Celebrating_a_Century_of_Wildlife_Conservation.pdf

In August, 2007, President Bush signed Executive Order # 13443: Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation, directing relevant departments and agencies "to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities and the management of game species and their habitat." The Executive Order (E.O.) asks the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture 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.

The E.O. calls for a comprehensive ten year Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan that will set forth an agenda for fulfilling the actions called for in the Order. The E.O. also directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in coordination with federal agencies and in consultation with the Sporting Conservation Council, state fish and wildlife agencies and the public, to convene a White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy to facilitate the exchange of information and advice needed to fulfill the purposes of the Order.

Conference planning began this year with a technical workshop in April that brought together top practitioners in the federal, state, tribal, industrial and academic fields to develop eight white papers with members of the Sporting Conservation Council. An event was held in May to commemorate the anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1908 Governor’s Conference on Conservation and to publicly launch the planning for the White House Conference. A Policy workshop in June brought together federal, state and tribal decision makers, along with leadership from the Sporting Conservation Council and the wildlife conservation community, to consider response options to issues and ideas discussed in the white papers. Subsequent to the workshops, a series of bipartisan meetings have been held with congressional staff, conservation and environmental groups to seek additional input.

On October 1-3, 2008, leaders and professionals within the wildlife conservation community across the United States will join together to discuss issues related to the Executive Order and the culmination of the ten year Conservation Plan agenda. The conference will begin with registration on October 1. The morning of October 2 will open with a large plenary session featuring keynote speakers, followed by break-out sessions to discuss the Conservation Plan development. Lunch with a speaker will be followed by additional break-out sessions to further discuss the development of the Conservation Plan. The morning of October 3 will continue with a general session and closing speaker ending around noon.

There are eight core issues of discussion for the October conference. They are: Funding for Wildlife Conservation; Management of Wildlife Habitat; Maintaining Access to Public and Private Land; Education, Recruitment and Retention; the North American Model; Federal, State and Tribal Coordination; Climate Change Impacts; and Energy Development.

For more information, visit www.WildlifeConservation.gov when it goes live in September, 2008 or contact your associated hunting or wildlife organization for more details. – White House Report