conservation tagged posts

It’s a known fact that wildlife are thriving because of sportsmen and women’s contributions to habitat conservation.  But do you know how it all works?  Check out this infographic from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to learn more and spread the word… 

Merry Christmas everyone!  We are so thankful for this community you’ve helped us create and hope you enjoy the holidays with family and friends. 

Earlier in the month we announced our Christmas countdown of top guest posts and today we have the honor of announcing #1.  A mentor and friend to us both, Jodi Stemler came in at the top.  Thank you for all of your support Jodi, congrats and Merry Christmas!!

A Life Among the Silver Backed Males

I work in a pretty male-dominated field. I remember 20 years ago when I was interning for a wildlife conservation organization, my supervisor described our colleagues as “silver backed males,” a fairly apt description for the typically gray-haired men leading most of the conservation movement at the time...

By Bethany Erb

What is it that hooks us? When was your defining moment that you realized you loved to hunt and it was a part of you? 

For many people it’s the early childhood experiences with a parent, cousin or grandpa. But what about the person that doesn’t start early? How do they begin? Many people don’t have the opportunity early in life because of certain factors such as not living in a rural area, lack of mentors etc. I wasn’t an early bloomer; I grew up around hunting, but preferred horses. I found hunting intimidating and for men…that was until my college roommate Amanda said let’s go hog hunting (northern CA). So we went and I was hooked!

Grace and her Marshmallow gun

I’m glad I started when I did, but wish I had gotten into the field a little sooner...

We’re  over 100 signatures on the petition to support Eva Shockey and hunters across the country and we’re excited about it!  Eva has taken notice by retweeting and we are pleased to have the support of Prois Hunting & Field Apparel for Women  and Huntress View! 

Thank you to everyone who has already signed on and if you haven’t it’s not too late!!  Please help us keep up the momentum and share the petition with family and friends – happy Friday sportsmen and women!! Here’s the petition language:

“On behalf of sportsmen and women from across the United States, thank you Eva Shockey for continuing to educate the public about what it means to be a hunter. Like you, we are conservationists who enjoy getting outside and harvesting our own dinner...

By Tovar Cerulli

Originally published on TheAtlantic.com and reposted here with permission from the author.

Fourteen years ago, I stood in the snow, struggling to digest what I had heard. A group of us, gathered to learn about monitoring and protecting wildlife habitat, had just discovered that our instructor—Sue Morse, founder of Keeping Track—was a deer hunter. I found the news disturbing. How could she work to safeguard the homes of animals she described as “neighbors” and then turn around and shoot one of them? I found it inconceivable that someone could be both an environmentalist and a hunter, a caretaker and a killer.

Today, I, too, am both. I understand that caring for animals and their ecosystems is not incompatible with participating in those systems as a predator...