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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2024

- APPAREL -
Huk recognizes that fall brings cooler temperatures and new opportunities on the water. Huk designed the Tide Point Collection for all anglers looking for a performance-packed button-down. The lightweight polyester fabric is essential for a breathable, quick-drying, moisture-wicking shirt.
- AWARDS -
Leupold & Stevens, Inc. announces the new-for-2024 Mark 4HD has been given the Caliber Award for “Best New Optic” by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) and the Professional Media Outdoor Association (POMA). Leupold & Stevens was presented with the award at the annual NASGW meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Kansas City.
The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) selected six association members as recipients of the organization’s most prestigious awards. The winners were announced at the OWAA’s annual conference in El Paso, Texas.
- BIRDING -
Sandhill cranes by the thousands are once again returning to their wintering grounds at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona. For the next several months, more than 20,000 of these fascinating birds, along with waterfowl and other wetland-associated species, will provide an unparalleled wildlife-viewing experience.
- BOATING -
Chaparral and Robalo Boats, in partnership with Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha Financial Services), announce a new multi-year exclusive financing agreement. Beginning January 1, 2025, Yamaha Financial Services will become the exclusive provider of dealer inventory finance and the preferred provider of retail finance for both Chaparral and Robalo Boats in the U.S.A. and Canada.

- COMPETITION -
Winchester Ammunition and White Flyer will have a commanding presence at the 2024 National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA) Championship, October 19-27, the culmination of a full year of intense competitions throughout the country.
Congratulations to Team Vihtavuori’s Chad Heckler on winning the International Precision Rifle Federation (IPRF) World Championship in the Limited Division. Heckler represented the United States Precision Rifle Association Centerfire Team for the victory.
- GEAR -
How many times have you been sitting and wished your location was 50- or even 20-yards closer to what turned out to be the travel corridor? Unfortunately, moving a semi-permanent treestand during the season is a big risk, and while not impossible, odds are any mature bucks in the area will know something is up.
- HUNTING -
A hunter booking through the LandTrust platform successfully harvested a 305-inch bull elk at Danielski Farms in Kilgore, Nebraska. Outdoorsman Joe Spooner and his hunting partners set up on one of the farm's pivots, guided by the land manager's intimate knowledge of the elk herd’s movement, and following a morning of high winds, their luck changed that afternoon.

- INDUSTRY -
Blaser is pleased to announce Austin Kiemsteadt as the newest member of Team Blaser. A resident of Missouri City, Texas, Kiemsteadt is a recent graduate of Texas A&M University, where he shot on the National Championship shooting team for four years.
Regal Products announced that its SecureMe by Regal locks have been approved by the California Department of Justice and added to the state’s roster of certified firearm safety devices for sale. This certification ensures that SecureMe by Regal locks meet the stringent safety and compliance standards required for sale in California.
The Beretta 92G Elite LTT was built in partnership with Ernest Langdon of Langdon Tactical Technology as the ‘Ultimate 92 Package’, incorporating many features from across the 90 series line, including the Vertec/M9A3 slide and M9A1 Frame that Beretta enthusiasts have always loved. In honor of 92 Day, September 2nd, Beretta will now be offering the 92G Elite series of pistols already customized by LTT directly to retailers.
DIVA-WOW, the worldwide sisterhood that provides a warm, inclusive, and supportive environment where women come together to celebrate their love for outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, and the outdoor lifestyle – no matter their skill level, announced today it has forged a unique partnership with Hunter Outdoor Communications.

GRITR Range will be hosting a SIG P365 Armorer Certification Course presented by SIG Sauer Academy in North Richland Hills, TX. Scheduled for November 2, 2024, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, this exclusive event offers a unique opportunity for participants to gain in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with one of the most popular concealed carry pistols.
“Our work with hydrogen technology is a key part of Yamaha’s commitment to sustainability and innovation,” said Grant Suzuki, Yamaha U.S. Marine Business Unit Chief of Technology. Suzuki’s comments underscored, “Hydrogen for Recreational Craft,” which Yamaha presented during the recent 2024 International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition (IBEX®).
- MEDIA -
Chris Dorsey appeared as a guest on the popular Kim Monson Show podcast and radio program to discuss Colorado’s shortsighted Proposition 127, and the overall problems with ballot box biology.
- NEW PRODUCTS -
Faxon Firearms announces a comprehensive lineup of barrels, firearms, and complete upper receiver groups for Hornady’s new .338 ARC cartridge, revealed at the NASGW Expo in Kansas City.

- ORGANIZATIONS -
The Boone and Crockett Club announces Chevron has signed on as a Gold Trailblazer in Conservation partner. Additionally, Chevron is supporting the Club’s University Programs by helping to fund student fellows studying wildlife management.
In celebration of SAF’s 50th anniversary, Guns.com has announced a limited-edition T-shirt run with a portion of proceeds benefiting the Second Amendment Foundation’s legal efforts.
NSSF announced that A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League has become an official partner of NSSF’s First Shots program, the introductory and refresher target-shooting program made available through host target-shooting ranges across the country.
- PRODUCT NEWS -
The Wildcat CRX crossbow from Barnett reaffirms the company’s commitment to producing technologically advanced, deadly, effective crossbows that will not drain hunters’ wallets this season.

Earlier this month, AG Composites made waves in the outdoor and hunting communities by announcing a bold initiative: a series of extreme torture tests on its innovative carbon fiber stocks. But these aren’t just any tests; they are designed to push the limits of durability and strength like never before.
 

Guiding agencies’ public-trust responsibility is just the start of their unsung, often misunderstood, role

In Mississippi the only requirements to be considered as a fish-and-game commissioner are to have bought a hunting or fishing license for five of the past 10 years and to have no fish-and-game violations within the past five years.

In North Carolina, each member of the Wildlife Resources Commission “shall be an experienced hunter, fisherman, farmer, or biologist who shall be generally informed on wildlife conservation and restoration problems.”

New Mexico requires at least one member of its 7-member commission to “manage and operate a farm or ranch that contains at least two species of wildlife.”

New Jersey requires six of its 11 Fish and Game Council members to be sportsmen recommended by the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and another three to be farmers recommended for gubernatorial appointment from agricultural groups.

This small sample size indicates the wide variety of commission composition, but also their fairly narrow constituencies. As we detailed in the previous column that looked at pressures to broaden the mandate of and participation on wildlife commissions, most commissioners reflect traditional constituencies of the agencies they oversee: hunters and anglers. The inclusion of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural representatives on boards reflects the close connection between wildlife and rural economies.

But increasingly there’s a close connection between agencies and what are called “non-consumptive” constituencies, too. Birdwatchers, floaters, habitat advocates, and even animal-rights activists have an interest in sustainable management of states’ fish and wildlife, along with the terrestrial and aquatic habitats they require. So why aren’t more of these non-traditional constituencies reflected on commissions, especially as hunters and anglers decrease as a percentage of the total population? That’s a question these non-traditional groups are asking as they demand more representation on wildlife boards, and it’s a question some legislatures are asking as they consider changing the charters of commissions.

PUBLIC-RESOURCE TRUSTEES

Rather than ensuring inclusion from every interest group in a state, a more constructive way to look at wildlife governance is to consider commissioners’ (often unpaid) jobs. It’s not necessarily to represent constituencies, but rather to “be effective trustees of their state’s natural resource public trust assets.”

That language, lifted from an influential and thorough “Commission Guidebook” published by the Wildlife Management Institute with input from the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, hints at the reason we have state-level wildlife agencies and commissions in the first place. Rather than giving management authority of America’s fish and wildlife to the federal government or to private landowners, early conservationists tasked states with managing the wildlife resources within their boundaries, and because deer, trout, and grouse are public resources just as air and water are, they established commissions to guide the stewardship of these resources in “the public trust” by creating transparent and accountable boards of trustees.

This arrangement has successfully restored wildlife populations over the past century, and has created a reciprocal relationship between hunters and anglers and fish-and-game agencies. Agencies manage resources for a sustainable surplus, available to hunters and anglers to harvest, and their licenses fees fund more surplus-oriented management. But that symbiosis leaves out those who don’t want to fish or hunt, and wildlife species that aren’t managed for the rod or the gun. That’s the dynamic that wildlife activists want to change, by installing more “non-consumptive” commissioners on oversight boards.

The fact that the background or constituency of a trustee may be changing is quite separate from their role, which is generally to provide policy guidance to the state’s fish-and-wildlife agency. If science should guide resource management decisions, commissioners can use social science, community mores and values, and prevailing public sentiment as they provide policy oversight.

But commissioners should keep their trustee responsibility free from political influence and make “thoughtful, informed decisions that are in the best interest of the people of the state, including both current and future generations,” according to the Commission Guidebook.

Commissioners make durable, legally and ethically defensible decisions when they follow tenants of what’s come to be known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which includes allocation of wildlife resources through democratic and legal processes, that wildlife can only be killed for legitimate purposes, that commercialization of wildlife should be avoided, that wildlife policy should be guided by science.

The guidebook takes note of the changing human values toward wildlife that we covered in our previous column about wildlife commissions. But the document also ticks off some of the astonishing considerations—some old but many new—that wildlife agencies and their commissioners must weigh. They include:

  • Demands from a broader range of citizens whose interests and concerns about wildlife management differ from those previously engaged with the agency
  • Constituents’ concerns about welfare of individual animals versus animal populations
  • Concerns about private property rights and access to public lands
  • Exotic or non-native species impacting native species and ecosystems
  • Decreasing trust in government and science
  • Increased human development impacting fish and wildlife habitat
  • Decreasing or static staffing of state agencies
  • Limited funding of agencies to meet increased public demands and expectations
  • Increased detection and management of wildlife diseases
  • Decreasing tenure of agency directors and senior staff

Those changes, plus many more, are an indication that the role of wildlife commissioner is getting harder and more complicated by the year. But a few attributes of commissioners can ensure that wildlife resources are managed equitably, that agencies comply with constitutional and regulatory expectations, and that commission decisions are subject to public review, comment, and engagement.

Here are some of the guidebook’s qualities for an effective and informed commissioner. Commissioners should:

  • Support the agency’s mission and legal mandate
  • Comply with policies and open meeting laws
  • Review background material in advance and come prepared to meetings
  • Actively participate in commission meetings
  • Listen to and consider the perspectives of all citizens who provide input, along with those of other commissioners
  • Fully consider the ecological, social, ethical, economic, and political science information provided by staff and others
  • Seek as much information to make informed decisions, but be adaptable when presented with new information
  • Weigh information carefully and don’t listen only to the loudest voices
  • Be objective, and put personal biases aside
  • Be respectful of staff time, expertise, responsibility, and perspectives, and be equally respectful of stakeholders’ time and perspectives

Given the wide variability in qualifications, backgrounds, and affiliations, it’s fair to ask: how does your own wildlife commissioner conform to these institutional expectations? Do you personally know your own wildlife commissioner? To put an even sharper point on the topic, how often do you engage in your state’s wildlife management?

If your voice has been absent from your state’s wildlife-management conversation, maybe it’s time to get involved. Because, as recent headlines have shown us, if you don’t engage, someone else will, and their interests may not align with yours.

– Andrew McKean, Outdoor Industry Communication Council

About the Outdoor Industry Communication Council

Formed around the commitment to educate all Americans about the origins of conservation funding in America, the Outdoor Industry Communication Council is powered through a multi-state conservation grant and represented by companies, wildlife agencies, professional communicators, and conservation organizations. This project is funded by the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (F23AP00404), supported with funds from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program and jointly managed by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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