A 20-year Plan for Hunter/Angler Recruitment, Development and Retention in Nebraska

Hunting and fishing are important parts of Nebraska’s rich heritage. These time-honored outdoor pursuits are important to overall lifestyle, well-being and natural resources of the citizens of Nebraska. The North American Model for Conservation was based primarily on the activism from our nation’s hunters and anglers. Their role helped develop and instill the seven basic premises of the model: Wildlife is to be held in public trust, there should be an elimination of market hunting, wildlife should be allocated by law, there should be hunting/angling opportunities for all citizens, wildlife should only be killed for legitimate reasons, wildlife should be considered an international resource, and science should be the basis for wildlife policy. This model of conservation has been holding strong for over 150 years in this country, and although other groups have taken an active interest in conservation, it has primarily been our hunters and anglers that have taken the greatest activist and financial role in continuance of this conservation effort (RMEF 2006). In 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Act and in 1950 the Dingell-Johnson Act established a secure and highly supportive source of funding for fish and wildlife management, greatly enhancing the North American Conservation Model’s ability to sustain nationwide conservation efforts