A recent article in a national magazine about plummeting participation in duck hunters chronicled a decrease from 2.44 million duck stamps sold to just 1.5 million from 1972 to 2006. Small game hunters also decreased by 10% in the 10-year period between 1996and 2006. The studies which were reviewed explored a lot of possible reasons for the decline: rapid urbanization, difficulties in finding places to hunt, time and distance, and aging hunters, to name a few. (The article points out that there are more ducks and geese than ever before.)

This is typical of many writings published in hunting and outdoor industry media. They fail to even consider one of the most significant changes in the population. That is the change in the racial/ethnic demographics. According to the US Census statistics for 2007, thirty-four percent (34%) of the population the United States (301 million) are people of color. There are over 82 million African Americans and Latinos. In that same year, only 7% of the 12.5 million hunters were African American, Latino or Asian.

It’s obvious that the issue of diversity and inclusion needs to come to light. Recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service sponsored a conference in Atlanta entitled “Breaking the Color Barrier in the Great Outdoors.” However, I have not read about this or other opportunities to begin reaching out to all of our diverse citizens in any of the outdoors sports industry media.

Advertisers may be the first to woo ethnically diverse hunters. Leupold and Stevens, makers of riflescopes and other optics, has a new television commercial depicting an African American hunter. It is possibly the first such diverse TV ad.

We need to see more like this. The outdoors industry is notoriously myopic and cannot see the forest for the trees. If you search all of the major outdoor magazines you would be hard pressed to find a picture of any person who appears to be African American, Latino, Asian or Native American. What a shame. What needs to change to reverse the trend of shrinking numbers of hunting participants is for the outdoor industry to begin to recognize where the real potential for growth is

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President Barack Obama has proclaimed September 22 to be National Hunting and Fishing Day. In declaring his support of the American traditions of hunting and fishing, the president expressed his support both for those traditions and for the values they instill and sustain in the American character.

"On National Hunting and Fishing Day, we celebrate their contributions to our natural environment and our national heritage." - President Barack Obama

Said the president:

"Since our Nation's founding, hunters and anglers have cherished these unparalleled natural gifts and marveled at their untamed beauty. National Hunting and Fishing Day recognizes the contributions of millions of Americans who continue to engage in these ageless pursuits.

Following in the centuries-old footsteps of the pioneers who walked before them, hunters and anglers have played a key role in the conservation and restoration of numerous species and their natural habitats. They not only understand their pivotal role as stewards of the land, but also seek to pass on this honored tradition to future generations . . . If not for America's great hunters and anglers, like President Theodore Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold, our Nation would not enjoy sound game management; a system of ethical, science-based game laws; and an extensive public lands estate on which to pursue the sports. On
National Hunting and Fishing Day, we celebrate their contributions to our natural environment and our national heritage."

(The president's full remarks in support of hunters and anglers can be read in full on the White House website.)

Conservation, stewardship of the land, self-reliance and strength of character are values AHSA also believes are integral to our gun-owning traditions. We are proud to share these values with our president and to support his efforts to preserve our national heritage, our gun rights and the lands we love.

Dre and I walked for 4 hours soaking in many of the exhibits at the annual sportsman’s exhibition this past February. One constant was that we didn’t see any other Black people among the thousands who were talking to outfitters from all over the world, attending workshops and seminars and visiting with vendors. Dre, a wonderful thirteen year old boy whom I was fortunate to get matched up with by the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, asked me the question I have been asking for years. “Why don’t African Americans participate very much in outdoor sports, especially hunting?

According to the most recent U.S Census estimates on the distribution of the U.S. population by race/ethnicity (2007) there are 37 million African Americans or about 12 percent of the total population. According to the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife data for the same year, only 1 percent of those who hunt are African Americans.

In the spring of 2008, in response to what I perceived as an opportunity and a need, I created the African American Hunting Association (AAHA) Website aahunt.com. The response from people all over the world has been exciting. The mission the African American Hunting Association LLC (AAHA) is to increase the number of African Americans and urban residents living in the United States involved in hunting, game management, shooting sports, and conservation. The values AAHA is founded on include the rights of all Americans to hunt for food and for sport, the rights of individuals to own and use firearms and other weapons in accordance with the Constitution of the United States and all applicable federal, state and local laws.

Also, last summer Greg Gordon owner of, NLE Media, who built the website, introduced the idea that we should co-produce an outdoor television show aimed at African Americans, who represent a vast untapped consumer market. Well, one thing led to another, and now we have completed the first season of 13 shows, which can be viewed on the website and DVD’s of the show can be purchased. The shows feature host Donny Adair, his 23-year old son Donnell, and other young African American hunters and fisherman. The hunts and fishing adventures were videotaped in Oregon (our home state), Idaho and Mississippi, which I call my adopted home state. The game harvested includes Chukar, Pheasant, Ducks, Geese, Blacktailed Deer, Elk, Whitetail Deer, Salmon, Sturgeon and other warm water fish. AAHA and NLE Media are now seeking sponsors to take their 30-minute show to the television airwaves.

The AAHA invites everyone who supports the mission, goals and objectives of our organization to participate with us regardless of their individual race, ethnicity, national origin, gender or sexual orientation. It is a multi-cultural organization. All are welcome to join AAHA. The goals and objectives are work to promote better understanding and acceptance of the sport of hunting at the local, regional and national level; and to increase involvement of African American individuals and families in hunting and associated outdoor sports such as camping, hiking, fishing biking, photography, etc. The AAHA will increase the opportunity for African American hunters to obtain state of the art or the best hunting equipment each hunter can afford. The AAHA will provide increased opportunities for African Americans to enjoy the great outdoors, regionally, nationally and internationally.

I'm just back from doing eight campaign stops in Ohiofor Obama over the past couple days.  I want to get out my thoughts on the decision by the NRA to officially endorse John McCain.  They're playing pure partisan politics with this decision.  Based on the NRA's own standards, McCain doesn't deserve the endorsement.

But, today, the National Rifle Association demonstrated once again that it is a partisan political entity, not a organization committed to the best interests of gun owners.

In 2001, the NRA’s magazine, America’s First Freedom (no link), said that John McCain was "one of the premier flag carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment."  That came after McCain introduced federal legislation on gun show background checks, which came after McCain’s appearances in television ads support referenda in Colorado and Oregon to require backgrounds checks at gun shows.  

The ad from Colorado is here.   McCain knew that the NRA was fighting these measures and rubbed his support right in the faces of the NRA leadership.

There's a pattern of the NRA endorsing Republicans even when those Republicans don't support the NRA's agenda.  In 2004 the NRA endorsed George Bush despite his long-standing support for renewal of the federal assault weapons ban., a measure also vehemently opposed by the NRA.  In fact, John McCain voted for the renewal of the assault weapons ban in 2004, when he supported S. 1805, which included an amendment on assault weapons.

This history is important.  It’s hard to imagine any Democrat getting a similar pass from the NRA.  In fact, the NRA has been going over Barack Obama’s state senate record with a microscope to find any bad vote.  Meanwhile, Obama has repeatedly expressed support for the Second Amendment and has even supported a key NRA bill, the Vitter amendment, in the U.S. Senate.

But, the NRA’s long memory on Obama is contradicted by its lack of honest scrutiny of John McCain and his record.  The GOP nominee mocked the NRA to its face by appearing in those t.v. ads in 2000 and serving as the lead sponsor for gun show legislation.  The NRA is holding Obama accountable for votes taken 10 years ago, but giving McCain a pass for his actions within the past 8 years.

But, the leaders of the NRA always put their own political interests first.  They’re willing to spend the millions of dollars of their members’ money to fight Obama when McCain has led the charge against the organization.  The NRA is spending those millions to deceive its members and other gun owners.  Three independent sources-- FactCheck.org, CNNand the Washington Post, have found the NRA’s ads misleading and false.

And, the truth is that NRA has been selling out hunters on conservation interests for years.  The organization that I head, the American Hunters and Shooters Association, put out a comprehensive report showing that the NRA has support Members of Congress with the worst conservation records (Read the report at: www.realhuntersrealconservation.org) Our report showed that the NRA has stood with George Bush, John McCain, and the corporate lobbyists instead of standing up for hunters and shooters' interest in protecting our forests and public lands.

Today’s action by the NRA wasn’t unexpected.  It just confirms that Wayne LaPierre has made that once great institution nothing but a pawn of the right wing conservative politicians.