Hunters are the Original Conservationists

The Jamestown Sun
November 20, 2014

Now that hunting season is here I am reminded, and want to remind all of your readers as well, that hunters are the original conservationists. Thanks to the Pittman-Robertson Act, all hunting equipment is subject to an 11 percent excise tax which funds habitat preservation and hunter safety training.

To so many people, especially those not familiar with the sport, hunting is just guys sitting in their deer stands or in their duck blinds, maybe with a friend, hoping to spot their target. But the reality is that hunter dollars pay for the majority of conservation in our country and that benefits non-game species like bald eagles, songbirds, and even monarch butterflies in addition to white tails and pheasants. In 2014 alone, there has been about $11.2 million put back into the state as a result of the Pittman-Robertson Act. When I hit the field I make sure I have paid for all of my necessary licenses and am always happy to know that when I purchase ammo or a new rifle that part of that purchase is going toward maintaining North Dakota hunting heritage.

Levi Taylor
Ypsilanti