Hunting helps the economy

Many things aren't appreciated until they are gone. When people interested in conserving wildlife and their habitat noticed that the number of hunters was declining, it was reason for concern. They understood one important fact; hunters pay the bills for conservation.

That was the thrust of a November 2007 article in National Geographic Magazine. The publication that chronicles the natural world, published "Conserving Hunters," an article documenting the dwindling number of hunters and the impact that could have on wildlife conservation.

Growing urbanization, declining rural populations and limited access to land were feeding the decline. Without the money generated by hunting license and duck stamp sales and the excise taxes from gun and ammunition sales, where would the money come from to manage wildlife and wildlife habitat?

Who would take the place of hunters as advocates for conservation when hunters are gone? Because they have a vested interest in wildlife conservation - their sport depends on sustaining wildlife populations and their habitat - hunters and their organizations wield political clout on behalf of land and wildlife preservation.

The article concluded that it was in the best interest of wildlife and land preservation to ensure the future of hunting. And introducing young people to the sport is the only way to ensure that hunting continues in the future.

After a long decline in the number of hunters, there is finally some positive news on that front. Hunting license sales in the United States rose by 9 percent form 2007-2011. In Alabama, numbers rose from 391,000 licenses sold in 2006 to 535,000 sold in 2011. That reverses a 25-year trend in the opposite direction.

That's particularly good news for West Alabama. The dearth of economic development in the region outside of Tuscaloosa County has little upside. But it has left West Alabama more sparsely populated than much of the rest of the state. The large areas of undeveloped or agricultural land have made it one of the premier hunting destinations in Alabama.

Hunting has a more than $900 million economic impact on Alabama. Unlike timber or minerals and mining operations, hunters have little impact on the land.

That makes hunting a clean industry. It doesn't create pollution. Once hunters are gone, about the only thing they leave behind is money. And few people object to that.

- Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News