Sportsmen: Conservationists

Sportsmen seem to stay under fire for their favorite pastimes.  People want to bash sportsmen for killing animals, but never want to take the time to give them credit for all the positive things they do.
     Sportsmen were the first conservationists.  A hundred years ago sportsmen like Teddy Roosevelt took the time to try to save some of the last wild places before they were swallowed up by industrialization and agriculture.  Because of Teddy Roosevelt we now have national parks for everyone to enjoy.
    Each year hunters spend millions of dollars on duck stamps.  They also donate millions of dollars to conservation groups like Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Quail Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
        Sportsmen were the first group to realize that the wild lands and wild life they enjoyed were limited resources, and that if they wanted to continue to enjoy these resources, and wanted these resources to remain for the enjoyment of future generations, they must be protected.
     For this reason sportsmen started those organizations to protect the resources they love.  Unlike so many individuals and groups, sportsmen try to give more than they take.
    It is with this mindset that we work on Briary River.  It is our desire to improve at lest a little bit of habitat for wildlife.  Many more ducks benefit from the improved habitat than the few we kill.  Ducks are not the only wildlife that benefit.  Song birds, egrets and herons all benefit, as well as many other types of wildlife.
    True sportsmen realize that it is not how much you take away from the field that determines how successful you are, but rather how much you leave behind.  Here we want to leave more for our children than we found.  That’s the Briary River Way.

Buckman