Hunters generally appreciate that their license fees go toward conservation. From the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts to each state’s hunting and fishing license, hunters help fund much of the support for game and non-game species.
Items like the Duck Stamp go even further toward conserving important habitat areas nationwide. Since its inception in 1934, the Duck Stamp has raised funds for conserving waterfowl habitat, particularly in the Prairie Pothole Region for breeding. More than $900 million has been raised for waterfowl conservation as of 2014. That’s why a group is working to bring the same style of funding to upland birds.
Ultimate Upland LLC has posted an online petition on the site UplandStamp.org urging hunters and anyone else concerned about protecting upland bird habitat to sign. Upland birds such as bobwhite quail and the greater sage grouse have lost 40 percent of their habitat area over the last four decades, and the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. A stamp could provide the funding conservation needs to protect the prairie grasslands that species like quail, grouse, and pheasant need to survive. Stamp supporters say it would fund habitat protection, education, and highlight the cultural importance of upland hunting if adopted.
Petition signers are asked how they think the generated funds should be used: expansion of the existing National Wildlife Refuge system, long-term conservation easements on private property, improved upland habitat on federal lands, creation of new NWRs, or matching fund grant programs for organizations and individuals to carry out habitat restoration. Signers can choose one or multiple suggestions.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a major source of funding for upland habiat. It benefits upland birds, but indirectly. CRP is primarily an agricultural program aimed at taking less-productive cropland out of rotation. In turn, soil erosion and other forms of field deterioration are limited. Upland birds benefit from the marginal lands, but according to Ultimate Upland, CRP programs have seen a decline in acreage of seven million acres in the last five years—a 23 percent loss. Meanwhile, CRP program costs have increased by 33 percent, from $1.2 to 1.6 billion.
The real question is, how would bird hunters respond to the stamp’s introduction? According to the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, only 8.5 percent of pheasant hunters belong to Pheasants Forever, only 2.5 percent of quail hunters belong to a quail conservation organization, and only 1 percent of grouse hunters are members of a grouse conservation organization. In comparison, nearly 50 percent of duck hunters are members of a conservation program—47 percent of waterfowlers belong to either Ducks Unlimited or Delta Waterfowl, in addition to their required Duck Stamp contributions.
The petition is available online; only time will tell if it will be implemented and bring the Duck Stamp’s success to the grasslands.
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Cover image: Ultimate Upland