Conservationist...appointed to Wildlife And Hunting Heritage Conservation Council

"At the end of the day, it's about taking care of nature..."

This excerpt is from an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Against that backdrop, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (a former Pittsburgher) and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar recently announced the formation of a new 18-person council that will advise the administration on hunting, shooting and wildlife habitat issues.

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Among the appointees is Pittsburgh native Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. Schweiger grew up hunting and fishing in Southwest Pennsylvania and worked with the state General Assembly on hunting and conservation issues. During eight years as president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Schweiger worked on regional watershed restoration and community outreach, and advocated for ecological research and land conservation. An outspoken voice for global warming concerns, his book, "Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth" (Fulcrum, 2009), warns of an impending cataclysm if immediate action isn't taken.

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So, what advice might Schweiger offer to an administration whose installation sparked a run on guns and ammo?

Schweiger (laughing): "That's a real interesting backdrop to this conversation because I've seen the same thing and I wonder where they're getting this. In fact, President Obama showed up personally at a gathering of 250 hunting and angling leaders at the Interior Department and gave a wonderful talk. ... He understands that hunting and fishing are part of the American tradition and heritage and something that needs to be continued and advanced."

How do you view the council's role?

Schweiger: "... To find new ways to manage and protect lands for wildlife and the hunting heritage, but also look for ways to promote public access to areas that would be available for hunting, and also look for ways that we can inspire young people to get outdoors and become a part of the nature experience."

Your outdoor experiences as a kid seem to have influenced the rest of your life.

Schweiger: "My father was a member of the Breakneck Beagle Club [in Zelienople], and I learned to shoot his 16-gauge Ithaca Featherweight. We used to hunt pheasants, we used to hunt grouse on the old strip mines where they would hang out in the aspen trees, and it was always a good experience."

For whatever reason, kids today aren't getting that experience -- it's a cultural thing. What can government do about it?

Schweiger: "The average child today is spending seven hours a day looking at a screen, a two-dimensional world, and being entertained or educated by that space. The average young person in America spends about seven minutes or less per day in unstructured outdoor activity, and that's really stunning. I think it's led to health problems in children; I think it's part of the overall health problem we're facing as a nation. Our children aren't as healthy as they were in our generation, because they've not been outdoors.

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