I believe that John Wesley ( the founder of the Methodist Church) had the right idea as to how to live life. He had Three simple rules to live by. I think they transfer nicely to not only daily life but also wildlife management. Lets take them one at a time.
- DO NO HARM: Every action you take either as a management agency or a hunter should be determined by first making sure this action does no harm. If you are going to take actions to help a species like introducing a non-native species to a ecosystem, you should determine first that it does not harm others.
- DO GOOD: The only mind set that should determine the course of human stewardship should be one bound by only doing good. Politics should not play a role in conservation nor should feelings. For instance favoring one species over the health of the ecosystem based on the wants of a constituent or because it is cuter than another. All decisions should be made to improve the environment that man lives in. Everyone who is interested in the outdoors should also volunteer their time and money to projects that do good. Like any good charity, the outdoors is a worthy cause. Maybe shooting does to balance the herd is a good thing to do even if you only want to take trophies.
- STAY IN LOVE WITH GOD: Read God as nature. If we all got up everyday and had an attitude of putting a priority on the outdoors we would see a difference quickly. When you actively love something everyday you tend to act in its best interest.
I love the outdoors, it provides me with everything I need. Every time I shoot a deer, I thank God for his creation which not only nourishes my body but also my soul. If all people placed importance on the outdoors instead of just hunters (for the most part at least monetarily) we would be further along the trail of successful conservation and stewardship. If the anti-hunting crowd spent half the time on conservation and preservation as they do trying to stop hunting, they could probably make a real difference.
Nice post, thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights.
ReplyDeleteWe all should pay more attention to the ecosystem and conservation.
Here, here Enviro - well said.
ReplyDeleteWe have it in our power to change the world. Just its one person at a time.
ReplyDeleteIf we describe our actions its just words, when the person describes our actions for themselves our actions will come alive for them.
Good to see you posting again
SBW
Three great rules to live by and you gave a very good explanation of how each can be applied to wildlife management.
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