The White House Conference On North American Wildlife Policy Taking Place Oct. 1-3, 2008

Washington, DC: The date and location for potentially the most important meeting for the future of
wildlife conservation and hunting has been set. The White House Conference on North American Wildlife
Policy will be held October 1 ­ 3 in Reno, Nevada. Mandated by the Facilitation of Hunting Heritage
and Wildlife Conservation executive order signed by President Bush in August 2007, the goal of the
conference is to establish a 10-year plan to improve wildlife conservation and boost hunting opportunity
on public lands. Participants at the conference will include a wide range of stakeholders including
grassroots hunter conservationists, representatives from national and local conservation organizations,
local sportsmen’s clubs, a bipartisan group of members of Congress, Governors, as well as state and
federal officials.

“This conference elevates the challenges facing hunters to the highest level in Washington - the President
of the United States,” noted Jeff Crane, President of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation and a
member of the Sporting Conservation Council, the federal advisory committee that guides administrative
policy on issues important to the hunting and conservation community. “It has been 100 years since a
President convened a group of dedicated conservationists who set in motion a wildlife plan that has
become the most successful in the world. With this conference, today’s political, conservation and
outdoor industry leaders and everyday sportsmen and women have that same opportunity to strengthen
and update the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation for the 21st century.”

The conference will set the stage for a wildlife conservation and hunting heritage plan that will perpetuate
outdoor traditions for future generations of sportsmen no matter who is in the White House or controlling
Congress. Members of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners ­ an affiliation of organizations that
work together on issues facing hunting and conservation ­ sent a letter to President Bush in August
outlining their vision for the conference:

“Our collective vision is that the Conference outcomes will serve as guiding
principles for current and future generations of sportsmen and sportswomen. This
past year, “white papers” were developed that detail the predominant challenges for
wildlife in the next century. Technical and policy sessions with resource professionals
nationwide have been completed. We are pleased to report that the upcoming
Conference Action Plan was created in a strong bipartisan manner with a diverse
coalition from the conservation and sporting community, ensuring a jointly owned
product that will provide strategic policy guidance for future Administrations.”

There are eight primary areas that will frame the core issues for the October conference: the perpetuation
and strengthening of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation; management of wildlife and
habitat at the state, tribal and federal levels; ensuring dependable funding for wildlife conservation;
perpetuating hunter traditions through education, recruitment, and retention; maintaining access to public and private lands; coordinating oil and gas development and wildlife conservation; and the impacts of climate change on wildlife.

“We have worked very hard to be inclusive in our policy discussions in an effort to ensure that our
recommendations are viable, realistic, bipartisan and will truly make a difference to wildlife and hunting,”
commented Dave Nomsen, Vice President of Government Affairs with Pheasants Forever and Chairman
of the American Wildlife Conservation Partners. “We look forward to sharing our vision with the
participants at the White House Conference and trust that the final action plan will meet the needs of
wildlife and all those who are working in the field to protect important wildlife habitat and recruit new
hunters.”

The white papers are in final editing stages and should be released by the end of the month. Information
about the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy including links to the complete
AWCP letter to the President, the original Executive Order and the draft white papers can be found at:
www.wildlifepartners.org
.
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The American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) is a network of more than forty organizations that
work together to conserve wildlife and wildlife habitat as well as to preserve the traditions of hunting and
trapping. The partnership is a loose affiliation with partner organizations retaining their autonomy and
respecting each other’s differences