Regulated hunting, however, properly applied, is an important tool of 

 wildlife management. The annual cropping of grazing and browsing 

 animals whose populations are near carrying capacity lowers the annual 

 loss from disease and malnutrition. It prevents the animals from becom- 

 ing so numerous that they deplete their own food supplies and the food 

 and cover upon which other species depend. Wild populations that are 

 below carrying capacity are far healthier and produce more young than 

 those at or near the capacity of the range. 



Virtually all of this essential wildlife management is financed by funds 

 obtained from sportsmen. By purchasing required federal duck stamps, 

 waterfowl hunters annually contribute around $10 million to federal 

 waterfowl and wetland conservation programs. Like any other citizens, 

 of course, sportsmen also pay federal income taxes that support national 

 wildlife and allied resource programs. But more important, their license 

 fees and special taxes provide about a quarter of a billion dollars each 

 year for the basic support of the state fish and wildlife conservation 

 programs. Few state wildlife agencies receive funds from the general 

 public. 



Sportsmen also contribute to wildlife conservation through private 

 organizations. Many local and state sportsmen's organizations have 

 active cooperative programs that maintain and increase wild populations 

 on private lands without cost to the public. Ducks Unlimited, an 

 association of waterfowl hunters, has created or restored more than 

 1 ,000 Canadian waterfowl production areas covering more than 2 million 

 acres. These critical wetlands provide habitat for more than 200 species 

 of wildlife. 



Sportsmen's state hunting and fishing license fees are used to buy, 

 maintain, and improve wildlife habitat that benefits both hunted and 

 unhunted wildlife on public and private lands and to provide the modern 

 equipment needed to enforce laws for the protection of wildlife. They 

 make it possible to employ many thousands of managers, biologists, and 

 conservation officers to protect and care for wildlife. Many state wildlife 

 agencies own or control large land holdings that are managed intensively 

 to maintain wildlife populations at desirable levels. 



Some critics of the American system of wildlife management have 

 charged that because hunters and fishermen carry the financial burden of 

 wildlife conservation, the state agencies favor game species in their 

 programs and ignore nonhunted species. This overlooks the fact that 

 many state wildlife agencies have excellent nongame wildlife programs. 

 Habitat created or maintained for pheasants or quail additionally benefits 

 a wide range of nonhunted species, from meadowlarks to hawks and 

 owls. Most serious birdwatchers know that some of the best birding is 

 found on state wildlife management areas and refuges. Waterfowl man- 

 agement areas provide food and cover for a host of nongame species, 

 ranging from marsh wrens to ospreys and eagles. 



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