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Sportsman's Dollars

by Ralph Ramos

In my role as an educator teaching about fish and wildlife, the topic often brought up is "why people hunt". Students are quite aware of my avid interest for hunting with the bow. I always seem to get challenged by those students who are totally against hunting. My response to people against this important American tradition comes from both a biological and an economic standpoint, benefiting wildlife.

My primary goal as an avid bowhunter and educator is to help people to understand the important role of modern regulated hunting. Knowing wildlife management and conservation practices require enormous amounts of revenue and hunters contribute millions of dollars. Economically in the state of New Mexico, 193,380 hunters and fishermen pay to hunt and fish on federal and state lands. These outdoor enthusiasts pay a small fee of $5.00 toward a habitat stamp, required to hunt or fish in national forests, BLM, or state land. This fee generates $967,336 in revenue, which is used for the sole purpose of fish and wildlife habitat improvements in this state. Let the record show, only hunters, trappers, ranchers, and fishermen have to pay this fee for the use of public land. Non-hunters and animal rights activists do not pay to use public land. Whether to photograph or just enjoy nature; I am not aware of any separate groups of people other than livestock operators, and sportsmen that have to pay to improve wildlife habitat directly from their wallet.

Taken for granted, hunting revenue is contributed for conservation and wildlife management. Habitat Stamp program dollars help to kindle the fire. Additionally, hunters pay the ever-increasing stipend for the use of hunting licenses. Resident hunters are not alone paying high priced license fees; out-of-state hunters also contribute to the benefit of wildlife. Thanks to these nonresident hunters, almost half of New Mexico license revenue comes from out-of-state hunters. As the kindling of revenue begins to burn, millions of dollars are needed for wildlife management, law enforcement, and conservation. Last year resident hunters and fishermen contributed $4,409,110, while nonresident hunters and fishermen spent $3,291,118, paying for over-the-counter license fees alone. Total over-the-counter revenue from hunters and fishermen supplied $7,700,228 from license fees in the year 2000. Fortunately during the year 2000, resident and nonresident special auction and lottery permit hunters paid an additional $4,007,264. These special and auction permit licenses are in addition to the regular over-the-counter licenses, adding up to a phenomenal $11,707,492 in wildlife revenue.

Equally important, resident hunters earn their token and retain native dollars in New Mexico. Where as nonresident hunters make a significant economic impact locally by spending hard earned dollars in the Land of Enchantment. I challenge all rightist groups or people that are against hunting to contribute money directly to wildlife conservation and management as hunters do. Needless to say, rightists waste what could be wildlife money lobbying to get ridiculous legislation passed. Bills such as banning mountain lion hunts in the west and stopping bison hunts locally in New Mexico, currently caused major suffering in the ecosystem. Biologically, animal starvation, predator problems involving humans and the spreading of disease are taking place due to these foolish bills. Instead, these wasted antihunting dollars should be used for habitat improvements, wildlife management and conservation. Instead, political bureaucrats and lobbyists are profiting.

The question of whether you should hunt is strictly a personal decision. Biologically, hunting constitutes an important tool for wildlife management. If you choose not to hunt, it is just as important that you understand how modern hunting is practiced. Wildlife managers help ensure the future well being of our ecosystem and the wildlife that lives in them. Hunters today have gotten use to wildlife managers controlling both public and private wildlife practices. Hunting dollars have allowed biologists to transplant, band, tag, radio collar, conduct aerial surveys, track wild animals and collect biological data measuring animal health. These professionals learn about home ranges, carrying capacities, population densities, and wildlife territories. Continuous research supplying scientific data allows scientists to evaluate these important wildlife factors. Understanding that game populations fluctuate from year to year; wildlife managers determine regulations such as bag limits, hunting seasons, when to close hunting areas, permitting game to thrive in our well managed existing environment. Respectfully, modern hunters understand fluctuations of wildlife populations. Professionally, hunters and fishermen accept annual changes in regulations benefiting wildlife. Unfortunately, there are bad apples in every barrel such as poachers, whose illegal taking of wildlife reflects negatively on the reputation of all hunters. Everyone else who hunts should not have to pay the price for wildlife thieves.

License revenue paid by hunters has allowed game management to carefully manage our natural resources to protect wildlife populations. Not only has hunting permitted us to work for the benefit of wildlife; more importantly, families continue bonding traditions shared since time began.