Conservation Fact from QDMA: Guess who is paying for biodiversity? Here is an interesting fact from the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) that came out at the recent White House Conference to develop President Bush’s Executive Order to facilitate the American hunting heritage and conservation. Its 51,000 members own and/or hold 13.5 million acres for deer hunting purposes. This is in addition to the 50 million acres of state-operated wildlife management areas that are largely funded by America’s deer hunters. As impressive as these figures are, they don’t begin to capture the conservation reach of deer hunting. In the dead of winter from a plane window, it is amazing to see the mosaic of rich, green food plots across the eastern United States.
Adrian Sada Trevino Passes: Adrian Sada Trevino died on October 14, 2008 at the age of 85. Adrian was a supporting contributor of Conservation Force and a world-renown hunter, as is his son. Adrian won the Weatherby Award in 2001 in recognition of his hunting and wildlife conservation achievements. His son Federico won the award in 2006.
I once ran into Adrian while wolf hunting near the Arctic Circle. He was keenly excited about the Arctic experience and crossing paths with a fellow hunter during the adventure. His life proves once again that people who have everything choose to hunt. It is an activity worthy of kings and queens and the worthy choice of people who have everything. At Conservation Force, we are privileged to have known Adrian and his enthusiasm for the sport.
Adrian owned and developed Carmen Island, renowned for its desert bighorn sheep. He was a generous donor of sheep hunts to Grand Slam Club/OVIS, which itself is a generous and important supporter of Conservation Force and this monthly bulletin. We most certainly will miss his enthusiasm for the hunt and warm greeting this and every year at the Weatherby Awards dinner and conventions.
James Teer Receives Texas Hall of Fame Award: Conservation Force founding Board Member Dr. James Teer received the Texas Hall of Fame Award on October 3, 2008. He received the Conservation Educator Hall of Fame Award for “56 years in the field” and was described by Senator Hutchinson as being “the greatest conservationist in Texas.” United States Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson made the presentation as well as delivery speech.
In the past, Dr. Teer has received the prestigious Leopold Medal from The Wildlife Society. He is the retired Chair of the Wildlife Management Department of Texas A&M, where he held the Caesar Kleberg Chair in Wildlife Ecology, the retired head of the Wilder Wildlife Foundation, and the past president of The Wildlife Society. He cited both Chrissie and me in his Hall of Fame acceptance speech and continues to be part of Conservation Force’s “think tank” of leaders working for you on the Conservation Force Board of Directors.
Dr. Teer has recently published his autobiography, It’s a Long Way from Llano – The Journey of a Wildlife Biologist. It is available from Texas A&M University Press in College Station, where he is still professor emeritus of wildlife and fisheries sciences. In the book, Dr. Teer also devotes a chapter, “The Great Cats,” to his truly epic work on the jaguar, cheetah and leopard. In his autobiography, Dr. Teer cites Conservation Force’s cheetah management plan in Namibia and his work to establish the original Enhancement Compact where licensed hunters pay a sum above other costs exclusively for cheetah conservation, and our work to establish trophy imports. No less extraordinary was his seminal study on the African leopard, which was the foundation for its downlisting and which permits the US importation of those trophies today. As a Conservation Force Board member, he is your champion, whether you have known it or not.
Congressman Don Young a Hero Again: Longtime hero of the hunting community Congressman Don Young of Alaska, has done it again. He has introduced two polar bear bills for importation of hunting trophies.
The first is H.R. 6936, introduced by Young on September 18, 2008. It would allow the import of those polar bear already taken before the listing on May 14, 2008. There are millions of dollars of trophies from “conservation hunts” that took place before the bear was listed and that this bill would allow to be imported.
The second bill is H.R. 7171, introduced on September 26, 2008, which amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow the continued import of polar bear from approved populations, both those taken in the past and those in the future.
Don Young is the ranking minority member of the House Committee on Natural Resources as well as past chairman of that committee. He was one of the co-authors of the original polar bear MMPA Amendment that lead to polar bear imports that have now been interrupted. There is not enough space in this entire bulletin to list all the similar legislation Congressman Young has authored for the sportsmen and women of America over the years. He is as true as true comes.
Both bills need co-sponsors, so contact your own congressman today.
