Thumper,
This can't be explained in a couple sentences, so bear with me.

What we are advocating is simple, a unified voice with hunters and anglers on the same side protecting their rights against AR groups as well as legislature and general public.

I know this sound vague, however I can not give you specific stances as the congressional session is finished for this year and we are preparing for what will be thrown our way next year. For too long the consumptive user has been pigeon holed into; Anglers (fly fishers, pluggers, bait casters, bait users, catch and release, and consumptive), hunters (bow... traditional and compound, upland bird, waterfowl, big game, small game, muzzleloader, varminter, target shooter, etc.) and other (trappers, falconers, hounders, etc.). It is time these groups came together to realize that we are all on the same side.

The loss of one portion of the "consumptive user" group is a loss to all the others. While this may sound like a "sky is falling" speech it really is factual. AR groups are pushing for banning of fishing, hunting, and any other form of activity they deem to be "harmful and cruel." There are MANY AR websites out there advocating just this sort of attack on our lifestyle and I will not give them the free publicity here.

I have sat and watched hounding get removed because people didn't do it and thus didn't care if it was eliminated, hunting bear over bait happened the same way. People got caught up in the "warm fuzzies" that were televised during the anti-trapping push. All of this was lost due to the division among consumptive users. Keep in mind, any form of activity that involves fish and wildlife is considered consumptive unless it is only pursued with camera (yes, catch and release is legally considered consumptive) and the AR groups are pushing the legislators to enact laws that favor them.

Hunting and fishing is not a right under the state constitution, therefore we have no protection other than unification and enacting a strong focused voice to let the legislators know we will fight these laws at every turn. I have never trapped, nor do I intend to... but I will defend the right for others to do so. I am a waterfowler at heart and occasionally fish, but I will fight the right of the angler to restore habitat that is scientifically supported to enhance salmon habitat.

Too often public opinion is used to manage our wildlife, too often it is used to establish seasonal limits, too often it is used to remove hunting areas that are used to teach our children, too often it is used to close down firing ranges that our police use to train on. Public opinion runs rampant and it isn't the majority that gets things done, it is the VERY vocal minority. I have seen it first hand, and you have too. Each time you see degredation of fish populations, each time you see an area your family used to hunt get closed due to "public safety", each time you stop talking about the weekend trip in a resturant or at work due to the looks you get.

It is time for the vocal minority to be challenged. It is time for the consumptive use sportsman/woman/child to stand up and defend their heritage. It is time for all of us to actually do something to protect that which we love rather than sit on our laurels and reap the benefits of the few hard workers that maintain these for us. It is time to take responsibility for our own actions.

As far as I know, the USOW is one of the only groups out there that is attempting education of people (members and public) on how to battle the issues that concern us most, for free. Our goal is to give each person the tools to take back to their special interest groups to battle the issues most concerning them. But at the same time, to lay down the prejudices and join the unity that is a consumptive user. We may not always agree with one form or the other, but we must ALWAYS support it. With out our support, they will never support our issues and vice versa. Division is killing what we love. AR groups are united to one single end, that is why 30 of them are so much stronger than 100 of us. They lay aside personal differences to work towards a common goal, we do not. They accept differences of opinion within the ranks as they understand unity, we do not.

That is what this organization was formed for. I hope this explains it. If not, let me know.

Robert J.