public good

This lengthy piece on hunting is an interesting read. She notes how access to hunting lands has declined in most states as local landowners have been replaced by absentee owners who are only interested in hunting when they can charge exorbitant fees. She suggests that progressives are really the only hope for those who like to hunt and fish, as conservatives have favored private and corporate interests.

She includes a little history here--noting how early on the environmental movement (wouldn't have been called that) and the hunters had much in common. In fact, many of the early efforts at setting lands aside came from hunters--including the famous Boone and Crockett Club that boasted membership from Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. Now, those interests are often split and antagonistic--with the Sierra Club opposing most hunting interests.

I am not a hunter. I grew up hunting and shooting and have very little interest in it now. But I recognize that I am a carnivore, and also the role that hunting plays in keeping many species in a healthy population balance. But that aside, this is not really about hunting. What troubles me more than a loss of hunting lands is the loss of the sense of the "public good." Roosevelt, for all his elitism and racism, believed in that sense, as did many of his contemporaries. Contemporary conservatives, and this includes so many of my friends, seem to have lost that sense completely. The "public good" is just not really discussed or valued. And that is a loss.