The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance - A Tradition of Serving Sportsmen

by Tim Daniel

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, formerly the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America and Wildlife Conservation Fund of America, have been dedicated to uniting sportsmen to defend against legal and legislative attacks by the animal rights movement for nearly a quarter century. This rich history includes numerous victories on behalf of our nation’s sportsmen and wildlife professionals.

In the Beginning
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation began working on a national basis in 1978.

The organizations were formed in response to a landmark Ohio ballot issue in 1977 that proposed a constitutional amendment to ban all trapping in the state. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation and sportsmen across the state, worked to defeat the issue.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its Foundation have been working ever since to defend hunting, fishing, trapping and scientific wildlife management against lawsuits, legislation and ballot issues initiated by anti-hunters.

A Quarter Century of Service to Sportsmen
Since that first Ohio ballot issue, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its Foundation have not stopped working to protect sportsmen’s rights. Highlighted is a sampling of issues in which the organizations have played critical roles:

In 1980, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, with the assistance of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation legal counsel and researchers, defeated voter issues in Oregon and South Dakota to ban trapping and dove hunting. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance raised a majority of the campaign funds, produced the winning advertising campaigns and helped organize sportsmen for these victories.

In 1982, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance won a series of common sense amendments to the federal Endangered Species Act. The amendments removed anti-sportsman bias from the act and greatly reduced chances it could be used as a legal club to knock out hunting, fishing and trapping due to political pressure by the opponents of these sports.

When the voters of Maine, in 1983, were asked to decide an issue to ban moose hunting, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance was there to prepare the strategic campaign plan, produce powerful campaign materials and mount the influential media campaign necessary to win. Voters turned back the issue by a 2-1 margin of victory for sportsmen.

In 1986, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation introduced its renowned public education campaign, Protect What’s Right. The program has been provided to hundreds of sportsmen’s conservation organizations, coast to coast. It offers a series of educational materials designed to unite sportsmen for their own defense and for the conservation education of the American public.

In 1988, a three-year campaign begun by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation resulted in the bolstering of the professionalism and defined a clear mission for the law enforcement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service’s ability to protect the nation’s wildlife resources was greatly improved.

Arizona voters rejected a 1992 initiative that would have resulted in the end of hunting, fishing and trapping in the state. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance was called into action and produced the campaign plan, raised nearly half the campaign budget, oversaw production of the mass media campaign and waged a successful media relations effort to soundly defeat the issue.

Nebraska, in 1995, became the 50th state to adopt legislation to prevent the harassment of sportsmen by animal rights activists. The Nebraska statute, like virtually all other states’ anti-harassment laws, was based on a model developed by U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation counsel.

The nation’s first full-time, legal defense capability on behalf of American sportsmen was founded by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation in 1994. The Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund offers expert legal services on behalf of sportsmen and wildlife managers in all 50 states and in the federal courts.

In 1996, six voter issues to outlaw various forms of hunting and trapping deluged the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its sportsman-constituents. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance responded with over $120,000 in support for beleaguered sportsmen.

Hunting, fishing and trapping, in 1997, were protected for all time on the nation’s nearly 100 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System through legislation conceived and lobbied through Congress by U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, in 1998, came full circle to its Ohio roots with the defeat of an animal rights inspired issue to ban dove hunting in the state. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance organized Ohio sportsmen for a $2.6 million fundraising drive. The pro-hunting effort won with a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. The pro-hunting campaign carried every Ohio county.

In 2000, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance worked to make Wisconsin the 39th state in the nation with a dove season. It led the way in organizing sportsmen at the local and state levels to garner public support necessary to pass a dove bill, even in the face of a well-funded anti-hunting campaign.

In another dove issue, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance worked with sportsmen’s groups in Rhode Island to derail legislation that would have ended dove hunting, a tradition their since 1955.

In 2001, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance introduced the Trailblazer Adventure Program to encourage family involvement in outdoor sports. It is designed to expose families to outdoor activities and offer them a chance to continue to engage in these activities through a yearlong mentoring program.

Also in 2001, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund preserved the integrity of the Alaska Board of Game (AK); defended traditional access to Big Cypress National Preserve (FL); prevented Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) from carrying out a deer birth control study (IN); protected Pittman-Robertson funding (MI); defended dove hunting (WI) and preserved the integrity of the Endangered Species Act.

Most recently, in 2002, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance summoned sportsmen to action to convince companies nationwide to end anti-hunting promotions. The promotions included the following:
  1. DaimlerChrysler stopped running an anti-hunting advertisement following a flood of messages from offended sportsmen. Comments were generated by a call to action from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. Three days after the Alliance’s alert, DaimlerChrysler announced that it would no longer run the ad.
  2. Sportsmen sent scores of comments to General Mills when it distributed free calendars produced by HSUS. General Mills heeded the sportsman’s voice. The promotion has ended and will not be resumed.
  3. Accor Economy Lodging will end its partnership with HSUS. This decision followed a U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance call to action that encouraged sportsmen to contact the motel chain to voice displeasure with the company’s sponsorship of the anti-hunting group.