Wildlife Stewardship

Who owns wildlife? Common law, upheld by judicial decision, says that wildlife is owned in common by all citizens, and governments have the authority to manage wildlife on our behalf. An equally strong legal tradition, however, is the right of property owners to control the resources on and access to their lands. Two-thirds of lands are private and 85 percent of wildlife in the United States is found on these private lands, so how can governments carry out their management mission without encroaching on the property rights of landowners? If that mission is restricted, how can landowners be encouraged to manage and preserve wildlife? Wildlife Stewardship and Recreation on Private Lands examines franchising systems that allow the public and private sectors to work together to set common goals and delegate responsibilities for the management of wildlife and users on private lands. Through enfranchisement, governments can empower landowners with management authority and offer guidance for them to manage wisely. The book considers ways governments and landowners can work together to be good stewards of the public's wildlife using recreation, tax advantages, and cost shares as incentives. Although any enfranchisement system will have problems, Delwin E. Benson, Ross "Skip" Shelton, and Don W. Steinbach show that these problems can be overcome with cooperation and intelligent planning. Relationships among governments, landowners, and recreational users should and can be based on trust and mutual respect. The authors focus on ways that these three groups can come together in a system of shared costs and benefits. Conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts, hunters, land managers and landowners, wildlife professionals, and others interested in and involved with these issues will find this book an informative and indispensable guide to solving some of the problems of managing wildlife on private lands.