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Conclusions
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The Future of Waterfowl Hunting
The quality of
hunting has certainly declined not only in Rice County, but throughout
the entire United States. Waterfowl hunters continually wonder
what the future will bring to their loved pastime. Will waterfowl
numbers decline? Will there be a restricted season? Will
our children be able to waterfowl hunt?
Better
Waterfowl Hunting will Require Better Habitat
It is very encouraging to see that
organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited take charge in the protection
and restoration of wetlands.
DU has conserved more than 9.4 million acres of
waterfowl habitat throughout North America since it was established in
1937. It has raised nearly $1.6 billion for conservation (http://www.ducks.org/). No other
conservation or
environmental group can match DU's accomplishments on behalf of
waterfowl,
wetlands, and related habitats (Tori
et.
al.).
Despite
all of the problems waterfowl hunting faces in Rice County, I am
optimistic about the future. With reasonable public and private
efforts being made to preserve and maintian waterfowl habitat,
waterfowl hunting will be able to continue at current levels in Rice
County without hurting waterfowl populations.
The Answer...
The answer is simple, keep hunting.
A Sense of Place
Waterfowl
hunting makes the hunter aware. It causes them to get to know the
land, the wetland, and the individual species of waterfowl. Each
hunting trip is a new experience and the challenge of knowing and
understanding and becoming a part of of the world is always with the
hunter. By getting to know this place better through waterfowl
hunting, we can learn to appreciate and take care of the land that is
so vital to our sense of place.
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