Texas Game and Fish, Volume 6, Number 6, May 1948 Page: 8
18 p. : col. ill.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Business View of
Wildlife Conservation
(This article appeared in the March-
April issue of THE CONSERVATION
VOLUNTEER, official publication,
Minnesota Department of Conserva-
tion.)-
James Ford Bell
be managed in the
people.T is safe to say
that there are def-
in:te limitations to
the application of
business m a n a g e -
ment principles to a
problem as satu-
rated with contro-
ve:sy and public in-
terest as is game
and fish conserva-
tion. On the other
hand, the objectives
are clearly identical.
Thenaturalresources
of game and fish,
like business, must
interests of all theSportsmen tend to fcrget that hunting
and fishing as we know them are not
vested privileges, but rather an endowed
heritage peculiar to America. In the Old
World these pleasures originally were
reserved for the nobility and landed
gentry, and ownership of game centered
in the crown or the individual estate.
In general this policy continues there
today. In America, thanks to the bounty
of resources and guarantees written into
our basic law, game and fish are con-
trolled by the state in its sovereign capac-
ity and managed for all its citizens.
The point to be emphasized is that this
common ownership implies a special obli-
gation as well as a privilege. Too often
Americans shirk their individual responsi-
bility for maintaining cur game and fish
supply. This responsibility is best dis-
charged by providing money adequate to
support efficient management.
To operate a business efficiently, cer-
tain standard procedures must be followed,
among them:
1. Accounting and inventory con-
trol.
2. Establishment of production (or
sales) quotas
3. Capitalization, or procurement
of finances.
4. Agreement on long-term operat-
ing policy.
Admittedly these are only a few of the
many considerations that must enter into
the management of a business. But theyare fundamental. Let us consider, briefly,
their application to the management of a
complex natural resource such as our
game and fish supply.
Accounting and Inventory Control. Be-
fore game and fish can be managed, we
must know what we have. Whatever the
cost of obtaining this information, it must
be secured accurately and at timely in-
tervals. Upon it must be based such
decisions as the dates and volume of har-
vest and the countless other regulations
looking to wise usage. Our accounting
must be standardized on a pattern that
will win the ready acceptance and con-
fidence of all citizens.
Establishment of Production Quotas.
What do we lack, and how much of it?
This can be determined from the inven-
tory. Deficiencies must be underlined and
widely publicized. Action must follow
promptly to build up inventories. This
production should be budgeted so that
management will know what it will have
to work with in the future.
Capitalization or Finances. Whatever
it costs to maintain our resources on a level
to meet all needs comes under this head-
JAMES F. BELL, the author, is an
eminent American business leader,
director of several corporations and
chairman of the committee on fi-
nance and technological progress for
General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
ing. First of all, we must see to it that
hunting and fishing license revenues, upon
which game and fish depend for support
in this state, are not diverted to other
uses. If the present fees are inadequate,
we must dig down into our pockets and
produce enough money to do the job. It
may cost you $25 for an auto license in a
given year, yet two adult residents can
fish twelve months on a fee of $1.50. The
expense of game and fish is the obligation
we must assume for enjoying it. There is
no alternative.
Long-term Operating Policy. This really
combines the first three principles. It is to
our advantage that our long-range policy
of management be written for all to see,
and that it be revised from time to time
according to the dictates of necessity. In
this way we can better "sell" the plan and
the finances needed to carry it. If allthe goals are not attained immediately,
they will be projected in orderly fashion.
There is no broad and smooth highway
to a land teeming with game and fish.
To manage a resource that is annually
tapped by some one million Minnesotans
and visitors is a gigantic task, particularly
when, as is now true, we have less than
one dollar to spend each year in man-
agement for each hunter and fisherman
who stands to benefit!
One important task of our publicity and
information should be to point up the
necessity for dedicating more money to
the task before -us. The needs of educa-
tion, particularly in the adult field, should
not be overlooked. The people must be
kept informed through constant repetition
of the program as it unfolds. But more
important, we must meet the immediate
needs of the problem, and in full. For
years, it appears, we have been "winking"
at several pressing conditions, such as the
control of carp in our southern lakes, the
compensation of farmers for damage by
game or for hunting privileges, and the
encouragement of good upland game man-
agement practices among land owners
where birds can be raised most efficiently
in the field. These are only a few. To
solve any or all of them will cost money.
We must be prepared to pay the price
or stand the consequences of a game and
fish supply facing slow exhaustion before
ever-increasing hunting and fishing pres-
sure.
Our good friend Izaak Walton was en-
dowed with unusual vision. Three hun-
dred years ago he no doubt had in mind
the thousands of self-appointed "experts"
on all things game and fish when he wrote,
"That which is everybody's business is
nobody's business." Game and fish threat-
ens to wither away to "nobody's business"
or to no business at all if we fail to agree
on a production program supported by a
long-range plan with adequate finances.
The sooner this basic thinking is accepted,
the better.
Whether a sportsman is a conservation-
ist depends on his state of mind. If he
decides to be one-and it goes without
saying that every sportsman should be-
he can carry out his desire by obeying
the laws, by encouraging compliance from
others, and by cooperating with his con-
servation department at all times. These
rules constitute a minimum personal con-
servation creed.TEXAS GAME AND FISH
By James Ford Bell
g8
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Texas. Game and Fish Commission. Texas Game and Fish, Volume 6, Number 6, May 1948, periodical, May 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1588336/m1/8/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.