Wildlife and People

Humans have had a tremendous impact on wildlife, both good and bad. Following are brief descriptions of a few groups of people who have impacts on wildlife and wildlife habitat nearly every day.

Groups that impact wildlife include:

Wildlife Agencies
There are government agencies at the state/provincial and federal level that have the interests of wildlife as their goal, but often must work with conflicting interests and different political viewpoints.

Land Managers
Government agencies that own and manage land usually include wildlife as part of their programs, but must consider the many other uses of public lands.

Planning and Zoning Commissions
Most local cities and towns have these commissions that determine how the land in their area can be used. They must always consider economic, community, public service and municipal factors in planning and zoning. They do not always consider wildlife in their decisions, but with good planning these uses are compatible with wildlife interests.

Park Managers and Commissioners
Wildlife is a component of most state, national and local parks. However, different park managers have different ideas about the importance of wildlife and sometimes wildlife interests are sacrificed for human convenience and comfort.

Private Landowners
Since most of the land in North America is owned by private landowners, this group has the biggest impact on wildlife. Most landowners have an economic interest in the use of their land and if wildlife is not a part of that interest, it often suffers. But if wildlife is a part of that interest, it will benefit. "If wildlife pays, it stays."

Wildlife can't speak for itself... we must be the ones to speak up
As a hunter and a conservationist, you need to speak up for wildlife interests.
 Keep informed with what is going on in your area and around the country: Read the newspaper, subscribe to hotlines and talk to those in the know. Study the impacts on wildlife of pending decisions.
 Be involved: Attend meetings, get to know the people responsible for decisions and become a positive, persistent force for conservation.
 Follow-up: When decision-makers make decisions that benefit wildlife, let them know what great choices they made. When they make bad decisions, don't make them your enemies, but let them know that you hope they'll consider wildlife next time.