SCI Leads Effort to Save Professional Wildlife Management

As seems to be the norm lately, this fall’s hunting season was marred by the fact that hunters, America’s premier conservationists, had to once again take time and money away from their cherished traditions and put it towards helping the Alaska Department of Fish and Game retain its ability to professionally manage our wildlife resources.

The statement in our logo above isn’t just an empty platitude, it’s significance was amply borne out by the effort of the Alaska and Kenai Chapters of SCI, as well as our sister chapters throughout the world.  The lion’s share of resources and effort that went into the winning strategy on Ballot Measure 2 this past August came from SCI, making it the undisputed leader in protecting the freedom to hunt of all Americans.

Those from Alaska reading this know we had already lost two similar campaigns in the past.  This campaign was SCI Alaska Chapter’s first major foray into the issue.  Following up on their success on the bear baiting initiative, SCI Alaska Chapter took the lead in organizing the effort to defeat the anti-hunters again this year.  Many of Alaska’s conservation groups joined with us in this effort, but in the end it was SCI’s financial resources and talent that made the difference.

Money is the mother’s milk of campaigns.  Without it you usually don’t have much of a chance of winning.  SCI funding allowed us to hire a professional consulting firm and do the requisite polling to establish who our likely allies were among voters and what our message should be.  Such a professional effort paid off in spades the night of the election as we waited with baited breath for the results.  When the first numbers flashed up on the screen at election central in Anchorage, none of us could believe our eyes.  We were not only winning, we were kicking their (anti-hunters) butts.

I cannot find the words to describe our gratitude to the SCI Family for this victory.  When the dust settled and the final accounting of our victory was assessed, SCI, its chapters and its members donated over 85% of the funding for this campaign.  Over 85 chapters and individuals contributed including several chapters from outside the country.  There are many groups out there who deserve our thanks, as well as our support, for they too are in the battle to support hunting, but no other one group can ever contest us for the statement in our logo, ‘First for Hunters’.