Population Growth and Hunting in Rocky Mountain States

I think the answer, at least in part, lies in the “non-consumptive” users embracing the funding models that hunters and anglers have developed over the past century which will in-turn lead to more opportunities for all. I think we in-turn need to let go of our fears in giving these users “too much say” and embrace the diverse and no doubt effective mechanisms, both financial and non-financial, that will be brought to the table and be of benefit to all wildlife. It might be paradoxical for some to think that immensely positive effects could come to hunting and fishing from a group such as birders, whom by the way outnumber hunters in this country 4:1, but I think that this is absolutely the case and we must increase collaboration with them and find common ground as the stressors on our wildlife and environment, in general, are only going to increase.
 
Probably won't make anyone feel better, but it could be worse??

Last year I took my first trip to India....where the population has grown by about 400 million people in the last 20 years, in a country about 1/3 the size of the USA. For reference the US currently has about 327 million people in total.

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It was shocking to the senses to see, hear, smell what happens when humans overrun the infrastructure and landscape. There was essentially nothing left natural (or anything less than grossly polluted land, air, or water) and I can't say I came away feeling good about the impact the human race can have on Earth when seen in extremes like that. Truthfully I dont have the words to accurately describe it.

Things aren't getting wilder in the US but thankfully earlier generations and portions of our current population appreciate the value of conserving and/or preserving our open spaces.
 
To the point of unbridled world population growth, there is one constant to life on this planet; every living organism is subject to the maximum carrying capacity of the habitat they need. Humans, contrary to popular belief, are not exempt from that rule and at some future date, long after we are converted to compost, the reckoning will come.
 
Saudi Arabia provided citizenship to an AI robot... Humans are parasites according to...

www.telegraph.co.uk

David Attenborough - Humans are plague on Earth

Humans are a plague on the Earth that need to be controlled by limiting population growth, according to Sir David Attenborough.
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

Yeehaa! Enjoy the wild west while it remains... wild. :)
 
Big Fin said:
To the point of unbridled world population growth, there is one constant to life on this planet; every living organism is subject to the maximum carrying capacity of the habitat they need. Humans, contrary to popular belief, are not exempt from that rule and at some future date, long after we are converted to compost, the reckoning will come.
Click to expand...

Indeed. I was just reading an article on heat waves in India, and how portions of the country are quickly becoming uninhabitable as a result.
 
Interesting thread. Thought I'd run some numbers and post some data (2009-2018) for more food for thought... Some of the data is surprising, particularly CO, WY, AZ and UT.
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I think about population growth and the loss of wild country often. This earth is getting old and God is not pleased on how we have dealt with fellow mankind or his earth/creatures. I’m ready for a new earth and heaven. Whether man destroys the earth through warfare/environmental effects or God destroys the earth a second time, this earth is toast. Everyday I keep looking up. It’s pretty hard to deny the flood account and geological record left behind. I’m not saying we let the earth go to hell and mine, drill, build it death either. But there is a timeline for everything under the sun.
Concerning population growth in the Rocky Mtn region, especially Montana, I would bet 95% of the incoming residents are located in the Flathead/Bitteroot valleys, Bozeman/Livingston areas, and Billings area. The rest of the state doesn’t appear much different than when I first visited it in 1995. I think Colorado has seen growth across the state, drastically along the I25/I70 corridors. My home state of Oklahoma has seen tremendous growth also, so I think multiple areas across the nation have experienced rapid growth, and other areas are losing or experiencing population migrations.
 
Population growth is not the issue. The earth can easily support twice as many people as it does now. We can eat algae. U.S. population goes up but this is cities and immigrants. In the next 10-15 years boomers will age out and hunting will cease to exist as we know it. It's a dying culture. Keep the roads and ATVs out of wild areas. Non consumptive users are over running everything. While much harder, decommission roads, close ATV and snow machine access, and designate new wilderness. This is the best hope for the hunters a generation from now to have quality hunting without having to buy their way in.
 
I know this is little consolation for those of you being overrun in mountain foothills of the West, but U.S. population is overwhelmingly moving from rural areas to cities. 90% of the great plains and huge chunks of the Midwest are quite vacant now whereas they were populated 70 years ago. There's plenty of places to live and have quiet solitude and natural beauty - just not the mountains anymore with a mcmansion every 1/4 mile or soon to be. The grief is real. I'm no stranger - I was born on the front range and have witnessed the area change radically. Will still continue to enjoy what's left of it and try to be a part of the solution in not seeing every last bit developed away.
 
How does keeping one's mouth shut curb population growth of Rocky mountain States and/or improve hunting quality in those states?
 
Great post Big Fin! Yes, I've seen it as well. In fact my great uncle just recently sold some farm ground that I have hunted on since I was a kid. It is now being staked out to be developed. Kind of breaks my heart. I killed many of rooster pheasants growing up on those acres and it will hurt to know that that is now over for good, and I live in an area in Utah that is not growing at the rapid rate other areas are. Salt Lake City and surrounding areas have boomed in the last 20 years, some of it for the better some of it for the worse. I've actually enjoyed Utah's population growing and diversifying in some ways but it certainly has some drawbacks. I know many of the places that I will watch turn into homes over the next 20 years, and it will be sad to see. I often ponder the stresses we will be putting on the landscapes we call hope and the wildlife we love as time marches on. Wildlife and the responsibility we have to keep them around is not going to be a small challenge, it's going to be a significant one along with keeping our hunting tradition alive. Thanks for a great post! I think we all sit back and think about this from time to time with the amount of growth we see happening around us. It has certainly changed even during my lifetime a lot.
 
ElkFever2 said:
I know this is little consolation for those of you being overrun in mountain foothills of the West, but U.S. population is overwhelmingly moving from rural areas to cities. 90% of the great plains and huge chunks of the Midwest are quite vacant now whereas they were populated 70 years ago. There's plenty of places to live and have quiet solitude and natural beauty - just not the mountains anymore with a mcmansion every 1/4 mile or soon to be. The grief is real. I'm no stranger - I was born on the front range and have witnessed the area change radically. Will still continue to enjoy what's left of it and try to be a part of the solution in not seeing every last bit developed away.
Click to expand...
This is very true, I know very few youth who want to stay in rural areas anymore. Even most the areas that are rural are still growing where I'm at but most young people don't want to live in rural America anymore. There are some, but very few. Sometimes that makes me sad, and sometimes I just think about how things just change and there's nothing really wrong with it, but it certainly creates a separation from people and certain aspects of life.
 
It is. If it were not for BigFin I likely never would have hunted public land in Rocky Mountain States. It was literally him on film doing the hunt and saying hey this is me doing this and it can be done by you to so come out and do it. And after I heard that from him about 50 times over the spell was broken and I realized it was truth, so here I am yet another nonresident coming out to enjoy this amazing resource
 
I guess it’s a double edged sword. I wonder how many new hunters Fresh Tracks, and MeatEater have added in the last 10 years? I’m one of them and I’m not sorry. I bring with me the same conservationist views and love for the outdoors many of y’all have.
 
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