California Coast & Ocean

Swan did, however, identify two important issues. First, hunting has historically been a part of the American way of life, and second, wildlife management is important, isn't for the fainthearted, and is distasteful to some.

In contrast with Swan, Johnson spoke in temperate tones as he provided a thoughtful analysis of the future of hunting. An ardent hunter and fisherman since age eight, he saw that the sport had declined principally because hunters' gaze had shifted from the target and because of a failure to recognize the impact of demographic shifts. "Hunters aren't adapting to urbanization," he said. "If we wish to save this legacy, we must react to the changes around us."

Johnson made the case that the critical focus of the NRA--protecting the rights of those who wish to bear weapons of near mass destruction--was losing the battle for hunters in the cities, where the votes are. In Johnson's view, the animal rights movement has polarized the discussion about hunting by going to urban audiences and depicting hunters as brutal trophy collectors rather than the simple sportsmen, habitat stewards, and conservationists they tend to be. Then he argued for conciliation: "Animal rights groups don't want animals to suffer, nor do we, so there is a commonality."

Lastly, Johnson spoke of a need for education about resource management. Children should be taught about the need for people to maintain sustainable wildlife population levels, rather than being left to assume that population dynamics just work themselves out. He did not mention examples, but his point is illustrated by the current debate over controlling wild pig populations that are tearing up native plants and frightening people, and sea lions whose growing populations' territorial needs conflict with the growing human population's desire for access to beaches and docks.

Bolstering Johnson's case that hunting is in decline, Treanor noted that license sales are dropping and consequently cutting off revenue for resource management. He suggested that the rise of extremism in both the hunting and nonhunting conservationist communities may be a symptom of a loss of connection to the land. "We'll change for the worse if we lose that connection," he argued. "Now that society is more urban, and children are growing up where the only wildlife they see is in zoos or on Disney, the outlook for a broadly held and realistic understanding of wildlife management is becoming more elusive."

The discussion in that room did not resolve the problem, but it summed up the current predicament pretty well--as did the audience: all hunters, with nary an environmentalist ally in sight.