Salute to the Sportsman: What You Can Do to Empower Conservation

Since the days of conservation heroes like John James Audubon and Theodore Roosevelt, American hunters and anglers have led the charge for wild places and the creatures who depend on them. The Bass Pro Shops family of outdoor companies is proud to have partnered with sportsmen and women, the backbone of conservation, for the past five decades. Our collective voice – 200 million strong – has conserved millions of acres, improved how fish and wildlife are managed, and done much to ensure a bright future for our proud sporting heritage.

What follows is part salute to sportsmen, part call to action. We commend hunters and anglers across the United States and Canada for all of the conservation success their commitment makes possible. We couldn’t be prouder to stand alongside you to fight for the future of wild places and for sporting rights.

We also recognize the need for continued action and passion. Our ongoing ability to hunt and fish, like the wild places they depend on, requires continued, dedicated investment. As we thank those who continue to change the world, we also layout a sportsman-centered description of the conservation process—complete with how we can all continue to make a lasting impact.

The North American Conservation Model

A century ago, many of our nation’s wildlife species were in significant decline. Alarmed citizens, led by hunters and anglers, worked with leaders to take action. The result, today known as the North American Conservation Model, remains the most successful system of policies and laws to safeguard and restore wildlife species in history.

Our friends at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation put together this video that provides some great insight into how truly revolutionary this approach to conserving and safeguarding natural resources has been.

And so it is, the first thing that you can do to empower conservation is to go hunting or fishing. By purchasing the licenses you’ll need to fish or the firearms and ammunition you’ll need to hunt, you directly fund fish and wildlife conservation.

Join A Conservation Group

Here at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, in conjunction with our customers across North America, we support the work of more than 60 conservation organizations. Many of these conservation partners are membership-based organizations founded by sportsmen. Joining one or more of these groups is a powerful way to support conservation.

Through annual dues, you not only invest in the group’s mission, but make possible its world-changing work. By lending your name to the cause, you provide support that illustrates the collective power of sportsmen and women. Membership-based conservation groups specialize in translating the will, passion and commitment of outdoorsmen and women into conservation of the resources we all depend on. 

The interesting thing about this relationship is that it is mutually dependent. Hunters and anglers rely on groups, just as these conservation groups rely on hunters and anglers. Consider the power of Ducks Unlimited and its membership of more than 700,000 passionate sportsmen and women.

Hunters and Anglers Depend on Conservation Groups, consider: Ducks Unlimited’s ability to magnify and leverage the collective passion of all hunters can accomplish more for conservation than could any individual sportsman or woman could.

Conservation Groups Depend on Hunters and Anglers, consider: In one context, Ducks Unlimited’s membership is a large number. Most fundamentally, however, it is a list of individuals who each made a personal commitment to conservation.

Sportsmen and membership-based conservation organizations are a perfect match that has proven ability to change the world. Most groups send out magazines full of great information on not just conservation, but information on hunting or fishing and even cooking your harvest. Many groups offer special events and access to content and media available exclusively to members. Group membership can be a great way to meet like-minded people and learn more about your favorite pastime.

Most fundamentally, however, joining a group is a good thing to do. It is fun and it is proven to do good things. Ducks Unlimited just celebrated conserving 15 million acres. When the National Wild Turkey Federation was formed there were 1 million wild turkeys in North America. Today, there are an estimated 6 million. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s hunter-based mission has restored elk to Kentucky and many other parts of the magnificent creature’s historic range. Each of these incredible conservation achievements were made possible by a very talented conservation group, but also by the collective dedication of its membership.  

How do you pick the right group for you? It’s easy … and you can join as many as you like. A first step might be thinking about your favorite type of hunting or fishing and selecting a group that is active in that space.  A few leading national conservation groups include:

Ducks Unlimited
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
National Wild Turkey Federation
Boone and Crockett Club
International Game Fish Association
Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever
National Wildlife Federation
Trout Unlimited
Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society
National Deer Association
The Billfish Foundation
National Audubon Society
Back Country Hunters and Anglers

The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund

The Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Outdoor Fund is perhaps the most direct vehicle through which sportsmen and women can empower conservation. Thanks to the generosity of customers who “round up for conservation,” each year the Outdoor Fund invests millions of dollars to enable world-changing conservation project across North America. How does the Outdoor Fund work? 

Each year Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund grants enable conservation projects across North America.

After each transaction at Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s (in-store or online), you’ll be asked if you’d like to round up for conservation. Whether you round up to the nearest dollar or enter a custom amount, your donation is pooled with those of other generous sportsmen and women. A portion of all Outdoor Fund donations are routed to benefit local, grassroots groups in the home communities of Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s retail stores.

The funds are aggregated and invested through grants to organizations dedicated to priority fish and wildlife conservation, introducing new audiences to nature, or advocating for sportsman’s rights. The groups and initiatives we support range in scope from local and community projects to state, regional and national levels. By driving conservation across a range of geographic scopes, the Outdoor Fund has the unique capacity to achieve priority conservation goals while engaging people and communities in the process.

We salute hunters and anglers across the United States and Canada. We are proud to have stood beside the most dedicated customer base in the great outdoors to empower conservation for the past 50 years.

Together, we are conserving wild places and ensuring that the future of our sporting heritage may be as storied and wonderful as its past. We are living in a golden age of hunting and fishing… and this has not happened by accident. It is, rather, the result of purposeful investment and singular dedication on the part of hunters, anglers and conservationists. Thank you for helping make it possible.