Donald Trump is President; That Means Great News for Sportsmen

Utah Governor Gary Herbert signing the mule deer recovery act, surrounded by industry leaders, state legislators and sportsmen groups. Legislation annually puts more than $2 million into controlling coyotes to protect mule deer fawns from predation.

When politicians travel and talk about issues like health care, immigration, taxes, education, by mobilizing sportsmen, we can get $ millions for habitat management, fencing highways, predator management. It gives sportsmen a HUGE voice on our country’s issues.

There are tens of millions of acres of public lands in western states that have no food value for wildlife. These Lands could be “Wilderness” areas, but as they sit, might as well be paved asphalt. If we restore these lands, we can have bigger herds and more hunting opportunity.

By passing the healthy Forest Initiative in the US Congress, prevented radical environmental groups from suing and stopping sound land management on our federal lands. Politics and politicians have a huge impact on our habitats and herds.

This lush grass and brush, post treatment, provides more than 1,000 pounds of wildlife food per acre than in the previous pinion juniper stand. By treating millions of acres of habitat, much of which is funded in partnership with sportsmen groups and energy companies, we can make herds bigger and off set or mitigate any impacts of development.

When major road upgrades are completed, migration underpasses can be built. Fencing highways saves human lives,prevents collisions and herds can freely migrate from summer to winter ranges.

When federal lands are healthy and productive, herds of Bison, bighorn, elk, deer, moose and other species can be added to improve our public lands, without creating conflicts with livestock or energy.

Hunter conservationists, working with state game and fish agencies, and cooperative federal land agencies, create new herds for the hunting and non-hunting public to enjoy.

There is an increasing number of female hunters! This was a free ranging bison on our public lands, on recently established herds, via the congressional passed healthy forest initiative. Politics matters for hunters.

It has been scientifically proven that the US Fish and Wild Life Service terribly miscalculated the impact of wolves. They eat the sick and the week the first day, and the rest after. The Famed northern Yellowstone elk herd has gone from 22,000 head to fewer than 4,000. It has eliminated hunting opportunity outside the Park and in wilderness areas. Politics, and rules made by politicians, matter.

Since Teddy Roosevelt, sportsmen have contributed tens of billions for conservation of land, water and wildlife. The spirit of Teddy Roosevelt can come alive again today, under Trump’s Roosevelt reboot.

HBO made an incredibly touching movie about a real-life story. It is called Taking Chance and it is about bringing home the body of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps back to the small town of Dubois, Wyoming. Chance loved to hunt and fish, he gave his life for our freedoms and to protect his brothers. What a man puts in his tombstone speaks volumes.

Many of America’s great warriors start out hunting with their parents. A hunt in a beautiful wild place, often provided by sportsmen groups, heals damaged bones and spirits for a former US Marine on a dream hunt with his wife. He came within inches of losing his life in Iraq.

Many uninformed urban voters like the romantic notion of wolves and predators. When they come into their backyards and kill their pets, they change their minds. We love wild places and all wild things, but if we don’t manage predators they dramatically reduce game populations.

Hollywood turned a nation against hunters with the movie Bambi. The real truth is: Hunters have restored and protected herds of every species. When the truth about wolves is shown and known, the American people support management of coyotes and wolves.