Wild Game Advocacy Groups

Leverage

There are a number of wildlife advocacy groups that are passionately committed to promoting their species of choice.

Examples include:
Quality Deer Management Association....Link
National Wild Turkey Federation..........Link
Ducks Unlimited.............................Link
Pheasants Forever...........................Link
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.............Link


Members of these groups (and many other, similar groups) donate extravagant amounts of their time, their talent and their treasure on their interests.  Many of these members manage thousands of acres of property.

One facet of their commitment that is germane to this blog is their focus on managing the habitat.  They strive to improve the habitat for the short term benefit of their target species.  And every member I have ever talked with wants to leave a legacy to the next generation.  The legacy they want to leave is a habitat that demonstrates long term resilience, a habitat that will keep getting better.

Oaks are a keystone species for many of these game species.  Deer and turkey in particular are natural allies of oak and chestnut enthusiasts.

We can offer them access to some of our best seed-stock.  We can offer tours of our plantings.  We can post pictures and yield data on the internet.  They, in turn, can offer us vast testing grounds.

In closing

The prime rule in journalism is: "Follow the Money."  Members of these groups show little hesitation in opening up their wallets for items that have a proven track record of improving the habitat for their species of choice.

A young man once asked Ed Fackler what it would take to become a profitable farmer.  Ed's advice was to become a turf grass expert and to learn a little bit about golf.  The same people who choke at spending over a dollar a pound for food they will put in their bodies show little hesitation spending $110 for one golf club.

The next post on this blog will be a guest post that originally appeared on the Quality Deer Management Association Website.