20 Reasons Why Hunting is Conservation

1. In 1900, only 500,000 whitetails remained in North America. Thanks to conservation work spearheaded by hunters, today there are more than 32 million.
   
   
2. In 1900, only 100,000 wild turkeys remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are over 7 million.
   
   
3. In 1901, few ducks remained. Thanks to hunters’ efforts to restore and conserve wetlands, today there are more than 44 million.
   
   
4. In 1907, only 41,000 elk remained. Thanks to the money and hard work invested by hunters to restore and conserve habitat, today there are more than 1 million.
   
   
5. In 1950, only 12,000 pronghorn remained. Thanks to hunters, today there are more than 1.1 million.
   
   
6. Habitat management, research and wildlife law-enforcement, all paid for by hunters, help countless non-game species.
   
   
7. Through state licenses and fees, hunters pay $796 million a year for conservation programs.*
   
   
8. In 1937, hunters actually requested an 11% tax on long guns to help fund conservation. In the 1970’s, an amendment was added the Pittman-Robertson Act that created added a 10% tax on handguns as well as an 11% tax on archery equipment. To date that tax has raised more than $8 billion for wildlife conservation.*
   
   
9. The tax on guns, ammo, bows and arrows generates $371 million a year for conservation.*
   
   
10. Hunters collectively pay more than $1.6 billion annually for conservation programs across America. No one gives more.*
    
    
11. Three out of four Americans approve of hunting, partly because hunters are America’s greatest positive force for conservation.
    
    
12. U.S. sportsmen contribute $8 million to conservation daily.
    
    
13. Hunting funds conservation and spurs on the economy, generating $38 billion a year in retail spending.*
    
    
14. Female participation in hunting (3.35 million) is on the rise thanks to a 10 percent increase from 2008 to 2012.
    
    
15. As a sound wildlife management tool, hunting helps to balance wildlife populations with what the land can support, limits crop damage and curtails disease outbreaks.
    
    
16. Hunters help manage growing numbers of predators from cougars to bears, coyotes and wolves. While government agencies spend millions to control predators and varmints, hunters are more than willing to pay for that opportunity.
    
    
17. Hunting aids highway safety. For every deer hit by a motorist, hunters take six.
    
    
18. Hunting supports 680,000 jobs, from game wardens to waitresses, biologists and motel staff.
    
    
19. Hunters and fisherman fund nearly 75% of the annual income for all 50 state conservation agencies.
    
    
20. Avid hunter and NRA member Theodore Roosevelt created our national forests and grasslands and forever protected 230 million acres for wildlife and the public to use and enjoy, including the first national wildlife refuge, Pelican Island in Florida.

Sources: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, NRA-ILA, America’s Sporting Heritage: Fueling the American Economy, Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation