Livestock and Sporting Groups are celebrating the signing today (Monday) of a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Public Lands Council (PLC), Ducks Unlimited (DU), Safari Club International (SCI), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The MOU outlines the groups’ shared commitment to healthy natural resources and collective conservation of habitat through sustainable multiple use. NCBA President Marty Smith was one of those in attendance of the event held at Blackbeard’s Ranch in Myakka City, Fla.
He told Southeast Agnet’s Randall Weiseman this recognizes the environmental good things done by the cattle industry.
Livestock and Sportsmen Groups Enter Historic Conservation Partnership
MYAKKA CITY, FL (August 24, 2020) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ducks Unlimited (DU) and Safari Club International (SCI) today to outline the groups’ shared commitment to conservation of natural resources through sustainable multiple use. The MOU outlines these groups’ efforts to cultivate healthier ecosystems, wildlife populations, and economies through active management. Hunting, fishing, and livestock grazing are all key components of successful, comprehensive management plans for our nation’s public lands and resources.
The MOU highlights decades of successful voluntary conservation programs and formalizes a partnership to allow these groups to coordinate multi-sector projects in the future. Cattle and beef producers, hunters, and conservationists often engage in conservation partnerships that maintain open space, honor the cultural and historical value of landscapes, and empower local communities and rural economies. Signatories of the MOU are proud of the meaningful conservation achieved, and today reaffirmed their commitment to voluntary conservation.
“One thing cattle producers and the sportsmen communities have in common is a shared commitment to being good stewards of the land. Combining efforts under this memorandum, will boost conservation efforts and management of wildlife habitat,” said NCBA President Marty Smith. “We want to thank everyone who has made this partnership possible.”
“This MOU is a great step in putting the hard work from long-standing partnerships on paper,” said PLC President Bob Skinner. “Ranchers are true conservationists, and I am proud to partner with groups whose members also work to protect open spaces and manage our country’s natural resources for a better future.”
“As sportsmen and cattle producers both know, land that is used, is land that is loved,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “We are committed to prioritizing partnerships that help deliver results for conservation and cementing that with the signing of this MOU. SCI and its members look forward to working together in the future to ensure sportsmen, cattle producers and the American public can enjoy these lands for generations to come.”
“DU members and ranching families alike know protecting wildlife habitat and working lands go hand in hand,” said Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam. “The signing of this agreement solidifies the strong bond between sportsmen and ranchers. America’s farmers and ranchers both feed the world and host a wide range of wildlife on their working lands, and have done so for generations. Together, we are ensuring our natural resources and our food security are provided for.”
Background
Signatories of the MOU make personal, financial, philanthropic, and political investments in these landscapes that improve the condition and future of these landscapes for the future and decrease the financial burden on the American taxpayer through the leveraging of private funds with government appropriations.