On May 15, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and natural resource and outdoor recreation survey and research firm Responsive Management (RM), in partnership with the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum (HLF), held an inaugural communications workshop near NRA’s Virginia headquarters, called “How to Debate and Communicate Effectively about Hunting.” The sold-out event drew 100 people from state fish and wildlife agencies and non-governmental organizations.

A culmination of a year-long Multistate Conservation Grant study initiating research on communication strategies to increase support for hunting, the workshop was funded through the Wildlife Restoration Program administered by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The goal: to institutionalize the way forward to protect hunting, starting with teaching hunters winning debate tactics to communicate hunting’s benefits and…