WILDLIFE GOVERNANCE REFORM: Where to Begin

In recent years it has become increasingly obvious that state wildlife governance needs significant reform – in all states, some more than others.

There are three pervasive problems. One is that state wildlife management agencies and their associated wildlife commissions are held captive by special interests, including primarily hunting and fishing, livestock, and energy interests. As a consequence, the rightful interests of the majority of citizens are often ignored, and so is scientific knowledge when it is perceived as an obstacle to special interests’ objectives. Wildlife populations are being managed less on an ecological model and more on a farm model, with some species being favored and others (typically predators) disfavored. Ironically, this dereliction of public trust duty is viewed by wildlife agencies and their politically appointed commissions as an obligation owed to the special interests.

Another problem is an increasing tendency for federal land management agencies to abrogate their wildlife trust responsibilities in deference to state demands. If a state wildlife management agency wants to transplant an exotic species into a wilderness area or stymie the recovery of an endangered species, the federal government is increasingly willing to step aside and allow it to happen. In fact, the current Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, is actively working to reverse federal supremacy over state wildlife governance where regulations conflict.

Yet a third problem is that hunting is on the decline throughout the United States, resulting in less money from hunting licenses, and from federal excise taxes on hunting hardware, to support wildlife management programs. Consequently, the agencies are experiencing increased pressure to find new sources of money. Rather than embracing the “nonconsumptive” interests of the larger public, they have instead chosen retrenchment, as illustrated by creative attempts to recruit young people and women into the hunting culture and by inventing new hunts. One of the more extreme examples of this is Arizona Game & Fish Department co-sponsoring the “Arizona Small Game Challenge,” requiring a registration fee of $25 that will be matched by the Sun Chapter of Quail Forever.

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Among the numerous examples that illustrate the first two problems in tandem is the story of how a single sheep rancher has been allowed to retain three grazing allotments in the 500,000-acre Weminuche Wilderness of Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, despite the threat his sheep pose to the small herd of native bighorn sheep. This small herd, numbering fewer than 500 animals, is in serious danger of contracting a lethal disease from the domestic sheep. If this happens, it will likely decimate the wild herd and may wipe it out entirely. Nevertheless, the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife, abetted by the Colorado Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Forest Service, is determined to keep this one 66-year old rancher in business at all costs. They promise to kill any bighorn sheep that “strays” too close to the domestic sheep when they are in the wilderness.

Wild big horn sheep, in Range Creek of the Book Cliffs 2017 (c) Kirk Robinson

This scenario is being duplicated repeatedly, with variations, in many states across the nation. In Utah, the U.S. Forest Service allowed the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to transplant non-native Rocky Mountain goats into the Manti-La Sal National Forest in the mountains east of Moab for the purpose of trophy hunting. There is a Research Natural Area in the mountain alpine zone that is sure to be negatively impacted by the exotic creatures; and the Forest Service had the authority to prevent the project from going forward in order to protect it. Instead, the Forest Service chose to merely voice opposition to the project at the last minute. Now the goats have become established, and scientific monitoring has shown that they are wreaking havoc on the fragile alpine zone and its endemic plant species. This has become the subject of litigation by the Grand Canyon Trust and other conservation organizations.

Mexican Gray Wolf howling, Phoenix Zoo (c) Robin Silver

One of the most egregious examples of state demands cowing the federal government has been the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah teaming up to effectively thwart recovery of the highly endangered Mexican gray wolf, the most ancient subspecies of gray wolf and the mostly highly endangered mammal in North America. After twenty years of half-hearted recovery effort, there are still barely more than one hundred Mexican wolves in the wild in the United States. This struggling population descended from seven founders and is severely genetically inbred. Independent science experts have determined that without more captive wolves released into the wild in more places, including southwest Colorado and the greater Grand Canyon region, it is nearly certain that this subspecies of wolf will slowly go extinct. Why is this being allowed to happen? Because the state governments are hell-bent on protecting certain hunting and livestock interests and view full recovery of the Mexican wolf as a threat to those interests. And because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has chosen to bow to the politically motivated interests of the states rather than do its job, as mandated by the Endangered Species Act.

Power and authority are not identical. The federal government has supreme authority over state wildlife management, particularly as concerns threatened and endangered species and as concerns federal lands such as Forest Service and BLM lands. State governors typically have the authority to appoint wildlife commissioners, and in most cases state statutes allow them to appoint commissioners who are free from ties to consumptive interests. The problem is that the interests in support of consumptive wildlife use have a lot of power because they have a lot of money and they support each other. As a bloc, they are able to exert tremendous influence over the election process to get the governors and legislators they want – and through them, the wildlife commissioners they want. This in turn is resulting in tremendous pushback against federal agencies.

This problem has become so acute that wildlife conservationists recently decided they must try to do something about it. The result was a first of its kind conference held in Albuquerque in mid-August: “Wildlife for All: Re-envisioning State Wildlife Governance”. The idea is to re-envision state wildlife governance and work to transform it. The conference was organized by the Southwest Environmental Center in Las Cruces with assistance by Western Wildlife Conservancy in Salt Lake City. By all accounts, the national conference was a huge success, with over 100 people from 21 states attending and participating.

The opening talk by Kevin Bixby, Executive Director of the Southwest Environmental Center, laid the groundwork for the conference by presenting an overview of the problem and how it arose. This was followed by reports from various states, including New Mexico, California and New Hampshire. Next there was an expert panel discussion on the public trust doctrine as a legal framework for bringing about change (including a critique of the so-called “North American Model of Wildlife Conservation”). Subsequent panels discussed lessons learned from recent successful campaigns, the politics of change (including building alliances with sportsmen), possible alternative funding sources for wildlife conservation, reconstituting state wildlife commissions to better serve the public and wildlife, and last but not least, the ingredients necessary for building a movement that will culminate in reform. In his keynote address Mike Phillips (career wildlife biologist and current Montana state senator) urged concerned conservationists to embrace politics as a means to effect change and run for public office. Closing remarks by Kirk Robinson, Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, focused on beauty as an intrinsic value of wild animals and ecosystems.

The “Wildlife for All” conference was the first of its kind and will hopefully prove to be a watershed event. Now we have to work to make it so. Here are some things that you can do.

• Join or form a coalition in your state to implement wildlife governance reform;
• Run for public office;
• Advocate for legal reforms that affirm your state’s public trust responsibility to all wildlife for all citizens;
• Attend meetings of your state Wildlife (Game) Commission and insist that their decisions embrace the views of all interest groups and are based on sound science – not political pressure from special interests;
• Urge your Governor to appoint qualified experts to the Wildlife Commission.

Reforming wildlife governance at both state and federal levels will not be easy, but it is a challenge we must embrace with zeal for the sake of our national wildlife heritage.

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Kirk Robinson Executive Director, Western Wildlife Conservancy
Dave Parsons Carnivore Conservation Biologist, The Rewilding Institute

Co Authors :

Kirk Robinson

Kirk grew up in Bountiful, Utah between the shore of the Great Salt Lake and the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains. As a child, he loved roaming the foothills looking for wild animals and visiting Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. Naturally, he fell in love with the land and its wildlife. Since those early years, he has spent a big part of his life exploring the deserts, rivers, and mountains of the West.

In the 1990s, Kirk and some friends from the Utah Wilderness Association began working to reform Utah wildlife governance and management to make it more democratic, ecologically sound, and compassionate. This led to the founding of a non-profit organization, Western Wildlife Conservancy, to address the issues. Of particular concern is the scientifically and ethically misguided way that native carnivores such as mountain lions, black bears, and gray wolves are treated. The vital role that these intelligent and magnificent creatures play in maintaining the health of ecosystems goes unappreciated, as evidenced by a long history of persecution. In addition to being Executive Director of Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk is on the Leadership Council of The Rewilding Institute and the Advisory Committee of Wildlife For All.

Prior to Western Wildlife Conservancy, Kirk was a Professor of Philosophy. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cincinnati and has taught at universities in Montana and Utah. In 2004, he graduated from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah with a certificate in Natural Resource Law to better equip him for work on wildlife conservation issues. In his free time, he enjoys backpacking, x-c skiing, river trips, playing the acoustic guitar, and time spent with friends and with his dog Bingo.

Dave Parsons

David Parsons received his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University and his Master of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology from Oregon State University. Dave is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where from 1990-1999 he led the USFWS’s effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to the American Southwest.

Dave’s interests include the ecology and conservation of large carnivores, protection and conservation of biodiversity, and wildlands conservation at scales that fully support ecological and evolutionary processes. He is the Carnivore Conservation Biologist for The Rewilding Institute, a member of the Science Advisory Board of Project Coyote, a former member and chairman of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, and a former graduate advisor in the Environmental Studies master’s degree program at Prescott College. Dave serves as a science and policy advisor for organizations and coalitions advocating for wolf recovery and landscape-scale conservation in the Southwest.

In 2001, Dave received the New Mexico Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s annual “Professional Award.” In 2007 at the North American Wolf Conference, Dave received the “Alpha Award” for his “outstanding professional achievement and leadership toward the recovery of Mexican wolves.” In 2008 he received the “Outstanding Conservation Leadership Award” from the Wilburforce Foundation and the “Mike Seidman Memorial Award” from the Sky Island Alliance for his conservation achievements.

Dave enjoys wildlife viewing, wilderness adventures, and dancing.  He lives in Albuquerque, NM, with his wife, Noralyn.