A New Century of Conservation & Hunting Heritage

Setting the Course for Conservation

The 2008 White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy will convene one hundred years after a groundbreaking conference was hosted by President Theodore Roosevelt to focus the attention of the nation's policy makers on conservation issues. Attending were governors, members of his Cabinet and the Supreme Court, members of Congress, scientists, industrial leaders and conservationists - all called together to focus on the loss of wildlife, forests and other natural resources caused by the exploitation of what had once been perceived as inexhaustible.

Defining a Movement

If Roosevelt's conference in 1908 was the genesis of the conservation movement, the next century saw the creation and refinement of the tenets that define wildlife conservation. At critical junctures through the twentieth century, wildlife managers and elected officials have joined together to chart the course for the next years of hunting tradition and sustainable wildlife populations.

1930: American Game Policy

In 1930, prompted by the expanding human population, mounting hunting pressures, declining wildlife habitat, inadequate funding, and private and public land access issues, Aldo Leopold presented the first American Game Policy (Policy) at the American Game Conference. The resulting changes improved resource agency organization, university wildlife education programs, and wilderness protection further solidifying the wildlife management profession and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

1973: North American Wildlife Policy

In 1971, the wildlife profession coalesced to refine and expand the Policy as the North American Wildlife Policy to deal with the growing conservation challenges: the continued expansion of the human population, increased resource consumption, recreational use of fish and wildlife, endangered species, habitat management, and multiple-use policies. Presented and approved at the 1973 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Washington, DC, the updated Policy set the stage for efforts to sustain our hunting heritage, focus on non-game and game species, establish international agreements to support wildlife conservation, provide incentives for private landowners for wildlife habitat management, enhance range management and wetland protection, and expand public outreach and conservation education.

The New Century of Conservation

One hundred years after the Conference of Governors, our nation continues to face a multitude of wildlife resource issues, issues that challenge the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Building upon the 1930 and 1973 policies, the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy and the resultant Recreational Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Plan provide an opportunity to expand on these historic efforts and to develop a national blueprint for the enhancement of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation in the 21st century.