Nice Read

[fish-aholic]

Found this today on www.roanoke.com enjoyed the read so I figured I'd share

Hunters and anglers deserve thanks

Sportsmen have been among the nation's leading advocates for the preservation of habitat.


The revival of the New River Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited is good news. Chapter members have worked this year to remove trash from Peak Creek and its banks and to install small log structures on the stream bed to provide cover for trout. The fish need protection from predators, ranging from herons to humans.
Opponents to hunting, and even fishing, lament the suffering of animals pierced by arrows, bullets, shotgun pellets or barbed hooks.
Yet wildlife lovers who indict all sportsmen and sportswomen as brutes interested only in the kill should acknowledge that conservation work by organizations dedicated to hunting and fishing has saved and restored crucial habitat -- both for species targeted by the organization and other animals sharing the ecosystem.
Such groups include the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited and more.
Because few predators that once thinned deer populations on the East Coast remain, responsible hunters have become an important asset in managing herd size.
Venison-stuffed freezers feed income-limited families. In the best cases, children learn time-honored traditions, bond with parents, escape the pull of electronics and learn about conservation.
The administration of President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid hunter, made conservation a central policy. Americans should be grateful. Roosevelt advocated for protecting and managing wild game and for preserving wild spaces. Today, many hunting and fishing organizations do the same.
A director of the U.S. Department of Interior once said "hunters have been the pillar of conservation in America, doing more than anyone to conserve wildlife and its habitat."
Hunters and anglers are among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's greatest partners.
Southwest Virginia has its share of obnoxious hunters and anglers -- brutes who booze and wield high-powered rifles, who exceed bag limits or leave carcasses to rot. But even they support conservation with license fees.
Wildlife lovers who never shoot a doe or hook a brookie should not demonize those who do. Instead, responsible sportspeople deserve a pat on the back of their blaze orange coats or fishing vests.