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Sports
Jan. 01, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

IN THE OUTDOORS: Anti-gun politics detrimental to wildlife conservation efforts

C. DOUGLAS NIELSEN
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As the new year dawns, America's sportsmen and the wildlife resources we treasure face an uncertain future.

In a few weeks, President-elect Obama will be inaugurated, and he, along with members of his new administration, will take control of the country's helm. It's then that campaign rhetoric finally will give way to reality, and we will get the first clear look at what the next four years will hold.

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    • Sportsmen face two primary issues. On one hand is our collective concern for the future of the constitutional right to own the firearms we use for hunting and personal protection. On the other is concern for the future of wildlife and wild places. Public access to those wild places is as much of an issue as protecting them. What most people don't understand is the vast majority of funding for wildlife and wild places is tied to personal firearms ownership.

    Nowhere is that ignorance more apparent than in Congress.

    Politicians seeking to appease those meek and timid souls, who prefer to hand control of their life over to some government agency, make continued attempts to gut the Second Amendment. Many of those same politicians have news conferences to talk about wildlife conservation efforts while seemingly unaware they are cutting the purse strings of conservation with their anti-gun politics. Then again, we are talking about politicos and their double-speak, so who knows what they really represent?

    The dependence of America's wildlife conservation efforts on private gun ownership was formalized in 1937 when a wiser Congress than ours today passed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. Commonly referred to as the Pittman-Robertson Act, this law was enacted at the behest of America's original conservationists -- sportsmen who were concerned about the country's fast-diminishing wildlife and wild places.

    The law placed an excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition. Money generated through this tax funds wildlife management on federal and state levels, the purchase and rehabilitation of wildlife habitat, the creation and management of wildlife refuges and the states' hunter safety programs, among others.

    Between 1939 and 2007, nearly $5.3 billion was collected through the Wildlife Restoration program and distributed among the 50 states. More than $93 million came to Nevada. When combined with hunting license dollars, that amount becomes more significant. The extended economic impact of hunting and other related activities is well documented, especially in small rural communities that depend on sportsmen's dollars for their livelihood.

    In another ironic twist, the new administration is basing its economic strategy in large measure on alternative energy, praising its greenness. I wonder if they understand that wind developers favor the West's high plateaus and scenic mountain passes over the desolate, wind-blown valleys.

    Given the broader picture, it would appear some politicians are bent on "cutting off their nose to spite their face," as my dad is fond of saying. And with Obama's history of supporting the most outrageous gun control measures, I hope he has a good plastic surgeon.

    • Shooting Park construction -- If you look through your binoculars toward the north end of the valley, you probably will be able to see where construction of the new Clark County Shooting Park is progressing at the base of the Las Vegas Range.

    I had the opportunity to visit the site with Don Turner, manager of the Clark County Shooting Park. He expects the park to be open in middle to late 2009.

    Foundations for the four buildings in the public-use area, including the Hunter Education building, were poured last week. The first course of block went down this week, and excavation is under way on foundations for the skeet houses.

    The sound test demanded by the Carmel Canyon folks was completed, and results are expected this month. As for the court action in which the homeowners asked for an injunction against the park, it still is open, but no hearing date has been set.

    Freelance writer Doug Nielsen is a conservation educator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. His column is not affiliated with or endorsed by the department. Any opinions he states in his column are his own. He can be reached at doug@takinitoutside.com.

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    LV Res wrote on January 05, 2009 06:02 PM: Greetings. I have a follow up to the Carmel Canyon" comment, Doug Nielsen.

    Please know that it is not just Carmel Canyon residents that are concerned about the proximity of this shooting range to our communities and schools, and the impact that the range will have, in both our environment and in day to day living. There are many concerned citizens that live in other communities surrounding this range. I am all for creating a space for recreational activity which will also bring in a source of income for other initiatives - but not if it is being built in our back yards.

    Signed: a concerned Silverstone Ranch Homeowner, one of 1600 Residents in that community


    Carmel Canyon? wrote on January 04, 2009 09:38 PM: Doug Nielsen, it is time to get your facts straight. There are many more people outside of Carmel Canyon that think spending $64 Million PUBLIC dollars on a shooting range right BEHIND A 2200 STUDENT HIGH SCHOOL is simply wrong and borderline insane. It is not anti-gun... it is simply just a bad location and a bad idea. I find it interesting that the "sound study" that was "done" never involved local citizens or the school district who are the most concerned and had asked to be part of it. Oh, and it looks like your fight for your 2nd amendment right seems to be blinding you from others rights for their 1st amendment. How dare you use your article to single out those who dare to speak up for protecting their quality of life. Shame on you Doug... Shame on you.


    Matthew wrote on January 03, 2009 03:40 PM: Hello Bill.

    I hate to say it, but I really thinkyou have only a vague idea of what you are talking about. You speak as if humans are separate from nature, and sadly, some actually believe this.

    We are not only not separate from nature, but the carnivore at the top of the food chain. We kill hundreds of thousands of animals a year in slaughterhouses and other meat processing plants.

    If left to themselves, the deer population alone would grow to the point that they could no longer sustain themselves. They would forrage in crop fields, and your can of corn will be 5.00 to cover the losses. There are staged hunts in a number of states now because of the anti-gunners who have passed laws that do more damage than good.

    I appriciate your entusiasm, but if falls in with the ethiopians that were dying of starvation - but would not kill the meat cow they were dragging around on a rope - becuase it was thier god. They would let their children die before touching that cow.

    My advice, and you may wnat to seriously consider it, is to go to the local conservation office and fall at their mercy. Ask for literatire, ask for information about wildlife management. And ask for statistics in areas wwhere conservation has failed due to lack of game hunters.

    Then write back when you know more about what you are so passionate about.


    Reality wrote on January 03, 2009 11:36 AM: Bill is undoubtedly a city guy through and through and probably went to Berkley, thus he knows about as much about hunting as he does all things conservative. I have lived in Vegas my entire life but I didn't let the liberal ignorance sink it's teeth in me. Bill you have no excuse.


    Sam H. Shock wrote on January 02, 2009 07:19 PM: Bill, may I suggest that you take a Hunter Education course. You don't even have to handle a gun, although you will learn to do so safely. You will also learn that hunting is an integral part of conservation. Hence the reason for hunting seasons, bag limits, etc.


    JT wrote on January 01, 2009 08:45 PM: Good article, but you shouldn't have mentioned taxes. Obama will triple them.


    John wrote on January 01, 2009 10:03 AM: Congress, the President and all their appointed cronies from the top down have run roughshod over our rights for far too long. The sad part is that we have allowed it to happen for a justification as flimsy as "the children." I say no longer, I expect a hell of a fight for the next 4 years.


    Reality wrote on January 01, 2009 08:05 AM: Bill, you're an ignorant fool. Go ahead, Barracka Husseini Obama Bin Laden will protect your home when a burglar comes around. It's not just about wildlife you anti-christ liberal.


    Bill wrote on January 01, 2009 07:54 AM: Wow. This just confirms that you're even more crazy than I always thought you were. Keep killing those animals...wouldn't want them foraging or disturbing our lifestyles.