"As we have seen, powerful and well-funded groups have been organized with the intent of banning fishing and hunting in the United States. We see these groups in action in calls for the EPA to ban traditional ammunition, enact fishing bans off the coast of California, calls for the head of the Fish and Wildlife Commission in California to be fired for legally hunting a mountain lion, and the list goes on. To be unaware or, worse yet, unconcerned about these existential threats places our lifestyles as outdoors people at peril.  To counter these groups we must stay involved, support those organizations that fight for us, and, most importantly, vote!"

"Our single greatest challenge is the financial predicament our country is currently facing. Deficit spending, unfunded and underfunded future obligations, and inefficient and ineffective government programs have finally caught up to us. We’re now staring at perhaps years with no funds for programs and fewer staff to carry out programs. Since shooting, hunting and conservation are low on the priority list, we’re going to hear more often that there isn’t enough money for our issues."

"The word “conservation” has been stolen and transformed from its true and original meaning: “The wise use of our natural resources.”  For many today, including the presidential candidates, conservation means no-use, to lock up and fully protect. I am not sure we have a candidate before us that understands the true meaning of conservation and how fish and wildlife resources in the nation depend on the hunter/angler participant to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations as well as helping safeguard the funding this large constituency provides for resource management. As a community we need to regain the true meaning of conservation in the collective public mind."

"“It’s the economy, stupid!” was a popular catch phrase during Bill Clinton’s successful presidential campaign against George Bush, Sr., in 1992. While the wording was novel, the idea wasn’t. People have always voted with their pocketbooks. In the coming election, the nation's alarming deficit, and the slow growth of the economy will play a primary role. Whoever wins the election will be charged with solving these problems and sportsmen’s issues could either become a sacrificial lamb, or part of the solution. The biggest concerns for sportsmen going into this election is the candidate who promises thoughtless, willy-nilly cuts across the board. Reduced spending will be a mandate of whoever gets elected, but let’s hope we get the kind of people in there who do it the right way. In Oct. 2011, Southwick Associates produced the study The Economics Associated with Outdoor Recreation, Natural Resources Conservation and Historic Preservation in the United States. The report includes figures that reinforce the size and scope of sportsmen's economic impact but also highlight the combined value of outdoor recreation, conservation and historic preservation. These activities combined have helped to create 9.4 million American jobs and generate $107 billion annually in tax revenue. Clearly, outdoor recreation, like hunting and fishing, is more than just a good time. It’s an important economic engine. Important state and federal programs meant to preserve America’s are potentially on the chopping block, and we need candidates that will intend to save the golden goose—not kill it. Here are just a few programs that are crucial to fishermen: • Funding for federal programs that purchase and conserve critical fish and wildlife habitats. • The National Fish Habitat program. • Funding for Great Lakes restoration. • Funding for State Fish and Wildlife Grants program—a partnership between state fish and wildlife agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that funds many state level programs, including most state fish hatcheries. • Programs to preserve and enhance Pacific salmon. • The National Park Service. • The Environmental Protection Agency. These are just a few of the agencies, departments, and programs that protect and preserve our fishing in America and, as a result, contribute more than $100 million to the economy. Let's elect politicians who recognize this important contribution and the importance of an environment we're proud to pass along to our children."

"The greatest challenge we face is the expanding influence of ‘Big Green’ anti-use/preservationist interests with government officials, agencies and mainstream media. Well-funded multi-faceted campaigns use a variety of diverse marketing tactics and populist phrasing to create a manufactured fish or wildlife ‘crisis’ and to then offer proposed ‘solutions’ which, when viewed more closely, actually threaten the future of sport fishing and hunting.  These campaigns increasingly attempt to influence government to greatly restrict or permanently ban recreational access to public lands and waters.  Whether by intent or as collateral damage, many of these initiatives seriously compromise science-based fish and wildlife management and the environmentally sustainable wise use of fish, wildlife and natural resources. Anglers and hunters have always been the first to support scientifically based season restrictions and creel and bag limits on behalf of fish and wildlife conservation. The American Model of fish and wildlife management and the restoration of species and habitat on the North American continent stands as the greatest environmental success story in the history of the planet. The record is clear and evident for well over 100 years. People who fish and hunt continue to lead as they always have, in these efforts. If we allow alternate anti-use agendas and ‘Big Green’ publicity campaigns to replace time tested scientific standards and to adversely influence government policy, we will continue to lose our outdoor heritage sports one closure, one acre, one coastal region at a time. The trend is clear in recent years and anglers and hunters can no longer be merely observers to the ‘Death of a Thousand Cuts’. Be informed. Be involved."

"Access is our Number One challenge.  Sportsmen across the country have been forced to battle for mere access to public resources.  For saltwater anglers, that battle is against those who want to arbitrarily close off vast swaths of the oceans for no scientific reason.  Anglers and hunters were the first conservationists, and we have been paying for conservation for generations.  We are the stewards, and maintaining access to America’s public resources should be our top priority."

"Our ability to coalesce together behind issues impacting sportsmen, shooters, and the fish and wildlife we cherish. In fact, the need to unify legislators behind challenges facing hunting, fishing, trapping, and shooting is why the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) was created in 1988-89. We still have a lot of work to do to make sure we are protecting and promoting the interests of recreational hunters, anglers, trappers, and shooters, but that is a challenge the CSF is tackling head on in Washington, D. C., and in states capitols around the country."

"Recruitment! Ensuring enough youngsters take up hunting to keep the sport alive, despite increasing urbanization, anti-gun and anti-hunting sentiment, lack of opportunity and access to hunting lands and shooting ranges."

"It seems that hunting and fishing consistently face challenges on multiple fronts, from public-land access to invasive species. But those concerns are all overshadowed by the fact that sportsmen need to do a significantly better job of recruiting new participants into our ranks. Without an expanding base of enthusiasts to support the industry, pay fish & wildlife excise taxes, and maintain the traditions of hunting and angling, those activities could eventually drift out of the public consciousness and become a lost piece of Americana. For our sports to survive and thrive, we need to share them with others, especially those who otherwise may never be exposed to hunting or fishing.  We need to find them, include them, support them and retain them within our ranks."

"I believe the biggest challenge sportsmen face in the years ahead is remaining relevant in a society that becomes more and more disconnected with nature every year. Unfortunately, this is the result of significant societal trends that cannot be undone simply by electing the right candidates in November. As Americans become increasingly dependent on technology and automation in their everyday lives, and as ever greater percentages of our populations occupy urban and suburban settings, it is imperative that hunters and anglers serve not only as a conservation voice but as a voice for the very real emotional, physical and spiritual benefits individuals and communities can gain from cultivating an intimate relationship with the natural world."

"To protect and foster the outdoor sporting heritage in America."

"Declining participation rates and /license sales to of hunters and fishermen in nearly all states."

"In my view, ongoing demographic changes represent the worst problem. Despite population growth in the U.S., the number of outdoorsmen remains relatively flat. As this trend continues, loss of habitat, strained public resources and less of focus on wildlife are sure to result."

"Access to land on which to hunt. A friendly smile and the offer to help split wood no longer gain prospective hunters a place to hunt. Landowners have learned that good hunting property has value—often more value than crop land. So, one can hardly fault them for opting to lease out their wooded draws and timbered ridges to augment their income. Unfortunately, kids scouring the countryside on dusty bicycles in search of a place to knock over a few squirrels are coming up empty-handed. In the end, it’s easier to simply stay home and play computer games. The solution? I don’t know if there is one. Access programs that encourage landowners to allow public hunting on their land certainly help, but my best advice to young folks that love to hunt—but have no land—is to move west and park yourself beside a big chunk of public land. Get a good backpack or a horse that allows you to penetrate the remote honeyholes on that public land, and live your life in hunting happiness."

"The inability to find a place to hunt is the biggest threat we face. If a hunter can’t find a place to hunt or to take his kids hunting, he will simply give up and sell his guns and/or bows. All the other challenges we face are minor compared to the lack of access. In some parts of the West there are areas of public land that are landlocked by private land. The private property owner charges outfitters a trespass fee to access the public land. The outfitter then profits by using the public land to conduct hunts for his clients while the public is locked out. This is just one small facet of the problem. States need to come up with some sort of program that promotes hunting access on private property. Certain states, such as Montana and the Dakotas, have accomplished this, but it must happen across the country on a larger scale if hunting is to remain an option for the non-land-owning public.    "

"Public perceptions about hunters and shooters."

"Our biggest conservation challenge is making sure that the public understands that fish and wildlife conservation is relevant to their lives.  With 85% of our nation’s population living in urban settings, we have to define the public benefits that accrue to them by our efforts to provide healthy fish and wildlife habitat in abundance and in a widely distributed manner."

"The intersection of development of the habitat, driven by human population growth and the changing of the climate, will create unprecedented pressure on fish and wildlife populations. Wildlife will try to move, but the migration may be preempted by development across the landscape.  When fish and wildlife become rare or endangered, the closure of hunting and fishing will be the first response of government."