The Guns of Conservation

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

Much has been written about the gun in the USA. Persuasive, proactive, and protective, the gun is akin to a religion in America and few can stand outside its trajectory of influence. The right to keep and bear arms is not only a foundation of liberty, it's crucial to the North American conservation model. Nor can the Model persevere without an armed citizenry.

The Dancing of Wolves and Men

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

Wolves have figured prominently in the lives and the imaginations of men seemingly forever. In both the Great Lakes region and the Northern Rocky Mountains, wolves have been increasing in numbers and expanding their range. Maintaining the big carnivores has been one of the great achievements of North America's hunter-led conservation movement. There will need to be a balancing act to maintain some equilibrium between wolf numbers and the prey that both wolves and men seek. Hunters must be the champion of the wolf, the champion of the elk and the champion of sustainable use for them all.

The American Bison and the Death of Freedom

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

The American bison may have been, at one time, the most abundant large wild mammal on earth. The historical references to their immense herds are difficult to comprehend; such is the scale of their numbers and the sheer improbable spectacle the authors of these reports try to convey. Perhaps these images are also difficult for us to understand because they inevitably inspire in the sensitive reader a feeling of great sadness that such a wondrous prospect must now be denied us all, forever.

Staying Relevant

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

Certainly it is true that hunters, through license sales and tax levies, do fund an incredible array of conservation programs, supporting game and non-game species management and research, and purchasing extensive amounts of habitat for biodiversity in general. However, considerable public funding from general revenues is also applied to wildlife conservation in North America, often far more than hunters are aware of or will acknowledge.

Slaughter on the Savanna

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

Rhino horn is now worth more than cocaine or gold. A single horn can sell for half a million dollars if delivered to the right customers - usually in Southeast Asia, though increasing to a wider range of countries. Not surprisingly, the illegal killing of these animals has escalated ferociously in the last number of years, and horrific images of the great brutes disfigured by chain saws now appear frequently in news reports. The ongoing slaughter has raised the question as to whether or not legalizing the horn trade is the answer.

Seeking Support

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

The most recent surveys of public attitudes toward regulated hunting in the United States indicate that more than 75 percent of those responding support this activity.  Hunters seem to just accept this new information as one more inevitable and self-evident truth. It is this kind of reaction, however, that helps engender the great malaise in the hunting world: the belief that we have no need to reach out to the broad public, can keep representing ourselves to ourselves, and thus be continuously reinforced in the notion that all is well. Yet we know very well that not all is well.

The Secrets of Leadership

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

Early conservation pioneers succeeded because they understood how to convey the importance of their ideals to the public. However the conservation movement has to a large extent moved away from an agenda of trying to convince society of its social, cultural, and economic value. We no longer strive for the hearts of our nations’ publics. The conservation community has replaced this with an emphasis on membership rosters and obtaining political influence, both often emphasizing specific issues that can hardly be viewed as being of the greatest public value or concern.

Saga of the White Bear

Part 1 of a series examining the polar bear's long journey to the Endangered Species Act
Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

The listing in May 2008 of the polar bear as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been a highly controversial decision. In the first of a series of articles, the author discusses the special place this inspiring animal has held in human cultures and the complicated scenario that an interface between the climate change debate, wildlife science, and the ESA presents for hunters and the sustainable use of wildlife.

Pursuit of the Common Good

Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

In the area of natural history, Theodore Roosevelt was beyond question the most learned of American presidents (with the possible exception of Thomas Jefferson), and with respect to enacting policies for the protection of wildlife and their habitats, he remains indisputably the greatest.

Profound Implications

Part 2 in a series examining the polar bear's long journey to the Endangered Species Act
Author(s): 
Shane P. Mahoney

This is the second article in a series examining the polar bear, its conservation status, and its listing as "threatened" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to list this species, based upon predictions of climate-change-induced reductions to polar bear habitat, should be viewed as a powerful signal to the hunting community worldwide. Does climate change open a brand new frontier in the debate over sustainable use and hunting's conservation value?

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