October marks the beginning of what is usually a brief hunting season for waterfowl and larger game like deer and elk.
But with Congress unable to reach a deal on the federal budget and only essential government work permitted, some 329 federal wildlife refuges have been closed to hunting.
That will increase pressure on already crowded state-run public hunting grounds, and could have a serious economic impact, sportsmen’s groups warned.
It could also dash the dreams of hunters who’ve finally snagged a rare permit.
“In Colorado, hunters who’ve waited 12 years to hunt elk are being forced to turn in their tags,” said Gaspar Perricone, co-director of the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance.
“The hardship isn’t only being felt by the hunters and anglers, but also by the locals and rural economies that depend on them,” he said in a conference call.
Hunting and fishing is an $86 billion industry while other forms of wildlife recreation, like birdwatching, bring the annual total up to $144 billion.
“It’s a big business,” said Desiree Sorenson-Groves of the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
“For commercial guides, this is Macy’s at Christmas.”
The shutdown also has halted critical habitat conservation efforts which need to be conducted in the fall ahead of the spring breeding season, she said.
Adding insult to injury, people can’t even call their congressmen to complain because the shutdown also affects constituent services.
“Our community is getting pretty frustrated,” said Whit Fosburgh, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
“We want the damn thing to be fixed and want the federal government open.”
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on Niki.V.all.ways.My.way. and commented:
u know, #silverlinings
I would never have thought I’d have anything in common with the Tea Party but this make me think that maybe the federal government shut-down is a good thing and should be made permanent, so long as it denies hunter-access to National Wildlife Refuges and public lands. Strange bed-fellows! The nature reserves in the old Soviet Union were called “zapovedniki” — literally, “forbidden zones” where human access was, theoretically, permitted only to a select few scientists. That is what we need to turn our wildlife refuges into today, places that genuinely offer wild animals a refuge from the tyranny of cancerous humanity.
This sound like great news to me. When the wildlife serial killers talks about how the slaughter of the innocent “brings in billions” talk about what wildlife watching by its self would bring in. We don’t need wildlife terrorist to come into the animals peaceful habitat and causing bloodshed. That is nothing more then blood money that came from pain, suffering and death. Keep wildlife watching and lock down on wildlife killing for good!
I agree! I think it’s great!
It sure is
Amen to that
good time to do a study to see what the impacts/benefits are to wildlife without the serial killers out there
True