The history of fish and wildlife conservation in the United States dates back more than a century with many successes along the way, such as restoring game species and providing public land opportunities to hunt, fish, and recreate. This worked well for the time, but the rate of change and challenges affecting wildlife are greater today than ever before, and we acknowledge that these past efforts targeted a narrow demographic, whereas success in 21st century wildlife conservation requires bringing new stakeholders to the table. Today, we face climate threats, historical loss of species, shrinking habitats, new invasive species and wildlife diseases, and quickly shifting societal values. These challenges demand a new strategy if we’re to be successful.
Although we are facing complex problems with no easy answers or quick fixes, we are also living in a time when public opinion has a powerful voice in policy, and technological innovation is evolving rapidly. To keep wildlife conservation relevant, recognizing that we need to adapt is the first step towards a solution. How do we engage broader audiences that may not know about the importance of conservation in their own lives or the world at large, or, more candidly, even care about it? How do we make conservation inviting to all citizens? How do we make people realize that a healthy balance with nature is an essential part of their daily lives and positively impacts their health? How do we ensure they are personally invested and a partner in the short and long-term success of conserving wildlife and wild places?
All human lives and livelihoods are inherently integrated with the health of the planet and its biodiversity. Currently, more than 80% of the American public live in urban areas, and as a result they are too often disconnected from wildlife or conservation efforts. Additionally, the increasingly diverse American public has a range of wildlife values and expectations for engagement with wildlife. Therefore, promoting wildlife conservation in ways that appeal to some groups may serve to alienate others. A visionary way to make wildlife conservation relevant to all American people could go far in rallying a unified, national effort to save wild species and their habitats while engaging new and diverse stakeholders in the effort.
To win the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize Competition for Promotion of Wildlife Conservation participants must submit their solution that addresses a visionary way to make wildlife conservation relevant to all American people.
