To protect the future of hunting,
Orion provides leadership on ethical and philosophical issues to promote fair chase and responsible hunting
| New Published Articles |
3/26/2012
WILDLIFE RESTORATION AND AN OLD CULTURAL CLICHÉ by Jim Posewitz
“Well you ain’t bringing back the buffalo.” That has long been a cultural cliché in the American West. The good news is that the old tired cliché may just have to be retired. This year, Jim Posewitz, Orion’s retired executive director and current board member, has elected to flunk-out of retirement – again. Jim is working with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) with the assignment of building public support for establishing: wild, free ranging, publically owned, state managed, to be hunted, buffalo in Montana. In an interesting association, Jim will be working with NWF’s Land Tawney, son of Orion founding board member, the late Phil Tawney. Guidance from the “other side” is suspected.
The targeted site for the buffalo restoration is the million-acre plus CMR National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Montana. Also active in the area is the American Prairie Foundation (APF) who is vigorously pursuing a prairie grasslands ecosystem restoration program. The APF is acquiring private property from willing sellers that is interspersed with Bureau of Land Management public lands north of the CMR National Wildlife Refuge. When all three land holdings are consolidated, the potential and available buffalo habitat grows to more than three and a half million acres. The ultimate objective will be to give some satisfaction to that old cowboy singer who asked only to “Give me a home, where the buffalo roam; and the skies’ are not cloudy all day.” When Lewis and Clark first passed through Montana in 1805 they described a wildlife resource that “for variety and abundance exceeded anything the eye of man had ever looked upon.” Buffalo were a huge part of that abundance. Eighty years later they were gone --- all of them. Writing in the book Hunting Trips of a Ranchman and Wilderness Hunter, Theodore Roosevelt wrote of a ranchman looking for open range grazing opportunity who had made a journey of a thousand miles across that same landscape in 1885. TR wrote, “to use his own expression, during the whole distance he was never out of sight of a dead buffalo, and never in sight of a live one.” That high-plains bone yard of the 19th century is now part of a wildlife restoration effort in Montana that now includes all the species of big game recorded by Lewis and Clark, as a free ranging public resource --- except one. It is all part of the exceptional restoration record of American hunters. The habitat, the biological understanding, and the management experience needed for buffalo restoration are currently assets on hand ready to be employed. The challenge is to now focus the land and wildlife management agencies on the necessary planning and decision making steps to make it happen. Perhaps, the much abused and nearly lost buffalo can once again experience a piece of their home on the range as free ranging public wildlife. Montana hunters behind the leadership of the National Wildlife Federation will be working to make that happen. From the Outdoor Wire:
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
A life-long sportsman and conservationist, Newberg has spent more than 25 years hunting North America--mostly on public land and mostly without a guide. He recently sold his accounting business to dedicate his full-time efforts to the popular "On Your Own Adventures" television show and website projects. On Your Own Adventures features outdoor programming and information dedicated to the largest demographic group in hunting-the non-guided hunter who hunts on public land. The show has enjoyed an extraordinary response from viewers and advertisers since it launched in 2009. Among the growing list of Randy Newberg supporters is Mark DeYoung, CEO of ATK, parent company of Federal Cartridge. DeYoung commented, "Randy Newberg's show encourages hunters to hunt more often and at the same time encourages new hunters to go afield for the first time. This is exactly what our industry needs." "I consider myself very fortunate to be a hunter and to experience America's great outdoors in much the same way as past generations of hunter-conservationists. I have been fortunate with the success of "On Your Own Adventures" and am now truly honored and excited to have this opportunity to work alongside dedicated industry professionals on the Hunting Heritage Trust Board of Directors in furthering important efforts to enhance our hunting and shooting sports heritage." In announcing Newberg's election to the Hunting Heritage Trust Board, Bob Delfay, President of the Trust, commented, "Randy Newberg is an extremely knowledgeable and innovative outdoorsman, communicator and businessman. His skills and enthusiasm will be a tremendous asset to the Hunting Heritage Trust and to the cause of hunting and conservation in America." Also serving on the Trust Board are Arlen Chaney, Independent Consultant; Bob Delfay, President of Bucks Hill Management; Bill Fraim, Chairman & CEO of AcuSport Corporation; Steve Fjestad, Author & Publisher, Blue Book of Gun Values; Bill Miller, Vice President, Media Production and Development, North American Media Group: Robert K. Mitchell, CEO, U.S.A. Shooting; Steve Urvan, CEO of GunBroker.com and Steve Williams, President of the Wildlife Management Institute Contact:
Bob Delfay, 803-641-1030 Montana Sporting Journal Interview with Orion founder Jim Posewitz February 2011 How do we educate the hunters that are hurting our sport by driving off-road, shooting from a vehicle, etc? The only way I can think of to improve hunter ethics is through teaching the importance and significance of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and the hunter’s role in that saga. The more each of us knows about where this opportunity to be the hunter came from, the more we will come to appreciate the gift. Once we appreciate and value the opportunity, the more likely we will be to accept the responsibilities we have to the animals, the land that produced them - and each other. What are your favorite hunting and fishing activities today? I presently hunt and fish at every opportunity and there is no list of favorites of what I find most satisfying. The satisfaction now comes from how the day is spent. To get the most out of the experience I start with the land to be hunted. If it is public I try to learn why and how it was kept wild and suitable for a day spent in fair chase pursuit. There is not an acre of land or stretch of water out there that hasn’t been fought over, argued about, and managed to produce what is now a restored fish and wildlife abundance. Should an animal fall, the first thought now begins with an appreciation for that animal’s sacrifice, followed by a reflection of all that it took to bring the moment, and the precious gift, into my life. A recent example was a 2010 North Dakota pheasant hunt. The hunt was an event held to attract donors to the Bismarck Cancer Center. Their “hook” was the great, great grandson of Theodore Roosevelt who was one of the hunting party. The birds were abundant, I shot well, but passed up the second day of hunting. My wife and I diverted ourselves and found our way to where the Little Cannonball Creek flows into the Little Missouri River. It was the place where Theodore shared a dug-out cabin with Gregor Lang when he hunted and then shot one of America’s last buffalo in 1883. It was where TR’s conservation epiphany was seeded. In many ways it was where America’s wildlife conservation ethic sprouted. We found it to be a landscape under the caring stewardship of a generous landowner totally aware of the significance of the site. In the 127 years now passed, the cabin has faded into a simple depression in a rich grassy terrain, while the power of the idea born there continues to mold the character of an entire culture to this day. It was why, if we choose, we can even be hunters in the 21st century. The shotguns never left their cases – while the experience exceed the limit – that’s hunting! Orion Board members John Organ and founder Jim Posewitz had articles featured in The Wildlife Professional published by The Wildlife Society. Former board member Val Geist is a co-arthur on the Organ paper. Born in the Hands of Hunters The Past, The Peril, and the Future, by Jim Posewitz The ethics of hunting may be more complex than we think. In simplest terms, an ethical hunter is “a person who knows and respects the animals hunted, follows the law, and behaves in a way that will satisfy what society expects of him or her as a hunter” (Posewitz 1994). Yet ethical hunting is considerably more complicated than how a person behaves at the moment a trig- ger is squeezed or an arrow released. Though it’s relevant to consider the individual afield making decisions—such as deciding whether to shoot a duck on the water or wait until it takes flight—such questions need to be contemplated in the context of why that duck is there at all, and the hunter’s understanding of and commitment to that reality. |
||
