Another Generation Cares For The Earth

Skip Miller

April 22, 1990|By SKIP MILLER Columnist

People who hunt and fish have always been accused of ruining the natural settings around us.

Hunters tromp over hill and dale, leaving a trail of trash and dead animals.

Find water and you'll find an angler hard at work yanking fish to a death of fresh air.

What makes these so-called sportsmen act like they have more right to the natural resources than the hiker, the camper, the photographer, the naturalist?

They don't. That's just the myth of it. In reality, sportsmen are paying the way for all of us. And we have long-since passed the point where their money and efforts are sufficient.

In this state, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries handles everything from reviewing environmental impact studies to the stocking of trout streams. It is as involved in regulating mounted specimens of endangered species (lions, tigers, etc.) as studying the number of ospreys that nest on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

Despite its far-flung activities, the department receives no tax money.

"Our basic funding comes from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses and (outboard) motor registration fees," said Jack Raybourne, chief of the Planning and Environment Division.

The Wildlife Division also receives revenue from the Pittman-Roberts Act. Established in 1937, that act allows the U.S. Wildlife Service to collect an 11 percent excise tax on the sale of sporting firearms and ammunition. The funds are then proportioned back to the states, according to a state's amount of public lands and the number of hunting licenses issued.

The Dinkel-Johnson Act, established in 1951, collects a 10 percent excise tax on fishing fear. Virginia uses its share to fund fish management and research.

"At some point, this method of funding may need to be reconsidered," Raybourne said. "More and more folks are enjoying the benefits of programs only a small segment of the population has been funding.

"Some mechanism should be considered to fund the programs that aren't directly involved in hunting and fishing."

As much as money, there is a screaming need for more everyday people to educate themselves and get involved.

Hunters have been volunteering their time to plant the grasses and wild grains that support the deer herds and game birds. Ducks Unlimited and its mammoth membership have been maintaining the wetlands waterfowl use for winter residences. Anglers have invested free time in a program that develops underwater brush cover for small fish.

Why do they do it? They enjoy using the outdoor facilities and they want to make sure there's something left for the next generation.

When the Planning and Environment Division was created in March, Raybourne said, "Probably the biggest area of concern as we start is educating the populace in the needs of wildlife.

"Not in terms of hunting and fishing. More in terms of overall environmental impact. Wildlife serves as a barometer of the human conditions. When wildlife experiences a problem with pollution, whatever, it needs to be straightened out because that will become a problem for people, too."

As part of the educating process, this, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, also kicks off National Wildlife Week.

The department has mailed 12,000 education kits to the state's schools. It also is launching a campaign that urges all citizens to get involved.

That involvement ranges from planting trees to information on recycling.

"Just think what would happen if everybody gave an hour or two to cleaning up where we live," Ray Gordon of the Peninsula chapter of the Atlanti Coast Conservation Association said. "Just the amount of time it takes to watch a television program could mean we'll leave this earth in just a little bit better condition than it was when we arrived."

Ideological dreaming? No. The beginning of the mobilization of the national conscience.

We had a go at cold war politics. As that began to melt, we turned to self gratification and that led us to the hard charge of buying, selling, and getting ahead.

The hard charge has left us questioning the quality of life. Pollution, hazardous waste, endangered species ... all apt elements of how we live.

"We have more wildlife today than when the pilgrims landed," Raybourne pointed out. "That speaks well of our efforts to maintain healthy populations that have adequate food supplies."

It also speaks well of what man can accomplish and the fact many of his trespasses are reversible.

But, then, those who hunt and fish have known that all along.

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