Money Is Like Manure

Like I have mentioned before hunters spend money and even though times are tough avid hunters like myself still find ourselves skimping on other expenditures in order to have a great hunting season. But while the spending figures are impressive they become even more so through the consideration of "ripple" or multiplier effects. This is basically the modern economist's way of saying that money is like manure.And this is due to how the more money spread around the more good it does. Because each dollar spent by a hunter increases another person's income, enabling that person (or business) to spend more. Which in turn increases income for somebody else. The process continues as wide series of ripples through local regional, and national economies until the spreading fragments of the original dollar become so small they can no longer be measured. So for those fellow hunters out there I just thought I would let you know another way we help the economy continue to turn in tough times as these.

Have Gun Will Travel Even if the Economy is Shot

Since hunting season is underway many believe that this may have an although small but good effect on the economy. So what does this mean? In all honesty it means that we are addicts who are willing to give up anything but the outdoors. But in this case being an addict is a good thing because hunters like myself are playing a part in the attempt to save what is left of the economy. I know that just what I have spent this year so far just to get ready for this years hunting season is well over 1000 dollars, and that only includes clothes and ammunition. And once my family and I reach our hunting destination I am sure we will drop at least another thousand or two in gas, food, licenses and what ever else. Now if you think about it there are many thousands of people like myself out there who will be dropping a pretty penny to hunt this year. To many this may not mean much but to those stores like Bass Pro and Cabela's and the other stores we will hit along the way this is the economic help that they have been asking for. And who would have thought that us "cruel and unusual hunters" would actually play a part in helping the economy. But the question that remains in my mind is where all the anti-hunters spend their money. Because it only seems like they are worried about spending their money on preventing us from hunting instead of investing it into the economy.

Special Taxes

Like i have mentioned before a lot of people spend a lot of money on the sport of hunting and fishing, but although that is great for the economy it is also important for the conservation of wildlife and their habitat. Practically everything you purchase now a days is taxed right. But do you know where that extra money goes. Well if you are purchasing any hunting or fishing equipment you should know that the federal and many state governments have special taxes that apply to the purchase of fishing tackle and powerboat fuel. The federal government channels millions of these funds into state recreational, fish and wildlife conservation projects every year. Anglers pay more than any other group to support conservation projects through the Sport Fish Restoration Program and many communities have benefited from fishing based taxes to fund boat launch ramps and mooring facilities for transient fishing vessels.Now what about the taxes on other things used for hunting like firearms? Well firearms and ammunition have special taxes on them as well which go towards the intention to get kids to experience the outdoors. For instance these taxes goes towards the huntersaftey course like I took my two boys to. These taxes make courses like these free and help maintain the outdoors that myself and my kids love. Although many taxes can be a pain to pay but when it comes times to dishing out a few extra bucks for these special taxes I don't mind do to the places that it goes towards.

What if Hunting and Fishing came to an End

It is no secret that the Humane Society or the ASPCA is all about the animals and would love to stop hunting all together. But what many people might not know is how their ideals might not always be in our best interest. For instance the CEO of the Humane Society stated that
"If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would. ... Our goal is to get sport hunting in the same category as cock fighting and dog fighting." Now although he didn't state anything about fishing it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that fishing wouldn't be far behind hunting. Now lets just say that these anti-hunters get their way do they really understand what economic problems will follow. Do they know that recreational fishing supports a million jobs, pays $45 billion in wages and has an overall economic impact of $125 billion in the United States annually. I can't even imagine what would happen if our economy took another hit. No here are just some interesting numbers to show just how important the fishing community is to the economy.
-Fishing is more popular than golf and tennis combined in the United States
-If the fishing industry was a national corporation, it would rank number 47 on the Fortune 500 list of companies
-Sport fishing supports more than a million jobs, three times the number of employees hired by United Parcel Service
-Research by the National Sporting Goods Association ranks fishing sixth out of 42 recreational activities surveyed

The Sport of Hunting Might Soon Fall With the Economy

Throughout the last few months I have personally noticed that the time and money I once had for hunting has began to dwindle. And now the idea of hunting as a "rich-mans sport" may very well become a harsh reality. To some people this may not seem like a big deal but to me hunting is a way of life. Some of the things that have changed the cost of hunting is due to the land owners. It was only a few years ago when I was able to just make a phone call and inform someone that I was going to be hunting on their land and that was all there was to it. But recently things have changed due to the downward slope of the economy, which has caused the land owners to now have to lease out their land for hunting and to cattle farmers or charge trespassing fees just to help pay for the taxes on their land of for the maintenance of it. Personally I understand where they are coming from and I would probably do the same but the bad thing is that other people might not understand which could cause a whole heap of problems. One huge problem is that poaching might increase like it did during the depression. Although back then poaching was a problem due to people needing the food to feed their families, now it might be due to hunters not having the right to hunt in the places they used to.
So what chance does the sport of hunting have up against an economy that doesn't look like it is getting better and time soon? Well from my point of view I believe avid hunters like myself will continue to do what we love even it is only once or twice a week verses 4-5 times a week. Although people will still find it harder to justify the time and money to go hunting we just have to keep in mind historically the most significant upswing in recreational hunting didn't take place until the country was in an economic upswing which followed WWII. So lets just hope that history repeats itself and that it repeats itself rather soon.

Hunters Safety Course Might be a Thing of the Past

This past weekend I took one of my boys who just turned 10 to take the hunter safety course and for those of you who are not familiar with this it is a course that someone male or female at any age can take and if you pass it allows you to carry a firearm whether a gun or a bow into the woods to use for hunting. And although my son Wyatt is young he did a great job and passed it which will now allow him to participate in this years hunting season. But this might all sound like good news but I soon learned that within the next few months this program which teaches the safety of firearms, hunting, camping, survival and first aid might no longer be offered. Or it might still be available to take but not for free as it is right now. This all happened due to the hiring on a new county commissioner. Now what really gets to me is the fact that all of the people who run this program are all volunteers, who themselves believe that this program has done wonders for the hunting community. But my main concern is that fact that my younger son Tye who is now 7 won't be able to have the same opportunity as his brother did.
So the true question is why this county commissioner is trying to change the rules and regulations of this class. When in all honesty having this class allows for more people to become avid hunters. Which in the long run will lead to those people purchasing goods for hunting which has always proven to play a large part in our nations economy. Now we have always been taught that two wrongs don't make a right and this is a perfect example. Because if this class was no longer available it could cause 1. a decrease in hunting population which would decrease the purchasing of hunting goods. And 2. the lack of knowledge to those who need and want to learn the safety of hunting and the effects it has on the world around us. So what possible good could come out of this? Any opinions I would love to hear them.

Many people around the age of 22 like myself probably don't think that they play a huge role in the economy when it comes time to living out their everyday lives. Well I'll be honest I thought that they only role I played in the current economy was at the gas pump, but recently I've learned otherwise. If anyone else out there enjoys participating in the same outdoor activities as I, such as hunting and fishing, then the following topic will probably be as interesting to you as it is to me.

While doing some research on those who hunt and fish like myself I soon realized that what I do for fun actually has a huge impact on our economy. Now one of the best comparisons that I found that relates hunting to the economy was done by the Department of Fish and Game. On one of their sites they stated that by comparison, and if hypothetically ranked as a "corporation," hunting would be put in thirty-fifth place on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest businesses, right between J.C. Penney and United Parcel Service. This is based off of the 700,00 jobs it creates and the annual spending by America's 14 million hunters which amounts to $22.1 billion. Now those are some numbers to think about.

Although hunting is one of my favorite past times it also allows me to spend quality time with my dogs. Because without them all of the hog hunting that I participate in wouldn't be possible. Now I do spent alot of money when it comes to hunting equipment for me and my dogs but when I saw the totals of how much money hunters spend on their dogs I was shocked. On another U.S. Fish and Wildlife website I found out that hunters spend $605 million on hunting dogs, which is far more than the $513 million skiers spend on ski equipment. And each year hunters spend more on food for hunting trips than Americans spend on Domino’s Pizza. Now if these numbers don't prove how hunting is more than just an American past time then I must have done something wrong.

Now speaking of doing something wrong there is something that I believe our Nation has started to do, which in the long run could have a negative impact on our society as we know it. What has worried is me is the fact that I don't know how much longer hunting can survive in a civilization that’s losing contact with the natural world. Since I began hunting as a child I always wondered if this activity that I enjoy so much would live long enough for me to share it with kids of my own. And I have soon learned that I am not the only one with this concern. One man who shares the same questions as I is Huey D. Johnson and he runs the Resource Renewal Institute in San Francisco. When I read a recent article on him he stated "I believe that hunting needs to be seen as an advocate of a continuing tradition, important to humanity, if it is to survive for another millennium." To be honest with you I couldn't of said it better myself. I don't know if I am the only one out there who sees hunting and fishing as a way of life but that is exactly what it is to me.

Truthfully where would we be today if it wasn't for hunting and fishing. We definitely wouldn't have survived to live this long if our ancestors didn't know how to live with these trades. So why does it seem that every year whether it be the Government or Law Enforcement, they make it harder and harder for people like me to participate in the activities that I enjoy so much. Whether it be the creation of new laws or the shortage of land it always seems like something is always getting in the way of me and my hunting or fishing.

Now since Zoology is my major I do understand that Biologists have to get the government to pass new laws in order to protect certain species but this isn't (for the most part) where my hunting and fishing is most impacted. I know all laws are created for a reason but what about the benefits that hunting has on the society and it's economy. I believe that since the hunting and fishing industry plays such a huge role in the economy it should be seen as a booming industry, instead it seems to be dwindling.

Hunters are not only purchasing hunting gear, boats and trucks. They also fill their gas tanks and coolers and stay at motels and resorts. They buy hunting clothes and those goofy hunting hats with sayings that are sometimes funny and always a conversation piece. So why are so many laws formed and so much land being developed which only prevents people like myself from investing more money into an economy which is in dire need of a boost? And if hunters are good for the economy then why is our own Nation slowly pushing them out of society as we know it? These are the questions that remain on my mind and if you share the same opinions or have any answers feel free to let me know.