Hunting, fishing and trapping have an undeniable relationship with conservation. Consider the Pittman-Robertson Act. This imposes an 11% tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, where proceeds are distributed to states for wildlife management projects. Any remaining funds go to the Migratory Bird Conservation Act – one example of countless conservation programs fueled by sportsmen and women.

L.D. 271 is pivotal to Maine, highlighted by the only accurate point in Michael Burrows’ letter of March 30 about how the hunting industry is in “terminal decline.” License sales fall every year. Less money is funneled into states through Pittman-Robertson. That’s less land to hike, bike, camp and enjoy activities that don’t pull funding for conservation through equipment sales.

This is not partisan; it is to educate those willing to gain a comprehensive understanding of the deliberate relationship between hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation. Education is clearly needed.

The connection with nature through hunting is personal, paradoxical – perhaps indefinable. How can someone who kills animals love them? My respect for the deer that feeds my family results from time spent learning the woods. It is brought on through hours of not seeing a deer. It is felt monumentally as I finally draw my bow for a lethal shot. It is strengthened as I butcher my deer. I preserve this love by sharing the process with my wife and children and those willing to understand why this is sacred.

You will never meet someone with a more personal relationship to conservation than a hunter, fisher or trapper.

Zach Wetherell
Cumberland

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