Politics and Principles for Wildlife Management to Broaden Constituencies for wildlife conservation

​Politics and Principles for Wildlife Management to Broaden Constituencies for wildlife conservation:  Daniel Decker et al. in a Conservation Letters article titled “Governance Principles for Wildlife Conservation in the 21stCentury (July/August) 2016, 290-295, outline 10 principles based on public trust and good governance ideas that they argue are needed to counter trends that are hurting conservation such as continuing loss of habitat and less time and interest by the younger generation in outdoor activities.  Among the principles is the need to incorporate “multiple and diverse perspectives” and make conservation for a “larger portion of citizens.” They cite a previous 2007 article by Cynthia Jacobson et al. in Journal of Wildlife Management that points to the need to develop alternative sources of funds for state wildlife agencies beyond the traditional fees from hunters and anglers.  However, political opposition has often occurred on the part of hunters and anglers because they fear the loss of their control over wildlife management policies and its focusing on the priorities of hunters and anglers such as game species.