By Land Podcast
The By Land Podcast is a personal record of what I’m learning in the outdoors.
Some episodes are practical field notes focused on skills, gear, and lessons learned, while others are deeper reflections that explore my evolving perspectives. And some are conversations with people from different backgrounds to learn from their experiences.
At its core, this podcast is about learning through experience and sharing the process along the way.
Take what’s useful, leave what’s not, and make it your own.
-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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