True conservation practices are under attack in America today. Timeless American pastimes like hunting, fishing, and shooting sports– activities funding the bulk of conservation funding–are increasingly threatened by regulation and misinformation campaigns.
Look no further than the Biden administration’s rulemaking or blue states like Colorado, California, Washington State, and Vermont. Sadly, it’s not just the left waging war on true conservation. Sometimes Republican lawmakers, seen as natural allies of sportsmen and women, support misguided anti-conservation efforts that drive a wedge between hunters and gun owners.
Groups like Safari Club International, Sportsmen’s Alliance, HOWL for Wildlife, and individual species groups are doing yeoman's work to keep hunting alive. But another organization is also rising to the challenge to supplement their efforts and make their mark.
Meet the International Order of T. Roosevelt (IOTR), a group that launched under the name in April 2022, inspired by its namesake: conservationist and President Theodore Roosevelt.
Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Aurelia Skipwith Giacommetto served as the inaugural chief executive officer until her husband’s untimely passing. She now serves in Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry’s administration as the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) secretary. Today, the organization remains in equally good hands under executive director Luke Hilgemann, a veteran of Wisconsin politics and conservative grassroots organizing hoping to translate his skillset into the hunting and conservation world. Before his involvement with IOTR, Hilgemann worked for Hunter Nation and served as chief executive officer of both Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
“Seeing what's happened with the decline in not only hunter numbers over the last decade but also in the threats that we see coming at these sports faster than we can try and address them made me want to get into the fight and protect and preserve hunting and everything that goes around conservation, fishing, as well,” the avid hunter told me.
IOTR’s top priorities include protecting the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, safeguarding the right to hunt and fish, restoring sage grouse populations, and restoring wildlife habitat.
Through their 501(c)(4) arm, T. Roosevelt Action, the organization has supported right-to-hunt and fish amendment bills across a slew of states—namely in Florida, Ohio, South Dakota, Iowa, West Virginia, and Missouri. Hilgemann hopes Arizona, a state that rejected a similar measure in 2010, will reconsider in the future.
The Sunshine State could become State No. 24th to adopt this constitutional amendment to their state constitution should voters overwhelmingly vote “Yes” - with a 60% plus supermajority - at the ballot box in November. Despite the Florida legislature overwhelmingly passing the measure, save for one Democrat, one daily newspaper - the Sun Sentinel - accused the state’s hunters and anglers of being low-IQ and far-right. The publication wrote, “So what’s the point of putting it on the ballot? The best argument we can see for this stinker is that it’s bait — intended to draw out low-information, far-right voters who can be easily swindled into believing that their rights are somehow under attack and who will, presumably, be voting conservative across the rest of the ballot. And Florida’s deep-red Legislature doesn’t care about anything else if it means winning a few more votes.”
There’s nothing low-IQ or far-right about preemptively protecting fishing and hunting from attacks by radical environmentalists and animal rights activists. Quite the opposite. 23 states currently boast these constitutional amendments. Hilgemann hopes IOTR’s efforts will lead to more states joining the other 23.
“We think that number is somewhere 35 plus states that have the opportunity and the ability to do that,” he added.
At their recent annual gathering in Scottsdale, Arizona, the conservation organization launched a neat partnership with the Cabela Family Foundation - of Cabela’s Outfitters fame - to be an exclusive supporting sponsor of the HISTORY Channel program “Hard Truths of Conservation” - hosted by Dan Cabela and seen by eight million people across various platforms - for six upcoming seasons.
“IOTR is the perfect partner for CFF. Through our ‘Hard Truths of Conservation’ series, we will reach new audiences and cultivate new ways of thinking about hunting,” said Cabela, Executive Director of CFF, in a press release. “Together, we will show the world what it means when we say hunters are the best conservationists.”
Hilgemann also discussed another problem with me: voter apathy among hunters. He told me fewer than 50% of American hunters go regularly.
“We are the first ones to be out there and, you know, complain when our rights are starting to be taken away. And unfortunately, too many of us are sitting it out when it comes to picking the people who lead these conversations at every level of government,” the veteran politico remarked.
“I think it's incumbent on us, all of us as hunters, outdoorsmen, conservationists– people who believe in the model that we built– that we are regular participants in the voting process. And all you got to do is go and talk to a few of your buddies.”