Wildlife For All is a national campaign to reform state wildlife management to be more ecologically-driven, democratic, and compassionate.
We advocate for a new paradigm in wildlife management that:
- Prioritizes conservation of all species – not just game animals – as part of natural ecosystems;
- Is aligned with public trust principles, i.e. that the government has a duty to protect wildlife as a public trust for the benefit of all life, including future generations;
- Is responsive to the broad public interest in wildlife, not just hunters, anglers and trappers;
- Considers and respects the interests of individual animals, not just populations and species.
The Problem with State Wildlife Management Today
- If the vast majority of the public abhors wildlife killing contests, why are they still legal in most states?
- If the people who watch wildlife far outnumber those who hunt and fish, why do our wildlife agencies still focus most of their efforts on game species?
- Why is it that at a packed state Game Commission meeting, everyone in the room can advocate for one thing but the Commission will still do the opposite?
The short answer is: our wildlife is being held hostage by a broken and antiquated system that needs our help.
Solutions: What would the ideal system of state wildlife management look like?
- It would be aligned with the Public Trust Doctrine.
- There would be statutory language declaring it to be the policy of the state to protect wildlife within a public trust framework.
- Individuals would have a right guaranteed in the state’s constitution to bring legal action against authorities to enforce compliance with the public trust doctrine.
- The state’s wildlife agency would have the legal authority to regulate the take of all species and their habitats, including invertebrates.
- State funding for wildlife conservation would be broad-based and robust, and not connected to any particular “use” of wildlife, e.g. hunting, fishing or backpacking.
Public Trust Doctrine: a better paradigm for wildlife conservation
The Public Trust Doctrine (PTD) offers an alternative framework to the status quo in wildlife management that more compatible with modern ecological and societal goals. PTD is a legal doctrine with its roots in Roman and English common law. It holds that nature, including wildlife, is a public trust that the government has a “fiduciary” duty to protect for the benefit of the beneficiaries, including those not yet born.
Biodiversity, the extinction crisis, and why it matters
The world’s wildlife faces a grim future. Species and populations everywhere are disappearing at a rapid rate due to human activities. Vertebrate populations have declined worldwide by an average of 68 percent since 1970. Numbers of North American birds have dropped by nearly three billion birds over the same period. Eighteen percent of animal species in the U.S. are currently threatened with extinction.
WA State Senate introduces several bills that aim to reform Fish and Wildlife Commission
Members of the Washington State Senate introduced several bills that would make changes to how and who selects the members who serve on the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. One bill would give authority to the Legislature to fill empty commission seats if the Gov doesn’t act within 12 months. The other bill would take away the power of the fish and wildlife commission to hire the Department director and give it to the elected State Lands Commissioner. It would also take away the power of the governor to appoint commissioners, and give it to the State Lands commissioner.
NM Department of Game and Fish considers stocking nonnative hybrid bass
Less than half of New Mexico’s native fish species are protected by law, yet the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish wants to introduce another nonnative fish species into the state. A department spokesperson could not point to any conservation benefits when questioned about the introduction of this species.
Earth Matters Radio Interview with Kevin Bixby
Wildlife for All’s Executive Director Kevin Bixby and Donna Stevens of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance recently had an in-depth conversation about the status of wildlife protection in New Mexico.
Species in Peril: Defending the Arctic Refuge ~ Wildlife for All ~ Picture Ecology
The Species in Peril project at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is a public service initiative. The project was founded in April 2020 to foster conversations, creative production, public scholarship, and grassroots initiatives to bring attention to the intensifying crisis of biological annihilation, which includes human-caused species extinctions, mass die-offs and massacres. In their most recent newsletter they gave Wildlife for All a shoutout.
In tied vote, Washington commissioners suspend controversial spring bear hunt
By Eli Francovich. The Spokesman-Review.
This article highlights an important example of a wildlife commission following the will of the public. Due to an unfilled commission seat, the vote ended in a 4-4 tie putting the controversial bear hunt on hold. The commissioners that voted against the hunt questioned WDFW’s population data and cited public opinion as a main reason for their vote.
Wildlife For All is a national campaign to reform state wildlife management to be more ecologically-driven, democratic, and compassionate.
We advocate for a new paradigm in wildlife management that:
- Prioritizes conservation of all species – not just game animals – as part of natural ecosystems;
- Is aligned with public trust principles, i.e. that the government has a duty to protect wildlife as a public trust for the benefit of all life, including future generations;
- Is responsive to the broad public interest in wildlife, not just hunters, anglers and trappers;
- Considers and respects the interests of individual animals, not just populations and species.
The Problem with State Wildlife Management Today
- If the vast majority of the public abhors wildlife killing contests, why are they still legal in most states?
- If the people who watch wildlife far outnumber those who hunt and fish, why do our wildlife agencies still focus most of their efforts on game species?
- Why is it that at a packed state Game Commission meeting, everyone in the room can advocate for one thing but the Commission will still do the opposite?
The short answer is: our wildlife is being held hostage by a broken and antiquated system that needs our help.
Solutions: What would the ideal system of state wildlife management look like?
- It would be aligned with the Public Trust Doctrine.
- There would be statutory language declaring it to be the policy of the state to protect wildlife within a public trust framework.
- Individuals would have a right guaranteed in the state’s constitution to bring legal action against authorities to enforce compliance with the public trust doctrine.
- The state’s wildlife agency would have the legal authority to regulate the take of all species and their habitats, including invertebrates.
- State funding for wildlife conservation would be broad-based and robust, and not connected to any particular “use” of wildlife, e.g. hunting, fishing or backpacking.
Public Trust Doctrine: a better paradigm for wildlife conservation
The Public Trust Doctrine (PTD) offers an alternative framework to the status quo in wildlife management that more compatible with modern ecological and societal goals. PTD is a legal doctrine with its roots in Roman and English common law. It holds that nature, including wildlife, is a public trust that the government has a “fiduciary” duty to protect for the benefit of the beneficiaries, including those not yet born.
Biodiversity, the extinction crisis, and why it matters
The world’s wildlife faces a grim future. Species and populations everywhere are disappearing at a rapid rate due to human activities. Vertebrate populations have declined worldwide by an average of 68 percent since 1970. Numbers of North American birds have dropped by nearly three billion birds over the same period. Eighteen percent of animal species in the U.S. are currently threatened with extinction.
WA State Senate introduces several bills that aim to reform Fish and Wildlife Commission
Members of the Washington State Senate introduced several bills that would make changes to how and who selects the members who serve on the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. One bill would give authority to the Legislature to fill empty commission seats if the Gov doesn’t act within 12 months. The other bill would take away the power of the fish and wildlife commission to hire the Department director and give it to the elected State Lands Commissioner. It would also take away the power of the governor to appoint commissioners, and give it to the State Lands commissioner.
NM Department of Game and Fish considers stocking nonnative hybrid bass
Less than half of New Mexico’s native fish species are protected by law, yet the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish wants to introduce another nonnative fish species into the state. A department spokesperson could not point to any conservation benefits when questioned about the introduction of this species.
Earth Matters Radio Interview with Kevin Bixby
Wildlife for All’s Executive Director Kevin Bixby and Donna Stevens of the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance recently had an in-depth conversation about the status of wildlife protection in New Mexico.
