Hunting Season may be over but Legislative season is just starting!

By: Cody Fongemie

The first season of the year is the legislative season. 

Now, we’re about to head into one of the most important seasons of the year. You’re probably thinking, “What do you mean all the major seasons have come to a close?”.  Regarding hunting, yes, that’s true, but we are heading into legislative season across all our nation’s state capitals. This season, many regulatory changes that have a huge effect, for better or worse, get passed into law.

Why you should be paying attention.

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the bedrock of all hunting and fishing traditions in the United States. A critical part of this concept is that we, the people, own the land and the resources, which are managed scientific methods through the state wildlife agencies. Legislation changes should be supported by scientific data from these and other federal agencies.

The best-case scenario:

A state legislator sitting on the State Committee that oversees fishing and game notices that the population of Turkey has been decreasing. A member then uses that scientific data from the state agency to propose a bill that would help try to recover the population through various tools and tactics.  

Last year in Colorado bill on the other end of the spectrum was introduced. Prop 127 which has been reported on extensively here: https://muledeer.org/uncategorized/vote-no-on-colorado-prop-127-and-let-scientists-dictate-colorado-wildlife-policy/

Prop 127 turned into a major victory for hunters and anglers across the U.S. but it could have very easily turned ugly. Still, legislators in every state will at some point propose changes to hunting regulations that have no scientific nature and do not fit within the North American model.

The duality of the legislative. season is expressed in these two examples.

Staying in the loop on these things can vary from state to state.  Every State Legislative branch website will have a link that shows all the bills submitted and where they are in their State-specific legislative process.  Some states offer you the ability to set alerts for bills introduced in certain committees, such as the Fishing Game Committee, and they’ll email you when a new bill is introduced.

These bills have a lot of fluff in them and are written using legal terminology that can be difficult to interpret. This is where state and federal conservation organizations can be beneficial because they’ll often put action updates or alerts about pending legislation and give you what you need to know about that bill.  You can set alerts up on your social media or sign up for emails that will let you know when they post about something going on. Much like we do here at the Mule Deer and Blacktail Deer Foundations when there’s a piece of legislation that could impact our work.

Getting Involved. 

You may wonder how to get involved once you receive these alerts or hear about bills submitted. First, you can work or volunteer in any of these numerous conservation organizations that often advocate or denounce a bill.  You can write letters and call your representatives to get your voice out there. You can even testify in the open hearings for these pieces of legislation.  All those hearing dates will be posted on the State website so you will know when to go and speak your piece. This can have a considerable impact. Attending these meetings or sending a letter or a phone call can help humanize an issue and help legislators make the decisions their constituents genuinely want.  Or if you’re feeling crazy passionate about these issues, you could always run for local office and try to play an active role in that legislative body.

We’ve got to focus this season.

The legislative season is critically important because the things that happen over the next few months will define what happens for this season and future seasons and how it will directly impact our combined hunting traditions.  We’ve seen instances like what just recently happened in Colorado, where a piece of legislation that could be incredibly damaging in the long term to hunting was stopped.  It was stopped because people could identify the bill as a threat early in the season and rally resources to campaign actively against that.

Those resources are folks like you and me who send letters, donate money, and call our vocal representatives to ensure things like this don’t happen.  We put a ton of time into our hunts. It’s important that we also to take a few hours to make a phone call and stay educated about what’s happening in our states.

Good Luck

Good luck this winter and remember to send any success pictures or stories from the field to [email protected]. You could be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article or any of our articles have helped you become a better hunter or conservation steward, become a member of the Mule Deer Foundation or Blacktail Deer Foundation for only $35 dollars a year. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/

Cody Fongemie @Fongeinthefield

Born and raised in New England, Cody developed a deep appreciation for American history and adventure from a young age. His love for the outdoors led him to become both an avid outdoorsman and a dedicated writer on related topics. After studying in South Carolina, he enlisted in the Air Force, where he is currently serving. Outside of his military duties, Cody enjoys hunting, fly fishing, and sharing his experiences through his writing. He also works to connect the military community with the outdoors through non-profit initiatives.