Legendary Hunts

by Boone

  “There he goes, right beneath us! Get down here! Get down here!” Ross yelled.

  Ross was disgusted with the events. The ram had gone below some low ledges on the ridge and stopped. I saw it running and headed directly to the ridgeline for a shot. I was concentrating on the ram and my footing. I got to a spot where I could get into a solid sitting position but the first two shots missed. The ram was scuttling along the far side of the draw, and there would be time for one more shot. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. At the shot, the ram was down.

  I bought my .30-06 Winchester, Model 70 rifle in 1959. Since the rifle has so many good experiences attached to it, it’s an important part of my history. The rifle shoots a minute-of-angle group with several weights of bullets, and I chose the 150-grain Hornady for sheep hunting. I was haunted that I missed.

  These old eyes were moist as I realized I had just finished an experience backed by about 40 years of anticipation, in an extraordinarily beautiful and wild country. The “Play Hooky Ram” was working its magic, and it would again and again. I realized I would look at him at least 250 days or so out of each year.

  I fell into bed, listening to the elk bugle, waking only when the lights of the generator went on at 5:45 a.m. We were on the tail end of the trip, and I was relaxed. The clouds brought snow delaying my flight to Fort Nelson. The elk bugled each night, and I had time to examine the ones that fed on the slopes around the camp.

  I took the stolen time to visit, write, wander, and reflect. On the last night; I heard wolves on the slopes, probably examining the elk just in case one might be vulnerable. The unmistakable howl of the gray wolf floated across the ridges in the night air. Hunts are for memories, and I’ve my share of the best.

  Image from B&C Archives

  Original score chart for James M. Peek’s Stone’s sheep, which scores 176-4/8 points.

  Irwin Brothers Collection – Arizona Historical Society

  At the turn of the century, market hunting was decimating wildlife populations. By establishing our nation’s first game laws, bag limits, and ethical code of conduct for sportsmen, Boone and Crockett Club members mobilized sportsmen as conservation leaders.

  Fair Chase and Conservation

  By Keith Balfourd

  Boone and Crockett Club

  THE ABUNDANCE OF FORESTS, PLANTS, AND WILDLIFE SEEMED INEXHAUSTIBLE TO EARLY NORTH AMERICAN SETTLERS. BY THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, HOWEVER, NORTH AMERICA’S WILDLIFE AND WILD HABITAT WERE IN SERIOUS JEOPARDY. OUR NATION’S POPULATION WAS GROWING, AND ALONG WITH THIS GROWTH CAME A THIRST FOR TIMBER, AGRICULTURAL LAND, MINERALS, FUELS, WATER, AND WILD GAME. THERE WERE NO LAWS, RULES, OR REGULATIONS REGARDING THE TAKING OF WILDLIFE, THE CLEARING OF LAND, OR USE OF OUR WETLANDS. IN ADDITION, THERE WERE FEW POLICIES AND LAWS GOVERNING THE USE AND PROTECTION OF THESE PRECIOUS RESOURCES.

  The cattle industry was in its infancy and unregulated market hunting and extensive subsistence hunting were taking a heavy toll on big game populations. In the West, the U.S. Army had slaughtered entire herds of game in an effort to deprive the plains Indians of their nomadic lifestyle and force them onto the reservations. The railroad was also moving west. Along with it came the need for meat to feed the rail crews, and unregulated hunter access. What was left of the big game herds of the Plains and the Rocky Mountains continued to dwindle in numbers. This same western expansion resulted in the clearing of forests and tilling of prairies, altering entire ecosystems. Something had to be done!

  WISE USE

  Theodore Roosevelt, a dedicated sportsman and visionary, founded the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887. In 1883, Roosevelt, an avid hunter, outdoorsman, and explorer returned from his ranching days in North Dakota with a mission. He had witnessed first-hand the negative affect on big game populations from unchecked exploitation. He called a meeting of several of his friends who shared his passion for the outdoors. One of these gentleman hunters, George Bird Grinnell, described this gathering as “an association of men bound together by their interest in game and fish, to take charge of all matters pertaining to the enactment and carrying out of laws on the subject.”

  Successful men of science, business, industry, and politics, had joined together out of their common concern for dwindling wildlife populations and irresponsible land use, to conserve wild resources for the future. Because of the dedication of these respected leaders and hunters, this meeting eventually resulted in the foundation for the greatest conservation revolution in the history of mankind and the survival of our hunting heritage.

  B&C FIRST FOR CONSERVATION

  When Roosevelt took office in 1901, the contemporary thinking on natural resource matters was that of “protection” and “preservation.” Through his discussions with Grinnell, “conservation” became the keynote of his administration. The word soon appeared in dictionaries defined as “prudent use without waste.” Roosevelt’s administration produced a federal natural resource program that was balanced between economic development and aesthetic preservation, setting aside and protecting 150 million acres of national forests. In seven years, more progress was made in natural resource management than the nation had seen in a century, or has seen since.

  Throughout the 19th century, Roosevelt and the hunter/conservationists of the Boone and Crockett Club continued to make significant contributions to wildlife and environmental welfare. Some of these early accomplishments of Club members include:

  • The establishment of game laws and the enforcement of hunting seasons and bag limits;

  • The abolishment of market hunting practices;

  • The protection of Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of Glacier and Denali National Parks;

  • The establishment of the National Park Service, National Forest Service, and the National Wildlife Refuge System;

  • Passing of the 1894 and 1900 Lacey Acts, Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration (Pittman-Robertson) Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Migratory Bird Act of 1913, the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934, and the Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Program.

  Boone and Crockett Club Members were so effective that their conservation history, commissioned to be written in 1960, was so nearly a complete history of the conservation movement that it was expanded to include non-Club related items. This history was detailed in James B. Trefethen’s book, An American Crusade for Wildlife, which has been accepted as a landmark text for conservation.

  THE RULES OF FAIR CHASE

  In a land of abundance, free-spirited pioneers and outdoorsmen were naturally resistant to change, new laws, and limits. Early European law mandated that all wildlife belonged to the crown; therefore, American pioneers shunned anything that resembled old-world restrictions.

  As indicated in Roosevelt’s master plan, a set of guidelines had to be established. An ethical code of conduct for all sportsmen was required. If wildlife was to survive, and for “conservation” (wise use) to prevail over “preservation” (no use), sportsmen needed to lead the charge. With the leadership of Roosevelt, the Boone and Crockett Club’s “Fair Chase” tenets encouraged laws in the states and provinces to maintain sport hunting at a high level of sportsmanship and ethical conduct. This “Fair Chase” code directly engaged the hunter’s conscience to enjoy hunting in an ethical fashion. Born from these efforts was the concept of public stewardship and the realization that wildlife did indeed belong to the people.

  Throughout its existence, the Boone and Crockett Club never skirted thorny issues. Changing the culture and thinking of the American sportsmen was, perhaps, one of the most difficult, yet significant, accomplishments of the Club. The Club’s Fair Chase statement provided the foundation for hunter ethics as we know them today. The public image of the hunter was raised to that of a sportsman – one who can kill, yet protect and conserve what is taken.

  THEY BELONG TO ALL

  One of the early challenges facing the Club, and a successful launch of the conservation movement, was the disconnect tha
t existed between citizens and wildlife. This disconnect was held over from the old days of European rule – no public ownership of wildlife. To bring the public into the realization that wildlife in the “new country” did indeed belong to them and was in their care, the Club went into action with two major initiatives – the protection of Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of the National Collection of Heads and Horns.

  From the Club’s first formal meetings a plan was initiated to save Yellowstone National Park (the Nation’s first national park) from poachers, mining and timber speculators, and the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was lobbying to gain a right of way west, through the Park. “Resolve that a committee of 5 be appointed by the chair to promote useful and proper legislation toward the enlargement and better Government of Yellowstone.” A single resolution, in a single sentence, but it marked the beginning of the Boone and Crockett Club’s conservation crusade.

  Through a series of expose’ editorials in Club member George Bird Grinnell’s Forest and Stream magazine, the public was drawn into the cause. The dramatic telling of a bison-poaching incident within the pages of Forest and Stream was a national sensation that focused public attention and outcry on the serious plight of Yellowstone. Sportsmen, nature lovers, and those who planed to someday visit the Park finally said, “No more.”

  In 1894, the Yellowstone Protection Act (Lacey Act of 1894) was pushed through Congress by Club Member and Senator John F. Lacey. The new laws gave Yellowstone the staff, funding, protection, enforcement, and penalties for violations it needed to maintain itself as a pristine national treasure for all the people.

  The National Collection of Heads and Horns was another brainchild of the Club and its members. It was a trophy exhibit opened for public display in 1922 at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, in cooperation with the New York Zoological Society (also founded and directed by several B&C Members) and the Bronx Zoo, of which Club member William T. Hornaday was its first Director. The inscription over the entrance to the exhibit read “In Memory of the Vanishing Big Game of the World.” The display sparked public interest in big game animals, elevated the concept of public stewardship of wildlife, and created the momentum needed to launch a conservation and recovery effort that saved many of these great animals, and hunting itself, from extinction.

  Photo from B&C Archives

  Grancel Fitz measuring the main beam circumference on the A.S. Reed Alaska-Yukon moose (240-7/8 points) that is currently in the Boone and Crockett Club National Collection of Heads and Horns. Grancel was on the committee that developed the Club’s copyrighted scoring system that is used today.

  Once the positive effects of the conservation movement began to pay dividends, the plight of big game animals was no longer as much of a concern. Interest in the collection had waned and the building, which housed the trophies, became used for storage space. After a burglary in 1974, the Club rescued what remained of the collection and found a temporary home for them at the national headquarters of the National Rifle Association in Washington, D.C. In 1981, the collection was permanently moved to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.

  Today, the National Collection of Heads and Horns is again being shared with interested sportsmen and the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the Cody Museum annually.

  WHY KEEP RECORDS

  The grave condition our big game species were in at the turn of the century had many responsible sportsmen wondering if these great animals would be resigned to the same fate as Audubon’s bighorn sheep, and the eastern and Merriam’s elk – extinction. Certain species of animal and bird life were vanishing and, before it was too late, a biological record of their historic range and mere existence was needed. The Boone and Crockett Club again accepted the challenge.

  When the Club’s Executive Committee appointed Casper Whitney, Archibald Rogers, and Theodore Roosevelt to the Club’s first Records Committee in 1902, it wasn’t to develop a scoring system for bragging rights, endorsements, or what fees to charge for the taking of a trophy. Their goal was a system to record biological, harvest, and location data on the vanishing big game animals of North America – a system that is still in use today.

  With the publishing of the first edition of Records of North American Big Game in 1932, the Club set in motion a system that would continue to elevate our native big game species to an even higher plane of public stewardship. A by-product of this book was an increased interest in trophy hunting, which subsequently motivates more hunters to become interested in the conservation movement.

  Records-keeping activities enabled the Club to promote its doctrine of ethical hunting by accepting only those trophies taken under “Fair Chase.” Through prestige received from the success and acceptance of the Records Book, the Boone and Crockett Club had the ability to forge a new understanding of species biology and the need for the management of big game species.

  When it was reported that the Club would reject cougar trophies entered into the records book from states that classified cougar as vermin under a bounty system, the result led to cougar being elevated to the status of a big game animal. This allowed the cougar both management and protection such a classification warranted. This same awareness and recognition became available to other species such as the Central Canada barren ground caribou found in north-central Canada. The declaration of a separate records book category allowed this caribou sub-species to become eligible for funding and management from the government. These territories received a vital boost to their economies from the sale of licenses, tags, and a new interest in these great animals.

  In Quebec, when complaints were received from hunters about the practices of caribou outfitters and guides, the Boone and Crockett Club contacted Quebec’s Game and Fish Department. If questionable hunting practices continued, the Quebec-Labrador caribou would no longer be accepted for the Records Book. As a result, ethical fair chase hunting became the norm rather than the exception.

  THE GREATEST STORY YET TO BE TOLD

  Most hunters know of the Boone and Crockett Club. Many know only part of the story. Trophies, scoring, and records-books are only a small part of the Club’s mission.

  “Walk softly and carry a big stick” was Theodore Roosevelt’s way of getting things done. The Club never sought recognition or notoriety for its actions. It was rare to see the Club’s name in headlines, but little happens in the conservation arena that is not based on the legal foundation for the North American Model of Conservation formed and maintained by the Club and its members.

  LOOKING WEST

  When Roosevelt organized the Boone and Crockett Club, its members were eastern gentlemen, primarily from New York and Washington, D.C. Its activities were focused in Washington to promote initiatives through Congressional legislation and Executive Prerogative (order). This was the Club’s necessary battlefield where its influential members could best achieve their goals and objectives because they were primarily federal in character. Accordingly, the Club’s executive offices were in New York and Washington.

  The Club’s headquarters were moved to Missoula, Montana, in September 1992, for three essential reasons. First, its membership was now diversely scattered across North America. Second, the Club recognized the major national resource issues of the country continued to evolve in the West. And third, the solution to these western challenges was no longer solely in Washington at the federal level, but rather had devolved to the local level where the wildlife and watersheds existed. It was recognized, moreover, that the immense private land holdings in the West presented a challenge and opportunity equal to the resource issues of the nation.

  Befitting of a century-old organization, the Club’s National Headquarters is now housed in the historic Milwaukee Railroad Depot building in the heart of downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to administrative offices, the Club has planned an interpretive visitors center highlighting the history of conservation in North America.

  INTO THE SECOND CENTURY

>   Throughout its history, the Boone and Crockett Club has supported science, research, and education. In recognition of the Club’s 100th anniversary, Club members committed to expand this purpose by purchasing the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch (TRM) in 1986. This 6,600-acre working cattle ranch is located on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front adjoining the Bob Marshall Wilderness and other privately owned ranches. This region encompasses prime wildlife wintering grounds. Here, habitat research and land management practices present an example to community ranchers demonstrating that diversified populations of big game, even predators like grizzly bear and cougar, can be compatible with profits from ranching.

  Open to the public each fall, the TRM Ranch, through a cooperative agreement with the State of Montana, allows people of all ages to hunt on the Ranch; however, special emphasis is given to youth hunters who must be accompanied by an adult mentor. Hunting traditions will be preserved in the future through hunter/mentor opportunities like those who enjoy the privilege of participating in Fair Chase hunting in natural, well-managed environments.

  In 2001, the Boone and Crockett Club constructed the Elmer E. Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Education Center on the Ranch. This Center serves as the headquarters for the Lee and Penny Anderson Conservation Education programs. Using the TRM Ranch as an outdoor classroom, the Club’s K-12 Education Program helps students and teachers build lasting awareness, understanding, and appreciation for the living and non-living components of our natural world. Through the Conservation Across Boundaries (CAB) program, teachers from across the country are invited to participate in workshops where wildlife and habitat conservation curriculum models are taught, benefiting both teachers and their students.