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Walter “Bud” Pidgeon, president and CEO of the US Sportsmen’s Alliance
We are making a difference and “hanging together” to protect our outdoor heritage.
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USSA and NWTF Hanging Together
As Benjamin Franklin said before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This statement could easily be applied to our entire hunting, fishing and trapping heritage.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has been a key partner to the NWTF for more than 20 years. USSA began as an effort to block a proposed 1977 Ohio constitutional amendment banning all trapping in the state.
Following the defeat of the anti-trapping initiative by more than a 2 to 1 margin, it was recognized that a void existed in the nation’s sportsmen’s movement. No organization had the mission of defending sportsmen’s rights in the face of the growing animal rights/anti-hunting movement and its increasingly sophisticated attacks on outdoor traditions and scientific-based conservation. The USSA was born with a mission to defend sportsmen in legislative arenas and provide research, education and legal services.
The USSA has never looked back, engaging in political and legal battles to stop the anti-hunting movement cold. The USSA lobbies in Washington D.C. and state capitals, but its real strength lies in building coalitions of diverse groups. This coalition building is vital to winning at levels of government.
Some USSA-led battles include:
• developing legislation, making it illegal to harass hunters in the field — now law in all 50 states and the federal level.
• leading efforts to defeat anti-hunting ballot issues across the country.
• conception of the 1997 National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act, protecting hunting on nearly 100 million acres of federal land and multiple legislative victories in states protecting sportsmen’s rights of virtually every type.
A constant during these battles is the partnership with the NWTF. The NWTF’s unique two-part mission — conservation of the wild turkey and preservation of the hunting tradition — led it to ride shotgun with the USSA. Our fight against anti-hunters has been as lethal as an NWTF member hunting a spring gobbler. However, our partnership is about more than fighting anti-hunters. With hunting numbers declining, preserving sporting traditions means instilling a passion for the outdoors in a new generation, which takes teamwork.
One highly successful example has been the Families Afield initiative. Developed jointly by the USSA, NWTF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Families Afield urges states to eliminate unnecessary hunting age restrictions. With Nevada’s recent passage of Families Afield legislation at the end of May, 28 states have reduced barriers to recruiting new young hunters. According to current numbers, these successes have led to more than 280,000 new hunters in the field. That’s making a real difference for the future of hunting.
Another example is the Trailblazer Adventure Program. The USSA’s education arm, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, began Trailblazer in 2001, allowing sportsmen and professionals to provide hands-on firearm safety lessons, fishing instruction, archery programs, trapping demonstrations and more to youth and their families. Today, it is the largest outdoor program of its kind and has introduced more than 800,000 families to the thrill of outdoor sports!
The USSAF and NWTF have joined forces to enhance this experience by bringing Trailblazer together with JAKES, the NWTF’s signature outdoor education program. This year the JAKES program is a featured station at Trailblazer events, with attendees able to register for upcoming programs on the spot.
The ultimate goal of both Families Afield and Trailblazer is to reverse the declining sportsmen numbers by getting youth and their families off the couch and in the field.
Taking Benjamin Franklin’s warning to heart, the USSA is proud of its relationship with the NWTF. We are making a difference and “hanging together” to protect our outdoor heritage. — Walter “Bud” Pidgeon, Jr., president and CEO of USSA