New report details how National Monuments support access, opportunity and economy of hunting and fishing.
In a new report, National Monuments: A Hunting and Fishing Perspective, 25 groups and businesses – championed by Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership – evaluated hunting and fishing opportunity, as well as the economic impact, of four national monuments. They include Colorado’s Browns Canyon, New Mexico’s Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande-del Norte, and Montana’s Upper Missouri Breaks.
Sharing stories from sportsmen, sportswomen and business owners with deep connections to these public lands, the report concludes that national monuments can be a net gain for hunters, anglers and local communities by providing world-class sporting opportunities and creating jobs.
The report offers eight principles to generate meaningful support from hunters, anglers and sporting businesses for the creation and management of national monuments on public lands. These principles include creating monuments that safeguard fish and wildlife habitat, maintain reasonable public access for hunting, fishing and wildlife management, and provide assurance that authority over fish and wildlife populations will be retained by state management agencies.
“The Arkansas River through Browns Canyon National Monument once suffered from acid mine runoff. Since designated a monument in 2015, the entire river corridor is now protected,” said Steve Kandell, national campaign director for Trout Unlimited. “This stretch of the Arkansas River is Gold Medal trout water with wild browns and rainbows. The Antiquities Act of 1906 was the right tool for conserving this canyon while supporting a thriving outdoor industry.”