By Land Podcast
This podcast is about learning how to have better backcountry experiences and understanding why spending time outside matters in the first place.
I have conversations with people from diverse outdoor backgrounds to learn from them and hear their personal stories. I cover everything from backpacking, hiking, hunting, conservation, and outdoor skills to the broader role the outdoors can play in our health, perspective, and everyday lives.
Thanks for listening!
-Emory, By Land
By Land Podcast
#125 - Why Hunting Isn't Conservation and Why It Matters with Kevin Bixby
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Kevin Bixby is the Executive Director of the SW Environmental Center and recently published an article titled “Why Hunting Isn’t Conservation and Why It Matters." I asked him on the show for this episode to help me better understand what he means by this.
By no means is this an anti-hunting article, in fact, Kevin is a hunter himself and is the first to admit that hunting has played a key role in the preservation of American big game animals. That said, he feels the modern conservation model needs to change in a way that reflects the values of ALL those interested in the preservation of wildlife. If you’re interested in reading the full article, you can find a link to this article in the show notes.
SHOW NOTES:
- Introductions
- Kevin Bixby and his background
- How Kevin Bixby got into the political side of conservation
- Science versus value systems
- The rise of new value systems
- America’s Wildlife Values Survey
- The changes in cultural values
- A short history of the modern wildlife conservation model
- The need to pivot to a modern conservation model
- What’s wrong with the “hunting is conservation” argument
- How State and federal wildlife agencies receive funding
- The impact of invasive species
- Does industry impact conservation efforts?
- Game management as crop management
- The current imbalance of decision making
- The topic of wolves and predators
- The future of hunting in modern times
- The “hunting is conservation” mantra
- What keeps Kevin going year after year
- Border walls and the impact of wildlife migration
- How to follow up with Kevin Bixby and his work
- Kevin’s Original Article: https://rewilding.org/hunting-isnt-conservation/
- America's Wildlife Values Survey: https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/wildlifevalues/
- Southwest Environmental Center: https://www.wildmesquite.org/index.php/
- Contact Kevin: kevin@wildmesquite.org
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