happen. Carefully regulated hunting can reduce numbers of some wild animals, reducing human-wildlife interaction.
"Effective management keeps wildlife populations in check," said Thorne. "I can't tell you how many deer-vehicle accidents never happen because the deer harvest keeps whitetail population at a reasonable density. I don't know how many roads or fields were never flooded because trappers kept beaver numbers in check, but these are real economic benefits all the same."
Thorne also noted that Missouri's conservation community would be significantly diminished by a decline in hunter participation. Hunters and anglers are some of the strongest supporters of America?s conservation movement, and they were some of the most outspoken individuals who proposed the constitutional amendment establishing Missouri's nonpartisan conservation program in 1936.
Hunters also are the most generous financial supporters of conservation. As early as the 1930s, hunters lobbied Congress to establish special excise taxes on their recreational equipment and supplies with funds earmarked for wildlife conservation. Those taxes remain in effect today and are among the most important and dependable revenues of state wildlife agencies, other than hunting permit fees.
In Missouri, hunters played a key role in the establishment of Missouri?s one-eighth of one percent sales tax for conservation. This model of conservation funding has been repeated in Arkansas in recent years and other states are working to establish similar support.
"We need hunters," said Thorne, "Our success at reaching out to the next generation of hunters is an excellent example of why people across the nation look to Missouri for conservation leadership."
-Jim Low-
JEFFERSON CITY-Hunters say their favorite pastime is good for their spirits. Health advocates say it is good for their bodies. Economists say it is good for business, and the Missouri Department of Conservation says it is an indispensable tool for managing wildlife. No wonder, then, that the agency is taking steps to keep hunting one of Missouri?s top recreational pursuits.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation showed that approximately 560,000 Missourians - 12 percent of the state?s population - hunted.
While the number of Americans who hunt has declined slowly in recent decades, the number of hunters in Missouri has increased during the past 10 years.
Part of the reason for the continued popularity of hunting in Missouri is a wide range of programs sponsored by the Conservation Department to perpetuate skills and attitudes necessary for safe, ethical hunting.
Besides hunter education classes staffed by a huge network of volunteers, the agency offers indoor and outdoor events to introduce women and children to hunting and shooting sports and make it possible for people with mobility impairments to hunt doves, ducks, deer and turkeys.
Most recently, the Missouri Conservation Commission created an Apprentice Hunter Authorization. For a $10 annual fee, the authorization enables nonhunters 16 and older to purchase any firearms hunting permit without showing hunter-education certification. Without the authorization, hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have completed an approved hunter education course in order to buy firearms hunting permits.
The authorization is available only for two consecutive permit years.
Hunting under the authorization and appropriate permits must be under the direct supervision of a licensed and hunter-education certified hunter at least 21 years old.
The Apprentice Hunter Authorization and Conservation Department hunter skills programs are intended to counter the national trend of declining hunter numbers.
"Why go to all this trouble?" Conservation Department Public Involvement Coordinator David Thorne says reasons abound. "Some of the least tangible benefits are most important to hunters.
"It's hard to put a dollar value on time spent hunting with family and friends," said Thorne. "The experience of connecting with nature and our pioneer past are hard to quantify, too.
"Other benefits for Missourians include the increasing number of studies and surveys that show outdoor and nature-related activities, such as hunting and fishing, enhance physical and emotional well-being. ?Some hunters say life would not be worth living if they could not hunt," said Thorne.
For those more interested in tangible benefits, Thorne cites the value of food generated by hunting. Deer hunters alone bring home more than 18 million pounds of venison annually. Multiply that by the cost of lean, organically-grown meat, and you have a tidy sum.
Similarly, Missouri hunters take home approximately 60,000 turkeys each year, plus millions of rabbits, squirrels, quail, pheasant, doves, ducks, geese and frogs. This is all meat that Missourians otherwise would have to buy. Missouri hunters donated more than 160 tons of venison to the needy through the Share the Harvest program last year, cutting the cost of state and federal social welfare programs.
Hunting's economic impact extends beyond food on the table. Thorne says all types of hunting combined create more than $2 billion in economic activity in Missouri, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service survey noted earlier. This economic stimulus takes the form of jobs making outdoor equipment or providing guide and other services, plus spending on everything from firearms and ammunition to food and lodging.
Deer and turkey hunting are Missouri's two biggest wildlife-related economic engines, attracting out-of-state hunters who bring tens of millions of dollars into Missouri annually.
Another benefit of hunting is what doesn't happen. Carefully regulated hunting can reduce numbers of some wild animals, reducing human-wildlife interaction.
"Effective management keeps wildlife populations in check," said Thorne. "I can't tell you how many deer-vehicle accidents never happen because the deer harvest keeps whitetail population at a reasonable density. I don't know how many roads or fields were never flooded because trappers kept beaver numbers in check, but these are real economic benefits all the same."
Thorne also noted that Missouri's conservation community would be significantly diminished by a decline in hunter participation. Hunters and anglers are some of the strongest supporters of America?s conservation movement, and they were some of the most outspoken individuals who proposed the constitutional amendment establishing Missouri's nonpartisan conservation program in 1936.
Hunters also are the most generous financial supporters of conservation. As early as the 1930s, hunters lobbied Congress to establish special excise taxes on their recreational equipment and supplies with funds earmarked for wildlife conservation. Those taxes remain in effect today and are among the most important and dependable revenues of state wildlife agencies, other than hunting permit fees.
In Missouri, hunters played a key role in the establishment of Missouri?s one-eighth of one percent sales tax for conservation. This model of conservation funding has been repeated in Arkansas in recent years and other states are working to establish similar support.
"We need hunters," said Thorne, "Our success at reaching out to the next generation of hunters is an excellent example of why people across the nation look to Missouri for conservation leadership."
-Jim Low-