Trending
Hunting and fishing license sales in Michigan continue to decline year after year. Money generated from the sale of thOse licenses pay for a majority of wildlife management and habitat restoration in Michigan. Will our wild places remain healthy with fewer dollars going toward their care?
Last weekend, my husband and I traveled to Kalamazoo to listen to outdoorsman conservationist Steve Rinella of the "Meateater" TV show and podcast talk about a few issues facing the hunting and fishing community. While he is well-known for sharing hunting and fishing expeditions and cooking wild game, one resoundingly critical message Rinella continually circles back to is the importance of land stewardship and how the work being done today is necessary to ensure healthy future resources. Fewer licenses being purchased means less money for environmental care. Part of the decline is attributed to aging Baby Boomers. I was pleasantly surprised to see that, in the audience at Rinella's program, the majority of attendees where young people in their 20s and 30s, members of the Millennial generation. I found that to be refreshing. Those younger generations are tasked with the responsibility of keeping traditions alive, and, in essence, keeping our forests and waters healthy.
While a number of outdoor recreation activities motivate local economies, few can say that the money spent on such activities goes directly back to caring for the environment and wildlife. Without some of the work paid for by hunting and fishing license sales, we wouldn't have forest pathways to ski through in the winter or hike and bike in the summer. The amount of wildlife we see would decrease, making those fleeting glimpses of an eagle swooping into Thunder Bay River to catch a fish non-existent. There would be less diversity of the ecosystem, driving us closer to an unhealthy, monoculture environment.
Funding provided by hunting and fishing license sales also allows for early detection of threats to wildlife. Would we learn about whitetail deer chronic wasting disease before it hits epidemic proportions without the hunting community taking a vested interest in ensuring healthy whitetail populations? Those passionate about hunting and fishing are correspondingly passionate about caring for habitats. Additional programs supported by license sales allows for public education programs so private landowners can learn how to best manage their own property for wildlife benefits.
The Alpena area has more than 43,000 acres of state forest land. From the human perspective, that land is open for hunting, hiking, morel mushroom-picking, bird-watching, and even camping. From the wildlife perspective, that land is where large populations of mammals, birds, bugs, amphibians, reptiles, trees, and wildflowers thrive. Whose responsibility is it to keep our forests healthy?
The Alpena area has more than 1,000 miles of shoreline across inland lakes, rivers and Lake Huron. Fishing is one of the few activities that local residents participate in year-round. Whose responsibility is it to keep our fisheries healthy?
What does a state decline in license sales mean for small communities in Northeast Michigan like Alpena?
Northeast Michigan may fare better than most in terms of cultural practices being passed down through each generation. The lifestyle we enjoy as a nature-based community is conducive to cultivating future land stewards. The implementation of youth programs designed to cultivate safe and considerate hunting practices also helps to bridge the gap between lapses in the transfer of traditions between generations. The funding needed to conduct wildlife restoration projects, however, may not be as free-flowing with fewer dollars available in state-level assistance from license sales.
Aside from making a commitment to inspire new anglers and hunting sportsmen, what can a community do?
Volunteering to assist with local conservation projects is one important option. But, even though volunteerism is a backbone of our community, it has its limits. I recently met with someone from a regional land conservation organization who mentioned that volunteer organizations are invaluable for projects, but there is a concern that it also lends itself to creating complacency or a false sense of safety (i.e., someone else is taking care of it).
A healthy ecosystem isn't going to manifest from a handful of projects and a few hundred volunteer hours. Lasting change results when each individual understands their effect on the environment and makes small, daily decisions to minimize their impacts.
You don't have to be an avid angler or hunter to agree with the importance of keeping our wildlife habitats healthy. I've never heard anyone complain that Alpena's natural landscape is too beautiful. We will need to work together to keep it that way.
As the future unfolds, I hope to see Alpena become an example of citizen stewardship for our wildlife and environment. From schoolchildren and busy households, to factories and small business, how can you make a difference?
Mary Beth Stutzman's "Inspiring A-Town" runs biweekly on Tuesdays. Follow Mary Beth on Twitter @mbstutz.