Fair Chase (& ATVs)
“Fair chase” hunting—hunting for food or to manage game populations with certain ethical standards—is very acceptable to most Americans. Fair chase is fundamental to ethical hunting because it addresses a balance between hunters and the prey we pursue, but today this fair chase ethic is under assault, on many fronts.
Although Native Americans had a hunting credo in which fairness was a major consideration, the origin of the term “fair chase” is generally credited to Theodore Roosevelt and the founders of the Boone and Crockett Club (in 1887). The Boone and Crockett Club encouraged sportsmanlike methods of hunting, which by 1893 had developed into a “Credo of Fair Chase.” Any trophy submitted to the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book after 1963 had to be accompanied by an affidavit that the trophy was taken in Fair Chase.
Consequently, the phrase “fair chase” has a very specific meaning in the hunting world. The Boone and Crockett Club defines it as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big-game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.” This means fair-chase hunters pursue their quarry on foot; hone their skills so they make quick, clean kills; and obey not just the law, but local customs as well.
We all know that hunting is becoming tougher on the common guy (and gal), for many reasons—expanding urbanization, shrinking access to hunting grounds, degradation of public lands wildlife habitat, etc. In addition, some outdoor writers and many hunting television shows aren’t doing us any favors by promoting lazy, rich man’s hunts. It only gives fuel to the anti-hunting crowd who see it on TV and think that’s how hunting is—easy, comfortable, expensive, and only about trophies.
“The primary thing is, we’re getting folks looking for immediate gratification,” says Mark Johnson, executive director of the 19,000-member Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA). “They think a deer hunt should be like they see on TV in Georgia, over a bait pile. They’re not focusing on what the hunt is about. It’s the chase and the outdoor experience.”
For the majority of hunters, though, it is (and hopefully always will be) about the chase and outdoors experience, and we are routinely out there on public lands hunting on our own two feet, happily busting our butts in pursuit of free-ranging wild game. It’s a challenging and always rewarding fair chase whether or not you bag that elusive big buck or elk, but technology is rapidly changing this fair chase equation, for the worse.
Having lived in Colorado for over a decade now, I also serve as chairman of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA), and we understand (like most sportsmen and women) that healthy wildlife habitat, rivers and streams are the foundation supporting the American pastimes of hunting and fishing. We believe there is a place for off-highway vehicle routes on public lands, but that greater controls and better enforcement are necessary in the face of growing human population and ever-more-powerful machines.
In order to protect and perpetuate the hunting and fishing traditions we treasure, we want to protect large areas of public land completely separate from the noise, disturbance, and pollution that comes with off-highway vehicles. Extensive research over decades has established beyond dispute that ATVs impact a wide variety of wildlife and displace game animals. In addition, the use of motor vehicles shatters the quiet sense of solitude that traditional sportsmen and women seek.
The irony is that ATV users spoil hunting opportunity for themselves as well as for any quiet user within a mile or more of their noise, and we all hear the often-used excuses: “ATVs allow the old and physically limited to hunt or access our public lands.” We’re all for responsible access, but there are 14.5 million acres of Forest Service land in Colorado, and most are open for mixed use, including off-road vehicle recreation and energy exploration.
As a result, today only 8 percent of the national forest acreage in Colorado lies beyond one mile of a road (only 4 percent for BLM lands), and there are enough Forest Service roads in the state to go from the Kansas border to Utah and back, 17 times. Besides, any game warden will tell you that 9 out of 10 folks on ATVs are young men in their 30s, healthy and fully capable of walking. They make a conscious choice to use ATVs—cutting corners and doing things the easy way.
Studies show that on most public lands approximately 90 percent of users are non-motorized. Meanwhile supply or opportunity, in terms of lands available, in Minnesota for example, is close to three times greater for motorized than for non-motorized. Regulating ATV use on public land has also become a dominant issue for most state wildlife agencies. As ATV registrations have increased, there’s unrelenting conflict between four-wheeler fans and traditional hunters, hikers, canoeists, and others who prefer quiet in the woods.
Sadly, every time people hunt from their ATVs and use high tech goodies that violate fair chase, they give animal rights activists and the non-hunting public even more ammo to further restrict hunting. “It definitely seems as if a battle for the soul of hunting in America is now taking place,” says BHA member David Cronenwett, “and the conflict does appear to revolve, in many ways, around technology, particularly motorized technology.”
As told by MDHA executive director Mark Johnson, his “Uncle Harvey recruited a “youngster” from church to accompany him on opening weekend at the deer shack. The youngster got a doe and dragged it about a quarter mile out of the woods alone. Did I mention,” Mark explains, “that the youngster was ‘Herb.’ He is 75 years old.” American Hunter magazine contributor Sven Wigert adds, “If you are unable to figure out how to get an elk [or deer] out of the woods without putting it on a vehicle, then you have no business hunting for one.”
According to St. Paul Pioneer Press outdoors columnist Chris Niskanen, “The fact is, many Minnesotans are fed up with the drone of machines in our woods…It seems a certain part of the population appears content to sit on their butts and watch the outdoors speed by them…Where lies the next challenge? Buying a bigger gas tank so they can ride farther? … The greatest threat to hunting isn’t the animal-rights community, but hunters themselves who embrace comfort and convenience over a good pair of hiking boots.”
While I certainly sympathize with aging hunters who aren’t as spry as they once were, and those who are experiencing various health-related problems which might cause them to gravitate towards the use of ATVs for hunting, is that a good enough reason to warrant the collective damage you’re inflicting on the resource? When the day inevitably arrives that I can no longer hunt on foot, I’ll hang up my rifle. I will gladly sit on the sidelines and watch others experience the hunt as I did rather than selfishly contribute to ruining it for them and future generations.
Although Native Americans had a hunting credo in which fairness was a major consideration, the origin of the term “fair chase” is generally credited to Theodore Roosevelt and the founders of the Boone and Crockett Club (in 1887). The Boone and Crockett Club encouraged sportsmanlike methods of hunting, which by 1893 had developed into a “Credo of Fair Chase.” Any trophy submitted to the Boone and Crockett Club’s record book after 1963 had to be accompanied by an affidavit that the trophy was taken in Fair Chase.
Consequently, the phrase “fair chase” has a very specific meaning in the hunting world. The Boone and Crockett Club defines it as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big-game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.” This means fair-chase hunters pursue their quarry on foot; hone their skills so they make quick, clean kills; and obey not just the law, but local customs as well.
We all know that hunting is becoming tougher on the common guy (and gal), for many reasons—expanding urbanization, shrinking access to hunting grounds, degradation of public lands wildlife habitat, etc. In addition, some outdoor writers and many hunting television shows aren’t doing us any favors by promoting lazy, rich man’s hunts. It only gives fuel to the anti-hunting crowd who see it on TV and think that’s how hunting is—easy, comfortable, expensive, and only about trophies.
“The primary thing is, we’re getting folks looking for immediate gratification,” says Mark Johnson, executive director of the 19,000-member Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA). “They think a deer hunt should be like they see on TV in Georgia, over a bait pile. They’re not focusing on what the hunt is about. It’s the chase and the outdoor experience.”
For the majority of hunters, though, it is (and hopefully always will be) about the chase and outdoors experience, and we are routinely out there on public lands hunting on our own two feet, happily busting our butts in pursuit of free-ranging wild game. It’s a challenging and always rewarding fair chase whether or not you bag that elusive big buck or elk, but technology is rapidly changing this fair chase equation, for the worse.
ATVs & Fair Chase
Being a northern Minnesota native and life member of MDHA, I know that they support the use of ATVs as a tool that can enhance the individual hunter’s ability to access deer hunting areas and ease the transport of people and goods to those areas. MDHA also believes that all ATV use for hunting must be done in a way that supports the concept of “fair chase.” This concept states “that if we are to pursue animals fairly, the ethical choice is clear, we must pursue them on foot.”Having lived in Colorado for over a decade now, I also serve as chairman of the Colorado Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA), and we understand (like most sportsmen and women) that healthy wildlife habitat, rivers and streams are the foundation supporting the American pastimes of hunting and fishing. We believe there is a place for off-highway vehicle routes on public lands, but that greater controls and better enforcement are necessary in the face of growing human population and ever-more-powerful machines.
In order to protect and perpetuate the hunting and fishing traditions we treasure, we want to protect large areas of public land completely separate from the noise, disturbance, and pollution that comes with off-highway vehicles. Extensive research over decades has established beyond dispute that ATVs impact a wide variety of wildlife and displace game animals. In addition, the use of motor vehicles shatters the quiet sense of solitude that traditional sportsmen and women seek.
The irony is that ATV users spoil hunting opportunity for themselves as well as for any quiet user within a mile or more of their noise, and we all hear the often-used excuses: “ATVs allow the old and physically limited to hunt or access our public lands.” We’re all for responsible access, but there are 14.5 million acres of Forest Service land in Colorado, and most are open for mixed use, including off-road vehicle recreation and energy exploration.
As a result, today only 8 percent of the national forest acreage in Colorado lies beyond one mile of a road (only 4 percent for BLM lands), and there are enough Forest Service roads in the state to go from the Kansas border to Utah and back, 17 times. Besides, any game warden will tell you that 9 out of 10 folks on ATVs are young men in their 30s, healthy and fully capable of walking. They make a conscious choice to use ATVs—cutting corners and doing things the easy way.
Studies show that on most public lands approximately 90 percent of users are non-motorized. Meanwhile supply or opportunity, in terms of lands available, in Minnesota for example, is close to three times greater for motorized than for non-motorized. Regulating ATV use on public land has also become a dominant issue for most state wildlife agencies. As ATV registrations have increased, there’s unrelenting conflict between four-wheeler fans and traditional hunters, hikers, canoeists, and others who prefer quiet in the woods.
Sadly, every time people hunt from their ATVs and use high tech goodies that violate fair chase, they give animal rights activists and the non-hunting public even more ammo to further restrict hunting. “It definitely seems as if a battle for the soul of hunting in America is now taking place,” says BHA member David Cronenwett, “and the conflict does appear to revolve, in many ways, around technology, particularly motorized technology.”
The Soul of Hunting
The term ‘heritage’ tells us hunting is more than simply a particular form of outdoor recreation. You don’t hear people, even the most avid participants, talking about our skiing heritage, boating heritage, bird watching heritage, ATV riding heritage, or any other ‘heritage’ related to outdoor recreation. In truth and in fact, the reason hunting heritage is separated from all other outdoor endeavors is that hunting requires and imposes ethical standards on its participants, but the increasing use of ATVs in hunting is making a mockery of such ethics.As told by MDHA executive director Mark Johnson, his “Uncle Harvey recruited a “youngster” from church to accompany him on opening weekend at the deer shack. The youngster got a doe and dragged it about a quarter mile out of the woods alone. Did I mention,” Mark explains, “that the youngster was ‘Herb.’ He is 75 years old.” American Hunter magazine contributor Sven Wigert adds, “If you are unable to figure out how to get an elk [or deer] out of the woods without putting it on a vehicle, then you have no business hunting for one.”
According to St. Paul Pioneer Press outdoors columnist Chris Niskanen, “The fact is, many Minnesotans are fed up with the drone of machines in our woods…It seems a certain part of the population appears content to sit on their butts and watch the outdoors speed by them…Where lies the next challenge? Buying a bigger gas tank so they can ride farther? … The greatest threat to hunting isn’t the animal-rights community, but hunters themselves who embrace comfort and convenience over a good pair of hiking boots.”
While I certainly sympathize with aging hunters who aren’t as spry as they once were, and those who are experiencing various health-related problems which might cause them to gravitate towards the use of ATVs for hunting, is that a good enough reason to warrant the collective damage you’re inflicting on the resource? When the day inevitably arrives that I can no longer hunt on foot, I’ll hang up my rifle. I will gladly sit on the sidelines and watch others experience the hunt as I did rather than selfishly contribute to ruining it for them and future generations.
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