A Historic Record of Success

Transcription

1 125 t h Anniversary Edition A Historic Record of Success A Strategic Framework for the Future STRATEGIC PLAN Boone and Crockett Club Fair Chase and Conservation Since 1887

2 The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. - William Faulkner Ac k now le d geme n t s: This Strategic Plan was developed by the regular members, professional members and staff of the Boone and Crockett Club. Significant input was provided by federal and state conservation agencies, industry, other conservation organizations and outfitters throughout North America. Special thanks to Sandy Poston for coordinating meetings associated with development of this plan, Alyene Boyles for editing, and to Julie Houk and Karlie Slayer for their assistance with layout and design. Plan Modification. On an annual basis, the Strategic Planning Committee shall review the Strategic Plan and report to the Board of Directors and include any recommendations for modification of the strategies and performance measures to ensure the implementation of the Club s Mission and Strategic Goals. Fiscal and Strategic Constraints. As part of the Club s fiscal management strategy, it will use the following screening criteria to test the feasibility and desirability of expenditures associated with implementing the Strategic Plan: Can it be reasonably achieved cost-effectively? Are there sufficient labor and funds to be successful? Are there other organizations or entities more capable and willing to take on the task? Photos: Unless noted, all photos taken by the regular members, professional members and staff of the Boone and Crockett Club.

3 Executive Summary The early leaders of the Boone and Crockett Club saw a crisis in humanity s impact on wildlife and their habitat. They developed a strategy that not only reversed the problems of their times, but formed the foundation and framework for conservation in America. These achievements gave America s oldest conservation organization its credibility as an effective and influential organization. Almost 125 years later, challenges still exist, and while some are different, they continue to revolve around an expanding human population and managing land and wildlife. If the Club is to continue as an effective and influential organization, we must continue to not only evaluate, adjust and fine tune our program of work, but adapt it to the political, economic, social, technological and environmental changes facing North America. The Club proposes to address these challenges by developing a strategy that enjoys broad support from the Club s members, sponsors, donors, other conservation organizations, government agencies and other stakeholders throughout North America. With this 125th Edition of the Strategic Plan, A Historic Record of Success A Strategic Framework for the Future, the Boone and Crockett Club is celebrating how far we have come while challenging ourselves to not only protect our investment in hunting and conservation, but advance it for future generations. This Strategic Plan will help the Club chart its future course, not only for the next 5 years, but lay the groundwork for the Club for the rest of this century, taking into consideration these changes, as well as the momentum the Club has gained since it was formed in This Strategic Plan proposes that the Club simplify its mission and visions and set four major strategic goals, which are: Improve the system of conservation throughout North America; Create a communications climate where conservation and hunting can thrive; Maintain and strengthen the Club s world-class records system; and Increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Each of these strategic goals has a series of objectives, strategies and performance measures to help guide the Club. In 2012 the Club will develop an Implementation Plan that will clarify these objectives, set specific tasks and deadlines and chart progress in reaching goals and milestones. Hunting and conservation are at a crossroads in North America. The challenges to them are great, but the historic achievements and the financial, political, communication and scientific assets of the Club s members places the Club in a unique position, unlike ANY other conservation organization, to successfully address them.

4 RE The First 125 Years The Boone and Crockett Club was founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt. The name was intended to honor Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, who were famous hunters of their time, known for their hunting skills, exploration and later a concern for the wilderness they opened for western expansion. Key members of the Club have included Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, Madison Grant, Charles Sheldon, Gifford Pinchot, Frederick Burnham, Charles Deering, John Lacey, Ding Darling and Aldo Leopold. The Club, through Roosevelt and these early leaders of the American conservation movement, saw a crisis in humanity s impact on wildlife and their habitat and called people to action to change America s direction. They initially focused on protecting wild places and impeding the killing of fish and wildlife for markets. The result of the Club s efforts to establish a foundation and framework for conservation in America includes what has lately become known as the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation. The Club s early efforts were aimed at the development and passage of the Timberland Reserve Act, which reserved approximately 36 million acres for national forests. The Club worked to develop the Yellowstone Park Protection Act, which expanded the size of the Park, established laws for its protection, and became the model piece of legislation for all future national parks. The Club played a major role in establishing many other areas for use by the public, including: Glacier National Park, Mount McKinley National Park, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, National Key Deer Refuge, Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge and Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge, to name a few. The Club played a major role in impeding the massive killing of wild animals for meat, hide and plume markets, which resulted in the Club developing and working for passage of the Lacey Act and other modern day game laws. Other significant pieces of legislation the Club was involved in included the Reclamation Act, National Wildlife Refuge System Act, Migratory Bird Conservation Act, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, Healthy Forests Restoration Act and what is commonly called the Farm Bill. The Club and its members were also active in establishing other conservation organizations such as the New York Zoological Society, Camp Fire Club of America, National Audubon Society, American Wildlife Institute, Save the Redwoods League, Ducks Unlimited, North American Wildlife Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, and more recently, the highly-effective American Wildlife Conservation Partners. In 1906, the Club established the National Collection of Heads and Horns as a repository for the vanishing big game of the world and to enlist public support for their protection. In 1932, the Club published the first Records of North American Big Game. It has consistently published records books and has held big game trophy awards programs since the 1940s. The highly-popular Boone and Crockett scoring system was adopted in 1950 and is still the most popular scoring system in the world and one of the few based on science and fair-chase principles. FOREST SERVICE U S DE P U A R TMENT OF AGRICU L T

5 The Club has long advocated for the need for science to be the backbone of professional wildlife research and management, including the establishment of Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units at the nation s land grant universities. Historically, the Club has been involved in education through the publication of its many books, starting with American Big Game Hunting (1893). Others include Hunting and Conservation (1925), American Game Mammals and Birds (1930), Crusade for Wildlife (1961), An American Crusade for Wildlife (1975), The Black Bear in Modern North America (1979) and many others. Beginning in the 1990s, the Club began focusing on private lands and conceptualized and worked for passage of several programs to protect, restore and enhance wildlife habitat on those lands, as well as help shape a private lands ethic. These include the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (1996), the Grassland Reserve Program (2002), the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (2003), the Emergency Forests Restoration Program (2007) and the Endangered Species Recovery Crediting (2008). The Club has established a legacy of historic achievements in shaping the conservation policies of the United States and its role in big game records keeping throughout North America. The legacy of the Club was built upon the following cornerstones of the conservation movement: creation and establishment of the National Forest System, National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System and federal agencies to oversee those systems; the establishment of modern day game laws; and promoting ethical hunting of wildlife. In the past 20 years, the Club has also worked to create a system for the conservation for private lands. During this same time, the Club has operated as an internal and external organization to advance its mission. It has continued its role as a catalyst and facilitator for change and has added a new role as a deliverer of programs. With today s political, economic, social, technological and environmental changes, this historic and impressive system of hunting and conservation will not sustain itself without addressing the many challenges it faces. The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the work of progress so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us hope. - Robert E. Lee

6 Challenges The challenges of conservation, as well as Of the Club, are many. key challenges are as follows: Make no small plans...for they have not the power to stir men s blood. - Niccolo Machiavelli Challenge #1: Human Population. There will be more people, perhaps as many as 40 million in Canada, 438 million in the United States and 153 million in Mexico, by This growing population will place great, additional pressures on the natural resources of the continent, including a significant encroachment on habitat through urbanization. There will be more ethnic and cultural diversity in North America, including people from places with no experience with the major features of American conservation. We must adapt the framework of conservation to meet these changing demographics. Challenge #2: Fragmented conservation community. The conservation community is fragmented and if the Club is to impact change, it must convene coalitions of like minded organizations to affect such change. Challenge #3: Reposition hunting. Fair-chase hunters were the primary leaders that put the American conservation movement in motion, a fact that remains largely unknown by its citizens. Thankfully, 73 percent of the citizens that don t hunt approve of hunting while 10 percent believe hunting should be illegal. We should aim to restore public support for the hunting tradition and its ethics about humanity s relationship to wild places and wild things, including the use of wild game as sustainable, healthy sources of food. Challenge #4: Invasive Species. Invasive species and wildlife diseases harm ecosystems and place wild species and people at risk. Invasive species and diseases need to be controlled, and where feasible, eradicated. Challenge #5: Energy. There is heightened attention to domestic energy development, both renewable (biomass, wind, wave) and non renewable (oil, natural gas, coal). Proposals for such developments will have impacts on wildlife and their habitat. There is currently no comprehensive education, research and outreach effort in any single institution focused on how best to conserve wildlife and its habitat while developing much needed energy sources. Challenge #6: Land Management. There needs to be a strong and consistent voice for the meaningful role that our public lands play in the economic and social wellbeing of people and communities through shared, sustainable and ethical uses of wildlife and its habitat. Public lands in the United States are, by law, to be managed to sustain multiple uses of natural resources without impairment of the productivity of the land, including the diversity of plant and animal communities needed to meet overall multiple-use objectives. This legal mandate has lately been trumped by other federal statutes that place higher value on preserving and protecting resources from use, which often occurs to the detriment of game animals, both birds and mammals. Challenge #7: Outdoor education. We need more and better coordinated conservation education and outdoor experiences that connect people with the natural world. Reversing the loss of connections between people and the natural world that sustains them is partially related to the public attitude drift from conservation. This change includes sustainable use of resources from working landscapes to environmental protection that excludes such uses. It is also related to the demand for time of children and parents, as well as resources and opportunities

7 Challenge #8: Private lands conservation. The Club led some of the earliest efforts to bring species back from the brink of extinction. The task of restoring wildlife to large, connected natural areas (i.e., landscape conservation) in partnership with private landowners, agencies and industry is needed. Private landowners need more numerous and diverse types of incentives for wildlife and their habitat. Support efforts to feed people with minimal impacts on wildlife habitat, wildlife and water. In the next two generations, the world will need to feed, clothe and house 2 to 3 billion more people. The hunterconservation community should work with agriculture to increase yield/acre, thus production, and decrease the acreage required for production. Challenge #9: Conservation funding. While many Americans, including many members of the Club, are concerned about our nations fiscal health, we face unsustainable future fiscal deficits, which must be addressed. Hunting and conservation programs should not be exempt from scrutiny. However, budgets should not be balanced disproportionately on the backs of hunting and conservation, which represents less than 1 percent of the United States federal budget. Further savings in spending should be achieved while considering the economic benefits of hunting and conservation. Challenge #10: Conservation and economics/jobs. Hunting and conservation all have measurable economic benefits, which are not well known by the hunter-conservation community or by the public and policy makers. According to Southwick Associates, outdoor recreation has a total contribution of $821 billion per year, generating 6,435,000 jobs and $99 billion in federal and state tax. Overall, when outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation are combined, they support 8.4 million jobs, generate $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues and have a total economic activity (equivalent to GDP) of $1.06 trillion. It will be a significant benefit to the Club and other similar organizations/individuals when the economic importance of hunting and conservation is understood in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

8 Mission The Club has to find a way to stay relevant and find its role in a changing world by fulfilling its conservation leadership legacy through intellectual and sciencebased decisions, increasing its efforts on conservation policy for the benefit of healthy public and private lands and the wildlife they support, and do this without straying from our roots. - Ben Wallace, President It is the mission of the Boone and Crockett Club to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America. The Club should be about big ideas and how to implement them using our members vast brain power, influence and connections. - Lowell Baier, President Emeritus

9 Vi sion s Visions for the Club We envision a future in which the Boone and Crockett Club continues to be an internationally-recognized leader in conservation, especially in research, education and the demonstration of sustainable conservation practices. A future in which the Club continues its legacy as a key leader in national conservation policy. A future in which the Club continues to be North America s leader in big game records keeping as a conservation tool. A future in which the Club s members continue to be respected and commended for their individual and collective contributions to conservation. A future in which the Club s leadership and management continue as examples of excellence, and programs remain balanced with financial capability. A future in which the Club s activities continue to be highly-focused and effective, and as a result, natural resources sharing, wildlife populations, habitats and recreational hunting opportunities continue to improve through, and beyond the 21st century. Visions for Wildlife and Conservation We envision a future in which wildlife and its habitat, in all their natural diversity, are managed and conserved throughout North America. A future in which hunting continues to be enjoyed under rules of fair chase, sportsmanship and ethical respect for the land. A future in which all users of natural resources respect the rights of others in the spirit of sharing. A future in which the value and conservation of private land habitat is respected and supported. A future in which North Americans are committed to the principle that their use of resources must be sustainable both for themselves and future generations. A future in which hunting opportunities exist for all desiring to participate. Capital isn t scarce; vision is. - Sam Walton Primary Focus Areas Conservation Policy Big Game Records Keeping, Recognition and Hunter Ethics Conservation Research, Education and Demonstration

10 Strategic Goal #1 Objective 1.1 Advance the understanding and acceptance of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Con se rvation a n d Polic y Im pr ov e t h e system of c on se rvation t h r oughou t Nort h Ame rica Create an awareness of the Model throughout North America. Explore updating the Model to current and/or future conditions. Explore branding and packaging the Model for broad public acceptance and understanding. Build and strengthen partnerships and coalitions, especially with non-traditional audiences. Maintain and explore new ways of funding for the Model. Facilitate the development of policies and programs to protect the authority of states to conserve and manage wildlife. Explore the exchange of federal land with high economic values/low conservation values with that of low economic value/high conservation value as a funding mechanism. Facilitate the development of state ballot initiatives to increase funding for wildlife conservation. Host a summit to update and promote the Model. Support the hosting of an international congress on wildlife conservation. New partners/coalitions supporting the Model. Provide a source of funding for policy activities. Engage members to educate decision makers on policies. Funding levels for state, federal and provincial conservation agencies maintained or increased. Gain a full understanding of the issues, needs and opportunities in Canada and Mexico and build alliances with the appropriate agencies and conservation organizations within those countries. Objective 1.2 Advance the concept of multiple use/sharing. Facilitate the development of initiatives, where appropriate, to enhance wildlife habitat on public lands that promote biofuel production, including the utilization of biomass from invasive species as a means for controlling them. Facilitate the establishment of standards and protocols for on-site and off-site mitigation for energy development and impacts on wildlife. Facilitate the establishment of habitat and population goals and objectives for oil and gas development projects for inclusion in land-management plans. Advocate for adequate funding in federal land management agency budgets to conduct necessary monitoring and evaluation to document whether wildlife goals and objectives are being achieved. Incorporate conservation and hunting opportunities into transportation legislation, including the development of wildlife corridors. Number of initiatives established. Standards and protocols established. Goals and objectives established for energy projects. Amount of money budgeted for monitoring and evaluation in federal budgets. Conservation hunting opportunities established in transportation legislation.

11 Host an e-newsletter and webinar on Big Game Ecology and Management with other like-minded organizations. Explore the possibility of hosting a professional journal with other like-minded organizations. Increase the Club s emphasis on habitat management for big game and other wildlife. Facilitate the control/eradication of invasive species with various stakeholders. Facilitate the development of new initiatives to reduce fuel loads and actively manage forestland. Facilitate the establishment of demonstration areas on private land. OBJECTIVE 1.3 Advance the ethic of conservation stewardship among America s farmers, ranchers, forestland owners, energy producers and stakeholders. Number of e-newsletters and webinars hosted. The degree of incorporation of habitat management into the Club s initiatives. New initiatives established to reduce fuel loads. Invasive species controlled/eradicated. Number of demonstration areas established. Maintain viable reserve and cost-share programs within the Farm Bill, especially for native grasslands. Maintain a viable Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Maintain and develop federal tax incentives for conservation, including incentives based on estate tax. Develop model state legislation for enhancing and restoring wildlife habitat utilizing tax credits. Develop new legislation to more effectively recover threatened and endangered species. Develop a coalition of big game interests, such as a Western Wildlife Coalition, to work on private lands conservation. Objective 1.4 Advance private lands conservation and management. Acres enrolled in private lands conservation programs. Maintain productive, working farms and ranches. Decrease threats to threatened and endangered species, including the improvement of the Endangered Species Act so it is beneficial to both humans and wildlife. Strategy: Develop flexible outreach strategies to reach urban/suburban stakeholders, traditionally-underserved customers and private landowners. Club supported programs run by others (established or existing) with a national impact on women, youth, minorities and private landowners. Increase in participation in hunting and other outdoor sports and recreation. Maintain the support of the 73 percent of Americans that don t hunt but support hunting. Increase in the participation of landowners practicing wildlife conservation. Objective 1.5 Facilitate a system with national impact in conservation education for women, youth, minorities and private landowners.

12 Strategic Goal #1 Objective 1.6 Improve wildlife health. Con se rvation a n d Polic y Im pr ov e t h e system of c on se rvation t h r oughou t Nort h Ame rica Advance the National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative. Inform hunters and other outdoor recreation users of the risks and means of reducing the transmission of wildlife diseases. Testify before Congress, legislatures and agencies on the need to ban risky herd-management practices. Utilize the Club s communications avenues, where appropriate, to advance the awareness of wildlife health. Degree of improvement of wildlife health. Increase in knowledge of hunters and others regarding wildlife diseases. Objective 1.7 Advance public lands management. Facilitate the use of state fish and wildlife agency population goals in federal land management planning. Facilitate the development of new initiatives to reduce fuel loads on public lands and promote biofuel production in order to actively manage these lands. Facilitate the development of systematic approaches to stop the expansion of invasive species. Convene a panel to assess the compatibility of federal environmental laws and regulations, identify conflicting directions and develop resolution measures. Facilitate the incorporation of comparative ecological risk assessments into public land management decisions. State fish and wildlife agency population goals are utilized. The number of new initiatives. The expansion of invasive species has subsided. A panel was convened. Comparative ecological risk assessments are incorporated. Objective 1.8 Improve leadership skills of wildlife professionals. Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest. - Aldo Leopold Increase the understanding of the importance of hunting in wildlife management and its important role in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation Support the National Conservation Leadership Institute. Facilitate the requirement that all federal land-management supervisory personnel complete a state-sanctioned hunter education course, or an equivalent program. The number of hunters in federal, state and provincial leadership positions. Direct or indirect financial support for the National Conservation Leadership Institute. Members participating in the Institute regarding their personal involvement in hunting and conservation. In addition to adaptive challenge training, including curriculum established at the National Conservation Leadership Institute on the history, ecology and management of hunting on public land.

13 Target universities for professorship and other related programs where the university is strategically located or has strategic capabilities and can support the goals and objectives of the Club. In addition to new science and policy, include non-traditional fields of study (i.e. law, mass communications, journalism, political science, leadership and management tools, adaptive and crisis management strategies, organizational and team-building proficiency, energy, agriculture, public administration and other disciplines on an as needed basis). Ensure that focus and investments on every university program are well aligned with the Club s mission and policies and so articulated in gift agreement and assessed annually. Include an internship component with applicable programs to place exceptional students interested in conservation policy or administration, or other needed areas, in a place of work to gain practical experience. Link all university programs into a network sharing and exchanging information. Objective 1.9 Facilitate a coordinated system utilizing higher education. Number of universities in program. Number and discipline of fellows in program. Number and placement of fellow alums. Diversity of fields of study included across all programs. Number of interns placed. University network created. Encourage state and federal governments to acquire lands or easements to open wildlife corridors, conserve priority-species habitat or provide access for hunting and wildlife management purposes. Improve and enhance access to public lands where hunting is allowed. Facilitate the development of model state legislation on reducing/eliminating liability for landowners who provide access to or through their property. Promote federal legislation that enhances states role, their right and jurisdiction to manage wildlife, which includes the timing, manner and take of wildlife. Review and evaluate criteria used by agencies governing road closures on public lands. Facilitate the development of a Hunting and Shooting Sports Foundation. Objective 1.10 Increase hunter access. Increase in acreage available for hunting. Number of states passing legislation to reduce/eliminate liability for hunting access. Creation of a Hunting and Shooting Sports Foundation or similar national organization.

14 Strategic Goal #2 Objective 2.1 Expand opportunities to introduce conservation to new and underserved customers. Com m u n ication s Create a c om m u n ication s c li mate w h e re c on se rvation a n d h u n ti ng ca n t h riv e. Develop the messages and curriculum. Take ownership and tell the story of American conservation. Identify target audiences and tailor the story. Develop a strategy utilizing electronic media, television, print, billboards and authority speakers to deliver messages and curriculum. Coordinate with placed-based education programs to include a Boone and Crockett conservation curricula in their program. Explore the possibility of having a Boone and Crockett Certified Conservation Education Program for those programs with the same or similar vision of hunting and conservation as the Club. Define fair chase, what it is and what it means, in the minds of non-hunters. Number of communications impressions. Number of programs using Boone and Crockett certified curricula. Increased participation by the public in electronic media to access conservation information. Citizens recognize an individual responsibility for conservation. Objective 2.2 Further develop the Club s identity as a conservation organization. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead Objective 2.3 Develop methods to communicate about land ethics and conservation on private land. Promote the Club s unique and powerful history and accomplishments to a broad audience of hunters and non-hunters. Promote the Club s current involvement in conservation policy, where appropriate. Be selective in Club actions that support a conservation image. Share information with communicators. Explore the use of a public face to author and speak when appropriate on certain issues. Continue to introduce the public to the values of the true conservationist versus the activities of animal activist organizations. Include a summary, history and significant accomplishments on the Club s website. Articles written by members of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, Outdoor Writers Association of American and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Stronger presence and participation by writers, bloggers and electronic media components. Strategy: Package a practical private lands program for landowners, including a component to demonstrate conservation practices. Utilize the various communications tools (i.e., webinars, e-newsletters, books, television series, earned media, etc.) to achieve such.

15 Number and reach (participation, circulation or impressions) of communications efforts. More private landowners practicing conservation. The messages and value propositions for the brand will target and be tailored to hunters, potential Club members, partners and supporters, policy makers and non-hunters. This strength needs to be in the form of what the Club believes in and stands for, what we do (actions that support) and what we have to offer. All divisions and committee activities must support the brand image being created. Brand Records, linking what we know with current conditions and opportunities. Objective 2.4 Conduct a complete effort, including the development of a strategy, to develop the Club as a powerful brand in both Conservation and Records. Branding strategy complete for the Club. The Club is relevant to target constituents and audiences. Continue the world-class publication Fair Chase, also offering it in a digital format. Continue to produce high-quality and informative books, including the development of digital versions and pursue the marketing of them. Produce a quality, but limited, assortment of merchandise. Fully utilize electronic media and other forms of cost-effective communication to provide information and education. Provide timely information transfer from committees to membership. Provide timely information transfer from leadership, divisions and committees to the Club s external communications assets (Fair Chase, e-newsletter, websites, television show, etc.). Objective 2.5 Maintain and improve the communications program. Increased readership of Fair Chase and/or its content. Number of books produced and sold. Amount of merchandise produced and sold. Seamless flow of content to be published from the Club s brain trust. Stakeholders are vested and included in the Club and its mission. Length of time for information transfer.

16 Strategic Goal #3 Objective 3.1 Reinforce big game records keeping as a gauge for successful conservation and a tool for science. Big Game Re c ord s a n d Hu n te r Et h ic s Mai n tai n a n d st re ngt h e n t h e Clu b s world-c la s s re c ord s system. Separate the Club s records program from that of others by articulating the differences. Expand upon the capture and inclusion of aging data where applicable Explore ways to include and/or demonstrate a link between trophy and habitat health, wildlife management and big game records. Make the records system and data more accessible and useful to science and wildlife managers. Utilize the record book as an avenue to convey information on wildlife health to a broader audience beyond hunters. Work with states and provinces to develop and enhance their records and hunter-ethics leadership programs. Communicate the successes in conservation based on trophy data. Change the conversation of trophy entry from that of only personal recognition to that of a contribution to future management. Trophy and habitat health become synonymous. Occurrence of the Club s record s data appearing in scientific journals. Increasing entries with aging and habitat data. Increased recognition and participation by outfitter associations. Increased utilization by state fish and wildlife agencies as a management tool. Objective 3.2 Increase awareness of Big Game Records. Develop the Big Game Awards Program into the most respected event in North American big game hunting. Develop other assets tied to records (i.e. field judging, how to score). Develop marketing relationships with retailers for scoring products. Continue accessibility to the records system to all big game hunters regardless of trophy entry. Explore the development of a sheds scoring program and data collection. Conduct outreach to outfitter associations and other user groups throughout North America. Conduct outreach as to the origins, purpose and continued relevance of record data. Expand youth participation and recognition. Address geographical and/or cultural inhibitors to trophy entry. Police the current authorized and unauthorized users of the system, set compliance standards. Establish a scoring system user-protocol that is universal, enforceable and non-transferable. A greater attendance at the Big Game Awards. Increased youth entries. Increased entries from new areas. A network of scoring system users (licensees) under the direction and compliance of the Club s Records program.

17 Advance fair chase beyond just record entry requirements. Use fair chase in Club branding. Define the low ground and consequences of poor choices and provide historical perspectives; celebrate good choices and outcomes. Determine target audiences, such as generalist hunters, trophy hunters, policy makers, the public and others, and develop target messages for each. Explore ways to define fair chase without disenfranchising stakeholders; move the definition beyond trophy entry criteria for broad consumption by hunters and non-hunters. Create a more positive public image of hunters and hunting. Lead the conversation about technology undermining skill. Fulfill the external belief that the Club is the resource to turn to. Objective 3.3 Advance the concept of hunter ethics and fair-chase hunting. Boone and Crockett and Fair Chase are synonymous. Increased discussion in the media. Hunting as a recreational sport and effective management tool continues to be recognized by those who do not hunt. Hunters realize the important role they play in the Model. Copyright and/or trademark all that is allowable by law. Maintain, update and expand where applicable the National Collection of Heads and Horns, while upgrading the visitor experience. Take ownership of its existence and advertise its history and purpose. New and/or updated copyrights and trademarks. People viewing the National Collection of Heads and Horns. The National Collection is updated and the message is clearly understood. Objective 3.4 Maintain intellectual properties. I find the greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

18 The credit belongs to those people who are actually in the arena...who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions to a worthy cause; who at best, know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, fail while daring greatly...so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt

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20 There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country. - Theodore Roosevelt Boone and Crockett Club 250 Station Drive, Missoula, MT (406) December 2011