Core Concepts
The entire membership of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (including the 50 state agencies and all federal and Canadian partners) united to approve a set of concepts identified as the most important part of conservation as a whole. The concepts were designed by a diverse group of conservation education, fish and wildlife professionals and conservation organizations, and address only that part of conservation education that focuses on fish, wildlife and their management.
To reach people on a personal level, they need to feel connected. These messages are designed to point out the intrinsic link between fish, wildlife and people, and the places we all call home. They make the case that it is our responsibility to maintain a balance between the needs of people with those of nature. Conservation education is a way for people to make a stronger connection and learn how to better take care of the natural world around us.
| Core Concept | Why Say This |
|---|---|
| 1. North America’s fish and wildlife belong to all of us, and we rely on state and federal agencies to watch over them. | In North America, fish and wildlife are part of the public trust. This means that it is our responsibility to manage and take care of them and the places where they live. To do this, we look to the government agencies that manage these natural resources on a state-by-state and national level and understand that these agencies rely on the involvement and support of the public. Fish and wildlife are valuable to our society. |
| 2. Private landowners play an important role in ensuring that fish and wildlife and the places they live remain for future generations to enjoy. | Since most fish and wildlife live on private lands, private landowners play an important role in sustaining and improving habitat. With the cooperation and active role of private landowners, many important habitats can be conserved for fish, wildlife and people. In addition, without the stewardship of private landowners, we would have fewer places to recreate and enjoy nature. |
| 3. Maintaining healthy places for people, fish and wildlife depends on each of us taking responsibility to be informed about our natural world. | Sustainable natural resources depend on the support of an informed and responsible citizenry. With the profound effect of human populations on those wildlife and their habitat, people need to better understand and take responsibility for the health of the natural world around them. |
| 4. All living things benefit from a healthy environment. What’s good for fish and wildlife is also good for people. | The health and well-being of fish, wildlife and humans depend on the quality of their environment. Ensuring that people have clean air and water is not only important for our health but also for the health of fish and wildlife. The health of fish and wildlife is often the earliest indicator of pollution and other threats to the environment. As we call the same places home, what affects fish and wildlife also affects people. |
| 5. Taking action today to conserve fish and wildlife and the places they live is the key to ensuring their survival for future generations to enjoy. | Loss and degradation of habitat are the greatest problems facing fish and wildlife; therefore, enhancing and protecting habitat is critical to managing and conserving them. Urban sprawl, unchecked land use, invasive species and even climate change are just a handful of the obstacles fish and wildlife face where they live. Many contributing factors are caused by human interaction with the environment, including poor choices of land use. It’s up to us to take action today to maintain and restore the places that people and wildlife call home. |
| 6. It is important to take action now to ensure that fish and wildlife and the places they live are healthy and diverse. | Conserving biodiversity is important, as all living things and habitats are interconnected -- whether it is obvious or not. Focusing on specific species while ignoring the rest is not attending to the big picture of conservation. It is important that we work together across all political, economic and geographic boundaries to ensure that all fish, wildlife and the places they live are healthy and diverse. |
| 7. Fish and wildlife conservation and management are solidly rooted in science and balance the needs of both wildlife and people. | Fish and wildlife can be conserved, protected and restored through science-based management, which considers the needs of humans as well as those of fish and wildlife. Science can help us identify the ways to manage our environment to strike this crucial balance. The more we learn about our natural world, the better we can adjust to better take care of it for future generations. |
| 8. As human populations grow, resulting changes in our natural environment affect the quality of life for both people and wildlife. | Everyone impacts fish and wildlife and their habitats, and as human populations grow, impacts on natural resources will increase. As we develop the landscape, fish and wildlife habitat continues to shrink, and people and animals are increasingly coming into conflict. This results in deer/car collisions, wildlife damage to crops, livestock, landscaping and property, and potentially life-threatening personal encounters. By understanding how our decisions impact our “ecological footprint,” we can limit our negative impact on fish and wildlife. |
| 9. Wildlife populations sometimes grow beyond the ability of habitat to support them. Along with providing recreational opportunities, regulated hunting, fishing and trapping are important tools for managing some wildlife populations and habitats. | Wildlife professionals in the United States and Canada stress that being able to use management techniques that include hunting, trapping and fishing help them maintain a balance between the numbers of people and animals. As a result, problems ranging from deer-auto collisions, property and environmental damage, and the spread of diseases contracted by both people and animals are better managed. In addition, hunting, trapping and fishing are important recreational activities that connect people with nature. |
| 10. Through license sales and excise taxes, hunters, boaters, anglers and trappers pay for wildlife management in the United States. | Within the United States, state fish and wildlife management is funded primarily through hunting, fishing and trapping licenses and through federal excise taxes collected from the sale of hunting, target shooting and fishing equipment, and motor boat fuels. Today, almost all state fish and wildlife agencies receive the bulk of their total operating and program budgets from these sources. Without a dedicated funding source, and with few other funding options for wildlife agencies, hunters, boaters, anglers and trappers will continue to be the primary support for state-by-state conservation efforts. |
| 11. Wildlife-based activities -- such as hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching -- bring millions of dollars to our economy and connect people with nature. | Wildlife-based activities -- such as hunting, fishing, viewing and photography -- provide people with millions of days of outdoor recreation each year and generate billions of dollars for the economy. According to the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, more than 87 million Americans spent more than $120 billion in 2006 on wildlife-related activities. These activities support close to 3 million jobs in the United States. |