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Two hundred and fifty years into the American experiment of self-government, the United States has produced the greatest conservation success story in human history. This may sound strange in an era in which America is more commonly portrayed as an environmental villain than an environmental pioneer. According to the media, Hollywood, and the political Left, the U.S. and its capitalist system, built on the protection of property rights, care only about profit at the expense of wildlife and the environment, but the data thoroughly reject this notion.
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In reality, the U.S. went from nearly exterminating much of its native wildlife in the late 19th century to becoming the global gold standard for wildlife restoration and conservation. We did it not through top-down control or anti-human environmentalism, but through a culture of hunting, private stewardship, scientific management, and widespread access to the outdoors.
In the late 1800s, many of America’s wildlife species, especially game species, were in catastrophic decline. For perspective, the white-tailed deer population around the turn of the 20th century dipped to between 300,000 and 500,000 animals; there are between 30 and 35 million today. The American pronghorn, often called antelope, numbered only 12,000 in 1900 and has rebounded to north of 1 million. Likewise, there are over 1 million elk in the country, versus only 41,000 a little over a century ago. Waterfowl species were all nearly eliminated, and today there are regulated waterfowl hunting seasons in all 50 states. In the mid-1900s, there were only 412-417 bald eagle nesting pairs left; today, our national bird numbers nearly 320,000, including north of 71,000 nesting pairs.
The problem wasn’t hunting. Americans have always hunted and always will; the issue was due to large-scale market hunting, which commercially exploited game species, and dramatic habitat loss due to population growth and the birth of modern agricultural practices. The nation’s relationship with the land and its wildlife changed with the rise of Theodore Roosevelt, America’s “conservation president.” T.R. was a hunter, outdoorsman, rancher, and conservationist who believed wildlife should be preserved through responsible stewardship and sustainable use.
During Roosevelt’s presidency, millions of acres of land were placed under federal protection through national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges. The conservation movement sparked by T.R. and others such as Aldo Leopold, the “father of wildlife management,” shifted the mindset of American hunters and outdoorsmen and became what is now known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the envy of hunters and conservationists the world over.
Wildlife became a public trust resource, not the property of kings or aristocrats, as it had often been across Europe. States implemented regulated seasons, bag limits, and science-based population management. Commercial sale of game meat was highly regulated to prevent unsustainable harvest. While these early regulations were necessary, the ultimate success of America’s conservation project was due to mass buy-in by the public and the fact that these efforts were largely funded by private citizens.
The 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act placed taxes on guns, ammunition, and archery equipment and directed that money toward habitat restoration and wildlife management. Hunting licenses, tags, and duck stamps provided additional conservation funding. Private organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club (founded by Roosevelt), Ducks Unlimited, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation helped restore wildlife habitat on an enormous scale.
THE AUTOPSY: DID DEMOCRATS REALLY WANT TO KNOW?
Modern environmental debates often frame humanity and nature as opposing forces, but America’s conservation story suggests the opposite: People are most likely to protect what they are allowed to use, enjoy, and take ownership of. The “skin in the game” of American hunters and anglers is the reason why conservation efforts have been a wild success.
There are still conservation issues to solve. Leftist politicians, such as those running states such as Colorado and Washington, are still on a crusade to deprive citizens of their God-given right to hunt and fish. The tension between necessary infrastructure and energy production, and habitat protection will always exist, but 250 years in, the preservation and restoration of the nation’s wildlife and wild places stands as one of our greatest achievements. God willing, our children and grandchildren will always be able to enjoy the wild; their birthright as Americans.
