The North American Model of Conservation: A Political Quagmire of Language and Ethics

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (NAM) is a set of seven principles that proponents claim when collectively applied has led to the successes of wildlife conservation and management in the United States and Canada. Originally described as a historical account in the 1990’s by Valerius Geist, it soon thereafter gained wide acceptance as a prescriptive methodology for wildlife managers and government agencies responsible for sustaining game and furbearing populations. Over the last fifty years, as threats to wildlife and ecosystems increased, critics of NAM have grown, arguing that it conceptually limits wildlife agencies’ conservation approaches and largely neglects non-game species. Traditional hunters and trappers, however, have resisted vigorously any changes to NAM. Consequently, policymakers are paralyzed, caught in a “political quagmire.” Fred Koontz, a former WA state Wildlife Commissioner, will discuss how addressing differences in purpose, expressed through language and wildlife values, is a key to improving NAM and wildlife management.

HOSTS & GUESTS

Fred Koontz, PhD is Fellow Emeritus at PAN Works. https://panworks.io/team/name/fred-koontz/

William S. Lynn, PhD (Bill) is President and founder of PAN Works and host of the PAN Thinks podcast. https://panworks.io/team/name/william-lynn/

Production is by Gary Sheer. https://garysheerphotography.com/

Recorded on 24 January 2024.

Episode art by Lambert, Alexander, 1861-1939., [1905, September 12]. Abernethy holding wolf by jaw. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o275213

RESOURCES

Eichler, L., & Baumeister, D. (2018). Hunting for Justice: An Indigenous Critique of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Environment and Society: Advances in Research, 9, 75–90. https://doi.org/10.3167/ares.2018.090106

Geist, V. (2006). The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: A Means of Creating Wealth and Protecting Public Health While Generating Biodiversity. In D. Lavigne (Ed.), Gaining Ground: In Pursuit of Ecological Sustainability (pp. 285-294). University of Limerick Press.

Nelson, M. P., Vucetich, J. A., Paquet, P. C., & Bump, J. K. (2011). An Inadequate Construct: North American model: what’s flawed, what’s missing, what’s needed. The Wildlife Professional, 5(Summer), 58–60.

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