RGS Joins With Other Conservation Groups in Protecting Our Natural Resources

Dan Dessecker, Director of Conservation Policy for the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), along with representatives from more than 40 other prominent conservation organizations took part in Thursday's Washington D.C. centennial celebration honoring President Theodore Roosevelt's commitment to hunting and conservation. The groups represented are all members of the Sporting Conservation Council - a federal advisory committee created to advise the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture on conservation issues of interest to the hunting community.

Together with the Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture, the groups reflected on Roosevelt's 1908 Conference of Governors that marked a turning point in natural resource conservation in this nation. More importantly, the centennial celebration set the stage for a fall conference on wildlife policy that will establish a plan to enhance wildlife conservation and perpetuate the tradition of hunting in this nation.

"As we celebrate the past achievements of one of histories greatest conservationist, Theodore Roosevelt, we look ahead towards securing his legacy through the up-coming White House Conference on Wildlife Conservation," said Dessecker.

"We are extremely grateful to President Roosevelt, and others who, over the past century pursued the commitment to protecting our natural resources and the hunting tradition. But there is still much to be done, and we are honored to be part of an organization dedicated to extending President Roosevelt's commitment so that future generations can enjoy the same wildlife. Both hunted and non-hunted, on lands and waters envisioned by our 25th President for centuries to come," said RGS Executive Director and CEO Mike Zagata.

"Today's centennial celebration honors the vision of our forefathers in protecting this country's precious natural resources, and highlights the work that we need to continue in order to ensure we have healthy wildlife populations and continued opportunities for hunting," stated Sporting Conservation Council Chairman and Boone and Crockett Club

Chairman, Bob Model. "Hunters have long led the charge on protecting wildlife and their habitat, and it is with this perspective that we are once again laying the foundation for the future of wildlife conservation and our hunting traditions."

The North American Wildlife Policy Conference looks to take the values and lessons learned from a century of conservation efforts and stems directly from an Executive Order signed by President Bush in August 2007. The Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation Executive Order called for the federal agencies to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management of game species and their habitat. Specifically, the Departments of Interior and Agriculture were tasked to evaluate the effects of their actions on trends in hunting participation, consider the economic and recreational values of hunting, manage wildlife and wildlife habitats to expand and enhance hunting opportunities, and work collaboratively with state and tribal wildlife managers to foster healthy and productive wildlife populations. In addition the executive order calls for the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the federal agencies, in collaboration with the Sporting Conservation Council, to convene a wildlife policy conference within one year that would be the foundation for a ten-year Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Resource Conservation Plan.

"We believe that the North American Wildlife Policy Conference will be as pivotal to wildlife conservation and hunting as President Roosevelt's conference was one hundred years ago," commented Dave Nomsen, Chairman of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners and Vice President of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever.

Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society is the one international wildlife conservation organization dedicated to promoting conditions suitable for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and related wildlife to sustain our sport hunting tradition and outdoor heritage.

Information on the RGS, its mission and management projects can be found on the web at: www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.