Decisions by United States Fish and Wildlife Service to all importation of hunting trophies are not frivolous. Scientific evidence shows that hunting can help conserve wildlife. Has "trophy" become a lethal adjective for hunting, despite conservation science?

Cecil, Trophy Hunting, & Other Words that Matter

Please join Shane as he addresses the crowd gathered to celebrate the historical grand opening of Johnny Morris' Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium.   

Philanthropy and America's Conservation Legacy

Join Shane as he speaks to the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation's Youth Group and conservation leaders of tomorrow about the incredible and historical achievement that is the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. This is a call to action, relevant not just for our youth, but for all citizens.

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation & The Path Ahead

Listen to Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions, speak of how the events of the past (Cecil, the Lion and others) have been the spark - not the fuel - of making change - and how the time is NOW to act in the field of conservation. Shane is speaking at the 2017 Dallas Safari Club annual convention,  and asks attendees to walk in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt. Be bold. Be decisive. Be generous.  Learn more about Conservation Visions at . Follow us at  and  and watch more keynote speeches at  

Walk in the Footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt - From DSC National Convention

Do you ever think about where your food comes from? How it was procured? Hunters and anglers know EXACTLY where their food comes from - while not everyone personally chooses to hunt or fish, we can agree that these activities do procure a significant amount of healthy, organic rich food by humans. And not just the people who got the food to begin with - neighbors, friends and even shelters benefit from this protein source. What would it cost to replace that protein source? What it is worth economically, nutritionally, socially? The Wild Harvest Initiative® will provide empirical answers to these questions. This is also a YouTube video found here:  Learn more about Conservation Visions at  Follow us on Facebook at  and on instagram at        

The Wild Harvest Initiative® Explained by Shane Mahoney

Public ownership of firearms was instrumental to the birth of the conservation movement in North America and still contributes to its continued success. This audio was made into a short video found on Boone & Crockett Club's YouTube channel here:  Learn more about Conservation Visions and Shane Mahoney at  Follow us at  and  and        

The Guns of Conservation

Pollinator habitat is in peril and should be of utmost important to us. Pollinators are an integral part of our environment and they are sending a clear signal that all is not right in the world. As an example, populations of Monarch butterflies have decreased by 90%.  We rely on pollination to help produce one in every three bites of food we consume. Organizations such as Pheasants Forever are helping to restore pollinator habitat. Pollinator habitat is created in the same wild areas our wildlife need to flourish. Watch this on YouTube at   Learn more about Shane Mahoney and Conservation Visions at  and join us at  and  

Pollinators are in Peril and How Hunters are Helping

Listen to Shane's speech at Vancouver Island University this past spring, 2017, as he discusses the complicated business of conservation. Shane shares the constant effort to do the right things for humanity and to do the right things for our wild creatures. Sometimes it gets better - sometimes its gets worse. Even though Shane tells students they will never solve this problem - it is still very much worthwhile to pursue.  Learn more Conservation Visions at  and connect with us socially at   

Conservation is the Most Complicated Business in the World

We sometimes believe we will never be surprised anymore. But then, in one of the great cities of the world, in one of the great zoos of the world...people jump over a barrier, shoot a rhino for his horn and then make their getaway. Sounds like fiction? But it is fact. And it is taking place in the same world where there is a rising empathy for animals as well as rising tension for hunting and the sustainable use of wildlife.  Listen to Shane's passionate speech from the GOABC Convention, spring 2017. In it, Shane explains living in the past is not going to help us move forward; he believes in building coalitions of strengths instead of silos of weakness and how conservation is the most complicated business in the world.  Shane ends the speech discussing the Wild Harvest Initiative, which is well underway. For example, we've discovered, conservatively speaking, the average hunter shares their harvest with four other people. They don't knock on their neighbor's door and and hold up a plate of meat and say, "I'm sharing with you this prime rib from the grocery store."  Learn more at  Follow Shane on Facebook at  and  

Conservation in today's modern world - from GOABC Convention, 2017

Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions, speaks at the 2017 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation National Convention. Learn more about Shane at   Follow Shane on Facebook at  and on Instagram   "There can be no doubt, that we live in a constantly changing world now. A world that seems to bring unending challenge to things that we hold dear and to the values that we cherish. The world is becoming an incredibly different place. We are seeing massive changes in the way the land is used. Massive movements of people away from the rural lifestyles that were part and parcel of nourishing the hunting tradition in our countries. We are 4.5% of the people in this nation who hunt. In some states it is 1.5%. We know, that if we become too few, we will become irrelevant. Yet despite these problems, I am now incredibly optimistic. It is because those social trends that were moving people away from hunting, away from the lifestyle we believe in, away from the values that we cherish, they like all social trends eventually bend back on themselves. And now what we have, in our cities, in our suburbs, in the very places we thought where it was lost, we have people that want to be locavores. They want organic food. They want a lifestyle that will have them live forever. One of the things they are realizing, is that our tradition, our lifestyle, our venturing out onto those lands, and pushing ourselves in these hunting experiences. In harvesting those animals that have lived wild and free their entire existence. In harvesting them for food and sharing them with friends and family, they are coming to understand, that this is something valuable. This is something precious." - Shane Mahoney 

Relevance - from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation National Convention

Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions, speaks in front of a group in Missouri about the critical conservation challenges we face. He discusses the rising empathy for wildlife, how conservation groups need to respond, and how we all need to realize this is more complex than simply trying to label it coming from one particular outlier group. Conservation is a global effort and Shane stresses we all need to find ways to speak about conservation issues on levels everyone can understand.  Thank you for listening. Learn more about Conservation Visions at  

Critical Conservation Challenges - with Shane Mahoney

Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions, argues that allowing legal trade of rhino horn could, possibly, save the species. What do you think? Listen to this brief explanation and find us at  or     

Rhino Horn: Should We Trade to Save?

Did you know many of our current, well-known big game species were almost decimated many years ago? Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions discusses how taking as many wildlife as possible to benefit life and profit held no moral obligation. For example, the bison, at 30-40 million, were almost brought to their extinction. Although we were able to save some species during this period, many were not that lucky. Today, the same is happening to our Rhino population due to poaching, even with decades of conservation work to bring them back.  What will you do to help?  Learn more at

Why Did our Wildlife Disappear? What Will You Do To Help?

Poaching is often defined as unlawful hunting, almost as a subset of hunting, which it is not. Poaching is the illegal taking of wildlife. Poachers are not hunters - they are thieves. But often today, poaching and hunting are being confused in the public mind. Poachers act in complete disregard for conservation practices - and thusly, erroad the public trust in hunting altogether. Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions, explains more in this brief podcast.  Learn more about Shane, his works and Conservation Visions at  Follow Shane at  and  

Hunters and Poachers are Not Brothers - by Shane Mahoney

The model of conservation has been around for 120 years – but yet as hunters and anglers we have never explained our activities in the form of harvested food. There are approximately 35-40 million people in U.S. and Canada who fish or hunt, and records are kept of the many state natural resource associations of harvest. We know those 35-40 million people are harvesting a remarkable amount of food - in the billions of pounds. In addition to all the economic impacts hunting has, how are we as a society going to replace those billions of pounds of harvested protein each year?  The Wild Harvest Initiative is going to reframe the debate of the modern relevance of hunting   This speech is also in video form found on Conservation Visions' YouTube page - link is here ---&gt; 

The Wild Harvest Initiative Explained by Shane Mahoney

The High Lonesome Institute (HLI) is a non-profit entity, established by The High Lonesome Ranch, to lead and coordinate applied scientific research, ecological monitoring, and conservation at the Ranch. It functions within HLR’s landscape-scale laboratory as an applied and practical research center and conservation forum. The Institute is led by Executive Director, Shane Mahoney, and staffed by graduate students from leading affiliated universities who conduct world-class research on wildlife and conservation. Research has focused on restoration of streams, riparian habitat, aspen groves, and rangelands, as well as land improvement and resource management decisions. Key restoration and conservation initiatives include the Kimball Creek Aquatic and Riparian Food Web Complexity Project, the Biodiversity Project, the Trophic Cascades in Aspen Project, the Aspen Restoration Project, the Grand Mesa Lion Project, and the Wildlife Disease Project. HLI has also become a venue for dialogue on conservation and sustainable development, and for exchanging ideas with others about practicing stewardship on working landscapes. This audio is from a video, watch the video here ---&gt;   Learn more at

High Lonesome Institute with Shane Mahoney

Shane Mahoney speaks to a group of outdoor writers at the annual Professional Outdoor Media Association in Kalispell, MT in June, 2016. Forgive the first few minutes of audio, it improves greatly around minute 5. Mahoney is passionate in his presentation of why the world needs outdoor writers in this day - because we need to remember things as they were, we need to be inspired, and we need your messages of stewardship. He also discusses the need of presenting a modern world view to the modern public. We articulate stories of an older reality, but Mahoney says we need to change those stories to a modern reality.  Learn more about POMA at   Learn more about Shane Mahoney and Conservation Visions at  

Shane Mahoney Keynote at POMA Annual Conference 2016

Shane Mahoney was interviewed by a Canadian radio show on the future of seal hunting in Canada - and how that affects the world. Shane discusses the IUCN and his role in that worldwide organization and then moves into the impact of seal hunting on economy and conservation. Learn more about Shane and Conservation Visions at  Follow Shane on Facebook at  and on Instagram at  

The Future of Seal Hunting with Shane Mahoney

Where in the modern world does hunting fit? The answers ask us to dive into social and economic realities. Shane Mahoney discusses today's modern hunting - from the effects of trophy hunting and poaching to simply hunting for food. Learn more at http://conservationvisions.com 

Where Does Hunting Fit in the Modern World? With Shane Mahoney

Do the rights of one cat trump the fate of an entire bird population? There is no clever riddle to work out - although each of you listening to this podcast will have strong convictions one way or the other. Listen to Shane Mahoney as he discusses this very real problem in less than five minutes. Learn more at  

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