BCJ_WINTER17 Digital Edition

door recreational opportunities – the list
of ways we’re making the world less livable
for wildlife is long. Aldo Leopold wrote,
“Our tools are better than we are, and
grow better faster than we do. They suffice
to crack the atom, to command the tides,
but they do not suffice for the oldest task
in human history, to live on a piece of land
without spoiling it.”
Hunters are part of a tradition that goes
back over 2 million years when our ancestors
carved meat off the ribs of wildebeest
using stone tools. The tools have changed,
but the value of wildlife and the hunter’s
relationship with the natural world have
not. Hunters still value robust populations
of wild game and work to conserve them.
Hunting still requires skill and a knowledge
of the land. Hunters still study the
habits of their prey and expend a considerable
amount of effort and expense in
pursuing them. Animals are still valued by
the hunter for the food they provide, for
the beauty and utility of their hides, horns,
teeth, claws and feathers, just as they were
by our ancestors.
The challenge sportsmen face today is
promoting that message to a society that’s
increasingly disconnected from nature.
There are reasons to be optimistic as more
people seek alternatives to industrially
raised meat. More women are getting into
hunting, as are young urbanites who have
had no previous exposure to the hunting
culture. They’re being drawn by a desire to
know where their food comes from, ensure
that it’s organic and feel confident that the
animal that feeds their families lived a humane
life.
Signs are encouraging, but as more
and more species throughout the world
become threatened and face extinction,
hunting is likely to be viewed by more and
more of the public as a useless excess. It
won’t be easy to convince them that hunting
and conservation are two sides of the
same coin, but it’s a challenge that needs
to be tackled.
The wild public lands of the future will
likely not see a shortage of hikers, joggers,
paddlers or binocular toting tourists. But
nature needs us to be wild sometimes too,
to connect with it as our ancient ancestors
did, not in the abstract, but viscerally, by
meeting it on its own terms. It needs us
to understand that we’re only one of over
7 million other species of animals in the
world. And although we may be the product
of an extraordinary evolutionary journey,
we’re still a part of the world of animals
– and not the other way around.
A chapter chair from 2010-2015, Ed currently
sits on the Oregon Chapter board for
BHA. He lives in Bend.
Where this
happens.
Grips and grins. Loud whoops and
bent rods. Great friendships and fine
dining. It’s happening in Missoula,
and we‘re here to share it with you.
Lightweight
Canvas Tents
The NEW 8’x8’
Shackleton Tent
Ellis Canvas Tents
158 Bodo Dr. Unit A | Durango, CO 81303
970-259-2050
www.elliscanvastents.com
missoulafishingcompany.com
406-544-5208
34 | BACKCOUNTRY JOURNAL WINTER 2017