I would like to see a return to the day when sportsmen were leading the charge for the environment. That crusade is now being lead by other groups that may not necessarily have our interest at heart. Many of them are great organizations that deserve your support but others are not. Do your reseach.

I see a tendency of sportsmen always being on the defense. Especially hunters. Always defending itself against gun control, animal rights, tree huggers, etc. That is fine but it should be balanced with taking the offensive on environmental issues and eloquently explaining the lifestyle. It may be inciting to view oneself as the lone soldier of the misunderstood but in the end that gets you nowhere.

As an example, most people that have a problem with hunting/fishing really don't understand deer hunting. Big eyes = more concern. Now, I just read an article that there are 40 times more whitetail deer out there now then in 1900. As a result they are destroying the forest understory and species that live there. With far less predators to control the population, deer hunting is actually helping the environment. Pennsylvania is actually reducing the hunting for bucks and opening up doe hunting to reduce this problem. The average anti-hunter does not understand this. Why? Because environmental groups not associated with hunting or fishing are setting the environmental agenda. They talk to the media and run ads in mainstream print. Too bad for us, the forest, and the critters that live there.

We are the people that have chosen to live a lifestyle in harmony with nature. It may involve catching or shooting but that is nature. Every species and civilization has hunting as a part of their culture. We have gone the step beyond mere observation. We participate in the cycle. However, with that participation comes great responsibility. It means following the rules, throwing some back, studying the biology and health of the environment, educating oneself on legislation, putting our own self interest behind the environment, and supporting groups that do. We take more so we should give more.

I am a member of a number of organizations; Trout Unlimited, Surfrider, Ducks Unlimited, etc. I consider it the other half of my license to be in the water or field. The days of selfishly enjoying the sporting life are long over. It is know time to both give and take. Both time and money. Considering that fishing is the number one past time for American men, if we all participated, the shear number of people would create a very political significant constituency. Wouldn't Teddy be proud of us.

Surffish