Autumn is a particularly wonderful season for wandering in the woods. As the leaves start to change color and then reach their peak with smoldering hues, you find yourself surrounded with some of the most spectacular productions of natural “science.”
Of course, autumn brings the natural surroundings into their dying season, the time of falling into a state of rest after sprouting in spring and ripening in summer. Still, a walk in the woods will reveal that even this “dying” season is full of life and wonder, from the acorns hitting you on the head to the fallen leaves swishing around your feet.
But wandering through the woods in this season can also be dangerous because it is a particularly active hunting season. So if you like orange, you will do well to don an extra bit of it so that an eager hunter does not mistake you for a deer, bear, or some other living thing to shoot for. Better safe than sorry.
Wandering through the woods during hunting season is disconcerting, if not dangerous, for another reason as well. Those same hunters with itchy trigger fingers frequently drop more than just shell casings and, sadly, various woodland creatures.
As you stumble through the swishing blanket of leaves, you may well stumble upon and even trip over any number of bottles, cans, boxes, bags, and other bits of litter that hunters often leave behind. It seems that stalking prey is a pretty energy-intensive activity, requiring ample supplies of beer, soda, and convenience foods, among other hunting accessories, to keep the hunting senses keen. (Another favorite seems to be tobacco dip. A bottle or can filled with the spit-water from this surely toxic concoction will likely leave you thinking you have come upon a dead animal; you will certainly not be inclined to pick the litter up!)
Now, it may seem unfair to target hunters as the offending litterbugs. Other woodland wayfarers may be just as careless with what they carry along; the same goes for campers. So what makes hunters the most likely culprits?
Although I have not conducted a scientific study, I do take note on my diurnal wandering in the woods and notice that litter seems to fall in larger amounts when hunting season kicks in. This is true even on the private property where I live–despite signs forbidding trespassing and hunting. Moreover, these litter bits peek up from the leaves in the thickest parts of the woods, not along trails or good spots for pitching a tent.
Putting aside the morality of hunting, I think it seems entirely reasonable and ethical for hunters to bag their trash along with the woodland creatures they aim to “bag.” Some hunting groups, such as Ducks Unlimited, have become active stewards because they recognize that sustaining healthy habitats is the only reliable way to sustain sufficient numbers of animals therein.
For a hunter to litter without abandon, then, is sort of like pooping in his or her own well. Without responsibility, careless hunters may soon find themselves shooting at the very bottles and cans they have dropped on the forest floor…because all the animals are gone.
For those of us who go into the woods to wander and wonder, the season ahead may be a dangerous one indeed. So we better watch out–for bullets, bottles, beer cans, and those fetid pools of dip-spit!
Related Post:
Hunters and Helpers: The Conservation Efforts of Hunting and Fishing Organizations
Image credit: Clifford Berryman (1902), via Infrogmation at Wikimedia Commons.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Duck Unlimited is far from being the only hunting organization that promotes conservation and sustainability. You should dig a little deeper in that regard. Also, whether you like it or not, the monies spent by hunters and anglers does considerably more to maintain public lands and waterways, and game and fish populations than the lip-service done by all of the environmental groups combined. License and permit fees – as well as club membership dues – fund the research programs that have generated bag and size limits for game and fish in order to maintain the breeding populations. These efforts seek to maintain a sport/tradition that has existed since the dawn of man.
On the flip side, the membership dues paid to the various environmental groups do nothing to maintain fish and game populations directly, but rather get used to wine and dine Washington insiders in hopes of federalizing and restricting the public’s use of land and water. Historically, such restrictions have only lead to overpopulation and mass death due to disease and starvation. Of course, that’s considered “ethical” because it is “natural”. As though man is wholly separated from nature. It is also considered ethical that the “legitimate” green groups (PETA, Environmental Defense Fund, The Sierra Club, Greenpeace, etc.) have funneled money to groups like the ELF (Environmental Liberation Front) and ALF (Animal Liberation Front), which have such a fine history of eco-terrorism that they remain on the FBI’s watch list. You will likely suggest that arsen, tree spiking, and other violent activities are carried out only by those on the outer fringe of the green movement. Unfortunately, the funding has come from the good people who pay dues to the group’s touting clean water, clean air, and suffrage for all god’s creatures.
Now, I will agree that littering and chewing tobacco are nasty habits. I am also not a big fan of comsuming alcohol in conjunction with any outdoor activities. However, to lay all of the blame at the feet of those who hunt (or fish) is simply anecdotal propaganda.
Agree with Bobby. My dad and brother are lifelong hunters, and they are truly stewards of the lands they use. Organizations they belong to like Pheasants Forever do so much work in conservation. Those who honor and respect the rules and laws governing hunting, who are responsible hunters, would never trash the habitat. I’m not saying there are not hunters who litter, but teenagers have been known to drink in the woods, too. It’s really not fair to place a blanket accusation on a group that is actually known for their care of habitats.
Bobby and Kelli, I think I was fairly clear that I am not pointing at hunters as the only people who litter in the woods (or elsewhere). You are both right that many other people do the same thing, including campers and others who are normally thought of as “nature lovers.” But I have definitely seen how hunters leave a lot of trash behind, which is sad because they can be such stewards of the land–as both of you point out. The key difference between being a steward and an abuser of the environment is respecting both the land and the animals that are hunted. I am simply trying to raise awareness about this fact, not to lay any blanket accusation, and I do not believe my post was in any way unfair towards hunters; if it came across this way, then I hope this comment clarifies my intention.
You only devoted two sentences to non-hunters:
“Now, it may seem unfair to target hunters as the offending litterbugs. Other woodland wayfarers may be just as careless with what they carry along; the same goes for campers.”
So, the clarity was absent and the finger pointing blatant. But hey, it is your opinion article and you are free to write what you wish. Very provacative.
As much as I personally know that hunters can be tremendous stewards of the land and the animal population, I also can say that my own experience PROVES that MOST hobby-fisherman are incredible sources of pollution in the land and water. Marc and I are always SHOCKED at the piles of fish line, bait containers, beer bottles, grocery bags, cigarette butts and wrappers, and food and soda containers all along the shore.
Nope, that doesn’t mean they all do that, but it means an awful lot of them do, and they just don’t think twice about it.