Browns Canyon National Monument, Colorado.
This week, TU volunteers from around the nation are in Washington meeting with their states’ federal delegations asking them to support the Antiquities Act and ensure a bright future for national monuments all across America. Many of th
ese monuments harbor excellent fishing and hunting—two fairly new monuments designated during the last presidential administration, The Rio Grande del Norte and Browns Canyon national monuments—were so important to local communities that they asked the Obama Administration to protect them. Ironically, today, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Interior to review dozens of national monuments, a move that puts the future of these amazing places in doubt.
These places are vital to local economies and local citizens who, in many cases, fought to protect them. And anglers and hunters across the country are standing by, ready to defend our fishing and hunting heritage from this attack on the Antiquities Act and the need to protect the intact habitat that makes good fishing and hunting possible. Join us and stand up and protect America’s public lands.
While you’re thinking of how to tell the president and your federal delegation to keep their mitts off your public lands, I also understand that it’s spring and time to get out there and do some fishing. That means you need more gear (we all need more gear, right?). Here’s a list of gear compiled by my friend Hilary Hutcheson that you might be able to use that also gives back to a number of non-profits that work to protect your places to fish or help those in need who love to fish. If you’re in the market and want to make fishing better, these are some sweet deals (hint: pay special attention to this one).
Finally, if you’re curious about how fish and game management, particularly in the West, evolved alongide our uniquely American public lands management system, here’s a great piece my friend Jerry Bullock, an unabashed trophy hunter and one of my favorite conservationists. The North American Wildlife Management Model essentially ensures all Americans, regardless of station, income or ability, access to fish and game, which are held in the public’s trust. The ongoing efforts by Congress and others to dispose of our public lands—or remove their protections—flies in the face of this time-tested ideal, and is, at its heart, un-American.
Think about that. Let your representatives in Congress hear you say those words when you tell them to protect our birthright.
— Chris Hunt