Post by Jodi on Apr 18, 2005 10:34:26 GMT -5
www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3135399
April 15, 2005, 1:35AM
Helping to boost hunting activity is an NRA priority
By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
ABOUT THE EVENT
• What — The 4 million-member National Rifle Association's annual meetings and exhibits.
• When/where: Friday-Sunday at the George R. Brown Convention Center; 1001 Avenida de las Americas in downtown Houston.
• Entry information — The event is free to NRA members and those younger than 12. A $10 entry fee will be charged to non-members.
• Hours — The convention center will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
• Worth noting: As many as 60,000 people are expected to visit or participate in the event.
• More information — Available on the NRA's annual meeting Web site, www.nraam.org.
Kayne Robinson worries that hunters in the United States could during the next few decades become somewhat the human equivalent of an endangered species.
Instead of stemming the decrease, Robinson contends, state and federal governmental agencies are exacerbating it.
"They may not be doing it consciously in some instances," he says, "but the effects are the same."
Hunters matter to Robinson and the National Rifle Association, the organization he has led as president for the past two years.
"Hunters are a major part of this group," Robinson said this week, as he prepared for the annual convention that begins today in Houston.
"We want to serve hunters, protect their rights. Hunters fall under the umbrella we have as a civil rights organization. ... We have enough credibility to make progress in this area."
Currently, about half of the NRA's 4 million members are recreational hunters. They are part of a hunting community the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates to number about 13 million.
But that number has been slowly declining nationally, from 17 million to 20 million hunters in the 1970s and '80s. (The numbers have remained fairly stable in Texas.)
Robinson said the NRA is focusing the group's considerable political strength at addressing some of the issues it believes erode hunter numbers.
But the NRA's actions and pronouncements — such as its adamant rejection of gun control measures and support for assault weapons that critics say have no sporting purpose — have alienated some who see the stands as misguided, unnecessarily confrontational and, ultimately, counterproductive to hunting interests. Mike Hayden, former Republican governor of Kansas and current head of that state's Department of Wildlife and Parks, is among those who have publicly quit the NRA because of some of its stances, saying they hurt the image of hunters.
Urbanization and the resulting disconnect from traditional rural activities contribute to the decline. "But there's not a lot anyone can do about that," Robinson said. "The only thing we can do is make it easier for people to go hunting."
Robinson cited lack of access to hunting lands and what he deems complex, unnecessary regulations and laws as the most erosive factors.
"Wealthy people will always have a place to hunt; they aren't the ones we're losing," Robinson, a 62-year-old Iowan, said. "It's the guy who works down at the Texaco and the single mom who wants to get her children exposed to hunting that we're losing."
Though some state and federal agencies do a decent job of making hunting areas accessible, he said, other government agencies are effectively stopping hunting.
Robinson complained that large chunks of government-owned land, particularly in the West, have been effectively closed to hunting because access by vehicle is prohibited.
"If you don't have a week and are willing to walk nine miles into an area, you can't hunt it," Robinson said.
Some hunters and conservation groups oppose opening of these large western tracts.
Regulations, "70- or 80-page booklets so complex you need to have a lawyer with you when you go hunting," are a major impediment to hunting, Robinson said.
He also questioned the hunter education requirements every state now requires. Since they have become mandatory, the number of hunter accidents and deaths involving firearms have plummeted.
Robinson said the courses, which usually are taught by volunteer instructors and cost less than $20, were a good idea when they were created, but have become "bloated" with nonessential work. The NRA wants the courses shortened and concentrated solely on firearms safety.
shannon.tompkins@chron.com
April 15, 2005, 1:35AM
Helping to boost hunting activity is an NRA priority
By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
ABOUT THE EVENT
• What — The 4 million-member National Rifle Association's annual meetings and exhibits.
• When/where: Friday-Sunday at the George R. Brown Convention Center; 1001 Avenida de las Americas in downtown Houston.
• Entry information — The event is free to NRA members and those younger than 12. A $10 entry fee will be charged to non-members.
• Hours — The convention center will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
• Worth noting: As many as 60,000 people are expected to visit or participate in the event.
• More information — Available on the NRA's annual meeting Web site, www.nraam.org.
Kayne Robinson worries that hunters in the United States could during the next few decades become somewhat the human equivalent of an endangered species.
Instead of stemming the decrease, Robinson contends, state and federal governmental agencies are exacerbating it.
"They may not be doing it consciously in some instances," he says, "but the effects are the same."
Hunters matter to Robinson and the National Rifle Association, the organization he has led as president for the past two years.
"Hunters are a major part of this group," Robinson said this week, as he prepared for the annual convention that begins today in Houston.
"We want to serve hunters, protect their rights. Hunters fall under the umbrella we have as a civil rights organization. ... We have enough credibility to make progress in this area."
Currently, about half of the NRA's 4 million members are recreational hunters. They are part of a hunting community the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates to number about 13 million.
But that number has been slowly declining nationally, from 17 million to 20 million hunters in the 1970s and '80s. (The numbers have remained fairly stable in Texas.)
Robinson said the NRA is focusing the group's considerable political strength at addressing some of the issues it believes erode hunter numbers.
But the NRA's actions and pronouncements — such as its adamant rejection of gun control measures and support for assault weapons that critics say have no sporting purpose — have alienated some who see the stands as misguided, unnecessarily confrontational and, ultimately, counterproductive to hunting interests. Mike Hayden, former Republican governor of Kansas and current head of that state's Department of Wildlife and Parks, is among those who have publicly quit the NRA because of some of its stances, saying they hurt the image of hunters.
Urbanization and the resulting disconnect from traditional rural activities contribute to the decline. "But there's not a lot anyone can do about that," Robinson said. "The only thing we can do is make it easier for people to go hunting."
Robinson cited lack of access to hunting lands and what he deems complex, unnecessary regulations and laws as the most erosive factors.
"Wealthy people will always have a place to hunt; they aren't the ones we're losing," Robinson, a 62-year-old Iowan, said. "It's the guy who works down at the Texaco and the single mom who wants to get her children exposed to hunting that we're losing."
Though some state and federal agencies do a decent job of making hunting areas accessible, he said, other government agencies are effectively stopping hunting.
Robinson complained that large chunks of government-owned land, particularly in the West, have been effectively closed to hunting because access by vehicle is prohibited.
"If you don't have a week and are willing to walk nine miles into an area, you can't hunt it," Robinson said.
Some hunters and conservation groups oppose opening of these large western tracts.
Regulations, "70- or 80-page booklets so complex you need to have a lawyer with you when you go hunting," are a major impediment to hunting, Robinson said.
He also questioned the hunter education requirements every state now requires. Since they have become mandatory, the number of hunter accidents and deaths involving firearms have plummeted.
Robinson said the courses, which usually are taught by volunteer instructors and cost less than $20, were a good idea when they were created, but have become "bloated" with nonessential work. The NRA wants the courses shortened and concentrated solely on firearms safety.
shannon.tompkins@chron.com