A Question of Commitment

The hunting community often focuses upon its financial contributions towards conservation. However, in the author's view paying a tax established in 1937 on a rifle or ammunition today does not make anyone a conservationist, regardless of whether they hunt or not. So what does make someone a conservationist and how would you know if you met one? If hunters want to be known as conservationists, shouldn't the community be able to articulate what it means by the term? In the author's view the act of purposefully engaging in programs or institutions that help ensure the future prospects for wildlife is one clear criterion by which to determine a person's conservation identity.