|
|
PROTECT HUNTING
Our hunting tradition and wildlife habitat is under serious threat. Care about the future of our heritage?
|
| |
|
|
|
Check out the COHA
Field Wire.
Subscribe to our Field Wire email newsletter and receive immediate updates on issues critical to you and join the COHA Action Team. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
| "COHA - fighting to expand hunting opportunity throughout California." |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
| COHA was established in response to the rapidly mounting political and social threats to hunting and science-based wildlife management in California.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
 |
| Answers to your Questions |
| Q. |
Why form the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance?
|
| A. |
Anti-hunting groups dedicated to taking our outdoor heritage away are better funded and organized than ever, while politics now plays the most important role in determining when and where Californians can hunt and enjoy the outdoors. Recognizing these facts, the California Waterfowl Association (CWA) formed a separated lobbying organization, the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA). Strategically created as a 501 (c) 4 nonprofit, COHA has the enhanced ability to fund political campaigns, support or oppose statewide ballot initiatives and endorse pro-hunting candidates for office. As a member-based association, COHA can also coordinate and unite the diverse constituencies of California’s hunting community.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What does COHA offer California’s hunting community?
|
| A. |
COHA’s registered lobbyists have a proven track record in getting things done at the State Legislature. However, COHA’s work does not end at the State Capitol. We also regularly lobby the California Fish and Game Commission, the state regulatory body which sets hunting seasons and bag limits. We work very closely with the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other public resource agencies on public hunting and wildlife conservation issues. In addition, we partner with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and national hunting and fishing interests on federal legislation, including the Farm Bill and other conservation funding measures. COHA also works at the local government level, which has played an increasingly active role on hunting and firearms issues in recent years.
Unlike many other legislative advocates, COHA operates on a nonprofit basis only while concentrating solely on hunting and wildlife conservation issues. All COHA staff hunt or fish on a regular basis, and therefore have an in-depth knowledge of, and personal stake in, the issues they lobby.
Because COHA's membership includes a host of hunter-based organizations and clubs, we are able to generate considerable grassroots support or opposition on any given political issue. This allows us to have a more united, stronger voice when public policy decisions are made that impact sportsmen.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What does hunting have to do with wildlife conservation?
|
| A. |
Hunting is the original basis for wildlife conservation in the United States. The first game laws were passed at the behest of hunters, while the work of concerned sportsmen was integral to the establishment of early national parks and wildlife refuges.
Most importantly, hunters helped establish the North American Wildlife Conservation Model, whose principles include a prohibition on the sale of wildlife, strong enforcement of game laws and using science to guide wildlife management decisions. The Model also states that all wildlife are owned by the citizenry, not individuals, and that each person should have equal opportunity to hunt and enjoy game regardless of social status, race, creed, religion or gender.
Today, hunting license and associated stamp fees generate about $19 million for the California Department of Fish and Game’s wildlife conservation efforts. Federal excise taxes on sporting firearms and ammunition (via the federal Pittman-Robertson Act) contribute $7 million more per year for related conservation purposes in our state, and have generated over $5 billion nationally since 1937.
Hunting-related conservation groups spend many millions more each year for wildlife conservation efforts both in California and throughout the United States. Because of these efforts, many game species populations in the United States are now significantly higher than they have been in over a century, including wild turkey, wood ducks, white-tailed deer, black bear, Rocky Mountain elk and pronghorn antelope.
Hunting is the prime motivation for wildlife habitat enhancement and protection efforts on private land. For instance two-thirds of California’s remaining wetlands are found on privately owned duck clubs, benefiting both game and non-game species alike. Hunting also helps to maintain an ecological balance between wildlife species where native predators have been removed or wildlife habitats significantly altered by mankind.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
Does hunting provide any other benefits?
|
| A. |
Hunting is still an important part of the cultural identity of many individuals and their families, both rural and urban, in California. Wild game is much lower in fat than its domesticated counterparts, and offers a truly organic and free-range source of protein that, when prepared properly, provide a delicious meal. Hunting-related revenue greatly benefits certain rural businesses such as local motels, butchers, diners and sporting goods stores. Farmers and ranchers depend on hunting to control wildlife depredation of crops and livestock, while revenue from hunting leases helps landowners maintain their property as open space and valuable wildlife habitat.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
Besides anti-hunting efforts at the state and national levels, what are some of the other major threats to hunting in California?
|
| A. |
Loss of hunter opportunity is a serious problem on both public and private lands. Habitat loss and urbanization continue to threaten many ranches, farms and other lands that are actively hunted, particularly in the fast-growing Central Valley. To address this problem on private lands, COHA strongly supports the use of conservation easements, Williamson Act contracts and other incentive-based programs to encourage landowners to protect their land from development.
The continuing decline in hunter numbers must be reversed. Increasing financial costs of private clubs, hunting equipment, licenses and associated stamps and tags, firearms fees, etc have a negative impact on low and middle income Californians’ ability to hunt. Overly complicated or burdensome game regulations also constitute a major disincentive for people to take up hunting.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What is COHA doing about the loss of hunter access to public and private lands?
|
| A. |
COHA works closely with the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the development and implementation of their hunting programs. COHA strives to increase and enhance public hunting opportunities in a manner that takes into consideration the various needs of California’s diverse hunting constituencies.
Hunter surveys have shown that a prime reason why members of the public stop hunting is loss of, or lack of access to, hunting areas. That is why we also work with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, CA Department of Parks and Recreation and other resource agencies to provide new hunting opportunities on recently acquired public lands. In the past few years, we have helped open up thousands of new acres of public land to hunting, including the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Sacramento River NWR, Don Edwards NWR, Eden Landing Ecological Reserve and Cronan Ranch.
COHA, in cooperation with CWA, Department of Fish and Game, CA Farm Bureau Federation and CA Cattlemen’s Association, is currently administering the “Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Program", which was authorized by CWA-sponsored Assembly Bill 396 (Harman). The goal of the program is to provide incentives for private landowners to increase public hunting opportunities on private land. As of 2009, approximately 18 landowners were enrolled, opening up about 7,000 acres of private land to 750 hunters. Once federal farm bill funds or other public monies are available to support SHARE, the Department of Fish and Game will implement the program on a statewide basis, as required by AB 396.
We also work at the local governmental level to ensure that cities and counties do not arbitrarily restrict or ban hunting within their jurisdictions. In fact, COHA is currently sponsoring State legislation (AB 979) to clarify that cities and counties cannot interfere with hunting or fishing activities as long sportsmen are abiding by all state safety laws and regulations. In addition, COHA staff have helped to ensure that hunting activities on navigable waters are protected from undue government impact.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What role should private landowners play in wildlife conservation?
|
| A. |
Most of California’s prime wildlife habitat exists on private land. While COHA supports acquiring public land for public hunting and conservation purposes, we also recognize that the state has a diminished financial ability to acquire and manage additional lands. Also, local political opposition makes new acquisitions more difficult. Private landowners therefore need to play a more significant role in wildlife conservation. Rather than increase regulations, COHA believes that government should support wildlife conservation on private lands through easement programs and other incentive-based efforts.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What is COHA’s view on predator control?
|
| A. |
Predator control--particularly of exotic or invasive species--is a key wildlife management tool that can help bolster native wildlife populations, including both game and non-game species. Aleutian geese, for instance, have greatly benefited from the removal of non-native arctic foxes from their breeding grounds in Alaska, rebounding from a low of 790 individual birds in 1975 to about 120,000 today. Whether through trapping, hunting or other means, predator control is also helpful in areas where natural systems no longer function according to historical conditions, such as California’s Central Valley. Prior to the construction of dams, levees and bypasses, large-scale flooding in the Valley kept skunk, raccoon and other predatory species of waterfowl in check. With flooding now largely curtailed and a limited amount of habitat available, predator control efforts are necessary to increase nesting success for waterfowl and other ground-nesting birds.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What is COHA’s position on the use of dogs for hunting?
|
| A. |
COHA fully supports the use of dogs for the broadest array of hunting activities. Dogs are not only an excellent conservation tool in tracking and retrieving downed game, but greatly enrich the overall hunting experience. Many breeds of dogs were developed specifically for hunting purposes, and hunting and related activities such as field trials and hunt tests further help to refine the working lines of those breeds. So important is the use of dogs to certain types of hunting that many hunters would simply not participate without them.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What is COHA’s view of using science to guide game regulations and wildlife management?
|
| A. |
Science should always be the most important factor driving hunting regulations and other wildlife management decisions. To ensure that science is most fully considered, the Fish and Game Commission or Department of Fish and Game, rather than the State Legislature or the California electorate, should appropriately determine those regulations and decisions. COHA also believes that wildlife must always be managed according to species’ population needs, rather than those of the individual animal, and that ecosystem-based approaches tend to benefit the greatest diversity of wildlife.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What is COHA’s approach to politics?
|
| A. |
Bipartisanship. COHA works with any legislator who is willing to support our goals, whether he or she is a Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. Building coalitions with other lobbying groups is also key to passing or defeating any legislation. COHA routinely partners with such diverse interests as environmental groups, agricultural/landowner representatives, water associations, public agencies, fishing groups, etc. COHA also believes that the hunting community must be proactive in defending “our way of life", rather than constantly being on the defensive. That is why we always sponsor at least one or two bills per legislative session.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
Are additional game laws and regulations needed?
|
| A. |
While available habitat remains by far the most important factor in determining fish and wildlife populations, poaching or overharvest can still significantly affect certain game species. For instance, illegal, commerical take, along with loss of spawning areas, continues to adversely impact white sturgeon numbers in the Sacramento River system. Overharvest of bandtailed pigeons in the 1960's and 1970's also likely contributed to a long-term decline in that species' populations. It should also be noted that in an era of limited game warden resources, enforcement efforts remain a significant challenge.
COHA supports stronger penalties for commercial poaching and gross violations of game laws, such as those that are committed intentionally and adversely affect fish and wildlife resources. However, we also recognize that (1) many game laws/regulations are overly complicated or ambiguous which threatens to keep well-intentioned hunters away from the field and (2) most game laws/regulations are already punishable as misdemeanors which typically carry significant fines and penalties.
Because of this, COHA insists that any new game laws or regulations be carefully drafted and narrowly tailored to address specific deficiencies in the law. To the extent possible, they should also avoid unnecessary impacts on the vast majority of sportsmen who make a good faith effort to lawfully pursue fish and game.
|
| Top |
| Q. |
What are COHA’s long-term goals and objectives?
|
| A. |
1. Increased political and public support of hunting and science-based wildlife management.
2. Development of a significant “war chest" to fight against expected anti-hunting initiatives and support pro-hunting measures on the statewide ballot.
3. Increased hunter opportunity on both public and private lands, and equal access to fish and game resources for all sportsmen.
4. Increased protection of lands and waters with high wildlife value from urban development or incompatible uses.
5. Stable or increasing hunting license sales.
|
| Top |
|
|
