North American Conservation: The Next 50 to 100 Years

As hunter-conservationists, we talk a lot about being a voice for future generations of Americans who can’t speak for themselves. Do you ever think about these people –  what type of world they will live in and how they might relate to the natural world and the outdoors?  Will the North American conservation model be extant and relevant to them and their society three to four generations from now?

The early 20^th century hunter-conservationists who created North America’s tremendous conservation legacy were forward-thinking leaders. We need to do the same with urgency, passion and strategic focus if we’re going to pass on our hunting and fishing heritage into the unknown future.  In the words of Edward Fitzgerald, “The bird of time has but little time to flutter, and the bird is on the wing”.

The time is now. The future of hunting, angling and North American conservation is in our hands. It’s been passed down to us with the great hope and expectation that we can do the same. It’s time to welcome this opportunity and become who we were born to be – Gen. 2.0 of the hunter-angler-conservationist movement.

I’m certainly not in the business of predicting the future. It’s hard enough to know what will happen next week in today’s rapidly changing, unpredictable world. One thing is for sure though, we can’t really talk about the future of American conservation without talking about the future of American society and the world in general.

What will American and global society look like in 100 years? Who knows, really, but here are some trends that appear to be lining up, barring major unforeseen shakeups or ‘black swans’ to American society in the mid-21^st century:

• Rapid Urbanization
• Diversity
• Mobile Technology
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A 21^st Century hunter-conservation mindset and focus: How can we maintain a post-modern society’s connections to a pre-modern natural world?  How do we operate and lead in an urban, diverse, post-technology world? This is one of our central challenges moving forward. Its right up there with habitat protections and climate change. Conservation is about people. Hunters currently represent only 5 % of the entire American population and that will continue to decline in the coming decades.

Our path forward lies in maintaining our relevancy and solving society’s broader problems – at least enough anyway to maintain their acceptance and cultural approval of hunting and fishing as a legitimate human endeavor. Our task is to keep the necessary pieces in place to connect people to nature who will be living in a world that is increasingly disconnected from the land. It will be a world that may be entirely different than the one we know. Without having many answers, what can we do?

• Embrace technology – for wildlife habitat management, landscape conservation decision-making, ‘connecting’ with society and communicating & framing our messages. How can we use technology to connect Generation Z, the first generation of humanity to be born into a post-technology world, to the outdoors in a way they can relate to and embrace? How can we use it to make the outdoors more accessible to them? Technology can be our greatest oyster if we wield it wisely.
• Support interfaces that connect every day urban life to the natural world beyond – Create and maintain access to ‘gateways’, education, resources and support systems that are easily accessible to urban populations. Focus on urban conservation initiatives close to home. Focus on how it impacts day to day life. How it can easily connect people and places.
• “Maintain Parts” Aldo Leopold said a good tinkerer maintains all the parts, even if they don’t know how they function. I’m talking about trying to maintain enough open space, landscapes, habitats and species to give them a fighting chance. These are universal foundations that still work. It worked for the early 20^th century conservationists who had no clue to what America would look like in 2018. It’s even more critical today.
• Grab our seat at the table – Consolidate our political clout & power with non-hunting and fishing conservation partners and frame our messages in ways that can help the common good & solve anthropocentric, 21^st century problems.
• Get Involved with a good conservation group – like Backcountry Hunters & Anglers (BHA) or Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) or others. They’re looking out for your interests.

How will the 21^st century, and with it the 21^st century conservation movement, go down in history? It will be an era of post-globalization, post modernity, technology, climate change, rapid population growth and artificial intelligence.  How can we maintain our great hunting and fishing legacy while simultaneously bringing conservation solutions to the table that can solve 21^st century problems– sustainable food production, climate change, burgeoning urban populations, clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration? These are the questions we need to ask and the challenges we need to embrace for moving ahead – honoring the past by embracing the future. Just like the early 20^th century hunter-conservationists did for us.

Todd Waldron is a life member of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers  (BHA) and a Hunt to Eat Ambassador from the New York Adirondacks.