Wildlife Conservation: Part of Everyone's Outdoor Experiences
by Lisa Ballard
I’ve always loved birds and animals. As I kid, I collected whatever creatures hopped, crawled, or slithered by, until my parents made me let them go. My favorite book was Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
As an adult, my life has revolved around being outdoors. Wildlife is always part of it. My media work often takes me deep into the backcountry. Sometimes wildlife encounters are the point of the trip. Other times, they just happen because I’m in an untamed place.
My family time also involves wildlife, whether we hike to an alpine lake to fish or through fields and forests looking for upland birds and big game. Interestingly, hunting puts me into nature so thoroughly that I feel part of it, not just an observer. I’m glad that my hunting and fishing licenses support wildlife conservation.
I get just as much joy photographing trumpeter swans, grizzly bears, and bison in Yellowstone National Park near my home, or watching songbirds come to our feeders. And if an endangered species appears, how exciting to be part of its world for a moment! Then I wonder, “Will it be around next year?”
My deep-rooted joy and concern for wildlife led me to the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF). I’m now on the MWF’s Board and a delegate to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The MWF and the NWF were both founded in 1936 after decades of westward expansion decimated North America’s wildlife populations. So much has improved since then to reestablish damaged or lost ecosystems and bring back those swans, bears, and bison.
Our air and water quality has improved dramatically since then, too. It’s all related, and it’s all at stake again due to climate change and massive federal cuts to agencies like the National Park Service, Forest Service, US Geological Service, Bureau of Land Management, NOAA, and Environmental Protection Agency.
The MWF is among many nonprofit conservation organizations I’ve joined at various times, including Trout Unlimited, Izaak Walton League of America, The Nature Conservancy, National Wild Turkey Federation, Appalachian Mountain Club, and so many others which all do important work on behalf of wildlife, habitat, and public access. LOWA supports 11 non-profits that do this important work.
What do I actually do? I put on my LOWA’s and go afield to take photos and write about the wildlife and wildlands that these conservation groups are stewards of. While you might never see an endangered pika, perhaps you’ll care about them through my words and pictures. My involvement with the MWF is my path toward protecting where the wild things are. What’s yours?