What does good stewardship look like? Well, for many, it’s what’s embodied by the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation – a belief that hunting is one of the best available tools to connect people to the land, raise funds to protect nature and manage population levels for both hunters and the environment. In Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Federation is represented by 12 provincial organizations, including the BC Wildlife Federation. Collectively, they work to give wildlife a voice by advocating for anglers, hunters, outdoor recreationalists, firearms owners and recreational shooters. And their voice is strong – for hunting and conservation. Just ask Neil Fletcher. He’s the BC Wildlife Federation’s Director of Conservation Stewardship and works to empower communities to protect, conserve and restore nature. He sits on the Wetland Stewardship Partnership board of directors and liaises with the Ministry of Environment, the Canadian Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited and BC Naturalists to help protect biodiversity. With a bachelor of science and a masters in resource management, Neil can often be found speaking to students or wearing a pair of hip-waiters, navigating the muck of a wetland to collect data for his latest restoration project.
Indeed, we caught up with Neil one spring afternoon at a wetland in Mission, BC, where he spoke with us about the need to build bridges across divides and why the hunting community is leading the charge to protect biodiversity.
What do you think?
- What did you learn from Neil’s story?
- Should all decisions be made using the best available science or should economics, ethics and cultural realities be weighed as well?
- How do we make better decisions if the science is inconclusive or if there are competing scientific results?
- If some people connect to nature through hunting, is it wrong to make areas off-limits to people, even if it benefits biodiversity? Or should we place a higher value on individual animal welfare, even if it disrupts cultural traditions?
- Is our current model of wildlife management curbing extinction or speeding it up? Is the answer as simple as yes or no?
- How do we debate these issues without further polarizing our society?