How conservation groups joined up

This year is the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the National Wildlife  Federation, which has been called "The Guardian of the Wild." It is one of the  nation's oldest conservation originations, along with the Issac Walton League and  National Audubon Society. I've been a member of the Federation for 60 of those  years. South Dakota has played a role in the Federationís history on several  occasions as the landscape of conservation advocacy has changed.

Recall my writing about how sales of the Federal duck stamp funded National Wildlife Refuges that were the idea of SD Senator Peter Norbeck in 1929.  We met Jay "Ding" Darling, who hunted and fished southeastern South Dakota,  and got kicked out of Yankton College for mischievous behavior, but ended up in  Washington as the head of the Bureau of Biological Survey, a forerunner of the U.  S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Darling and Norbeck got duck stamps approved. 

Well, Darling had another good idea in the 1930s. Wildlife and fish  populations had been wrecked by habitat loss and over-harvest. From his desk in  Washington, he saw public groups coming to DC to demand conservation. They  came as sportsmen's clubs, 4H clubs, soil and water conservation organizations,  garden clubs, foresters, and scientists. They all wanted to stop the destruction of  natural resources. 

Darling said these voters needed one voice if they were to get political  attention. His solution was a federation of these clubs. He said in 1935 "Wildlife  interests remind me of an unorganized army, beaten in every battle, zealous and  brave but unable to combat the trained legions that are organized to get what they  want." The National Wildlife Federation was born.

The state affiliate in South Dakota, the South Dakota Wildlife Federation , was founded in 1945. Here's the story: WWII soldiers came home to find that non-resident hunters had leased the duck marshes. The locals banded together and pressured the state legislature to ban all non-resident waterfowl hunting. The ban stayed in place until 1957 when Senator Francis Case made a  "dams for ducks deal." Senator Case wanted Missouri River dams, but his  colleagues said that he would not get their vote unless South Dakota allowed non resident hunting for waterfowl. In the State's legislative session (known as the  "Goose Bill Session") a bill was passed to allow permits for non-residents. In  return, South Dakota received federal funds for the dams that created lakes Oahe,  Francis Case, Lewis and Clark, and Sharp. 

South Dakota is mentioned a couple of times in the history of the NWF.  First, in the 1940's the locals persuaded the SD Legislature to dedicate nonresident  hunting fees for habitat acquisition. The State purchased some small acreages to  be used as public shooting grounds, and the shooting ground program really took  off with fees from nonresident pheasant hunters. These days, nonresidents and  residents purchase a $25 Habitat Stamp to fund land acquisition and public access.

South Dakota got national recognition for establishing a youth Conservation  Camp in 1963, and it is still going strong. Some 5,000 teenage boys and girls have  learned about the wild world at this week-long Black Hills camping adventure.  Many of the graduates became leaders in the South Dakota conservation  movement. The Brookings Wildlife Federation funds camper fees for local youth.

In 1974, the South Dakota conservationists worked with the NWF to donate  1,100 acres for a bald eagle refuge around Ft Randall Dam where bald eagles could  hang-out and fish all winter in the open water downstream from the dam.. If you  drank a slurpy in the 1970s, you helped recover eagle populations. The 7-Eleven Food Stores and the NWF worked out a deal to share proceeds from the sale of  endangered species drinking cups. We now know the eagle hang-out as the Karl E.  Mundt National Wildlife Refuge. Mundt, our SD Senator introduced the original  Endangered Species Act in 1966. The crusade to save the American Eagle  attracted people to the NWF who had never hunted or fished.

Today, the NWF has two kinds of members; affiliates and associates.  Affiliates are members of a group like the Brookings Wildlife Federation, and  associates are those who have an individual membership. The Federationís  magazine, National Wildlife, is a key publication, but its youth publications (e.g., Ranger Rick, Your Big Backyard) have taken the NWF from a conservation  organization made up of sportsmen's clubs to an environmental education  organization. The Brookings Wildlife Federation has donated subscriptions of  NWF educational materials to local schools. 

Most of the 3,500 South Dakota members probably think of hunting and  fishing first, but also support the mission (with Legislative lobby efforts) to  represent the interest of all South Dakotans in wildlife conservation and outdoor  recreation. The local Brookings Wildlife Federation has about 150 members and  has been a service organization in town since 1980 (BWF, Box 104, 57006).

The NWF has been involved in almost every environmental issue ñ back in  the 1960's and 70's they pushed for passage of the National Environmental Policy  Act, which for the first time stated a policy about our environment. It is worth  quoting even though we all realize that ìthe devil is in the details.î The purpose of  the Act was to: ìdeclare a National policy which would encourage a productive  and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment; to promote efforts that will prevent or eliminate damage to the   environment and biosphere and stimulate health and welfare of  man; to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and  natural resources important to the nation.

I was idealistic in my early days as a NWF member. I didn't realize the  push-back that would come as we tried to follow the National Environmental  Policy.

But I stick by the cliche that I once heard about the NWFO ... "It is not  blindly against progress, but it is against blind progress."

Yes, I've heard criticisms that these environmental advocacy groups keep  their members by keeping them worried about the environment.

As a scientist, I  say that the NWF tells an accurate story. In fact, a nonprofit evaluation group says  "Overall, we rate the organization High for factual reporting, as its content is based  on scientific research, transparent sourcing, and established environmental data, though presented from an advocacy perspective rather than neutral reporting."  (https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/national-wildlife-federation-bias-and-credibility/). 

About Ranger Rick, the NWF's youth spokesperson – he is a cartoon raccoon  hero who protects his animal friends as he sings to us:

Keep our streams and rivers clean

Keep our forests fresh and green

We’ll be happier, So will you,

These are all your playgrounds, too.