More than 300,000 acres of people looking land in six states have seen improvements in the first year of a National Deer Association program that will improve hunting access, wildlife habitat, and hunter recruitment. With a target of 1 million acres by 2026, our” Improving Access, Habitat, and Deer Hunting on Public Lands” program has only just begun.
Decreases in deer hunter numbers, wildlife quality, and access to hunting can all have a significant negative impact on wildlife conservation, as some NDA members are aware. However, there are times when being creative and using the legendary lemons-to-lemonade strategy can be the difference. NDA made the decision to address all three problems at once in a brand-new public land plan for deer hunters, enthusiasts, and hunters. Continue reading to find out why, how, and what we accomplished in this historic program’s first month.
Issues with Public Hunting Land
Since more elk are hunted, killed, and managed every on private versus public land, our long-time members are aware of the benefits we extol about the significance of managing personal land for them. It was an integral part of our founding and is still a driving force behind NDA’s engagement and training initiatives. The in-person, food-focused warrior selection system participants, which is tailored for adults from non-hunting backgrounds who want to learn to elk hunt, tend to be younger, reside in urban or suburban areas, had a higher education, and usually more closely fit the description of our group, according to research.
A lack of access is one of the major causes cited, according to individual dimensions studies, which also show that hunters on public land tend to kill less frequently than those on private land. A new federal report estimated that there are now more than 16 million acres of open land that outdoors enthusiasts cannot properly use. Access is consistently cited as a major barrier for both novice and experienced hunters.
Last but not least, current trends indicate that declining acreage in effective forest management is likely to blame for declining deer, grouse, and another game harvests on some national lands. The U.S. Forest Service ( USFS) has specifically found that the habitat conditions on some of their lands have changed as a result of the suppression of fire and the reduction of timber harvesting activities over time, leading to denser stands and fewer early successional communities. Additionally, disease, insects, and toxic plants are more generally a threat to forest health and biodiversity.
Therefore, promoting public lands in America is a special way to increase access to, maintain, and restart more deer hunting while also improving the health and productivity of our country’s forests.
