I have a great job as a self-employed, independent investment adviser, helping people try to get to a comfortable retirement. Saving money for your later years is not something that everybody is good at.
I would like to think I have made a measurable difference in that regard for my clients over the past 33 years, but they still needed to participate in order to achieve success, and that takes discipline.
When my day job duties have been fulfilled, I spend my free time doing whatever I can in the world of conservation. There is no end to the amount of time and energy you can expend in this effort.
I have been involved in conservation for more than 35 years and I have never gotten to a point where I think you can take your foot off the gas and think everything is now going to be OK.
The list of challenges that game fish and wildlife face is accelerating, not slowing down. Loss of grasslands is a huge factor. Grassland ecosystems are the most endangered eco-type habitats on the planet.
Everyone knows they need to worry about the rain forests, but grasslands are in more peril and danger today than they are.
Millions of acres of grasslands have been plowed under in the past 20 years. South Dakota’s pheasant hunting heritage is facing a real threat. The good old days in South Dakota are over, and they are not coming back.
When you lose or convert millions of acres of grasslands to row crop agriculture, there is no way Mother Nature can raise the number of birds she did before.
In fact, if you subtracted the South Dakota pheasants harvested by the number of pen-raised planted pheasants that are released by hunting preserves, they may not ever be the No. 1 state in the nation anymore.
Two decades ago, there wasn’t anyone in a close second position. That grass is never coming back. Much like a new temporary tax. Once instituted, there is less than a zero-percent chance it will be repealed.
It doesn’t really matter if you are trying to save some Atlantic salmon species, restore native habitats for pheasants, increase the number of North America’s songbirds, protect America’s precious wetlands, or any other conservation-related cause.
There is an immediate need for dedicated individuals to take a stand for an important cause.
Folks like me have been doing this for decades, and as my generation ages out, there are very few individuals coming in behind them to fill that volunteerism gap.
My local Pheasants Forever board has over 250 years of volunteer history to its credit. The reason for this is that many of them have been helping out for the same 30-plus years I have.
When these folks lose their ambition to old age or health problems, this outstanding record of volunteer effort is also going to crash just like many game and fish species.
Whether it’s a conservation cause or something else, all of these non-profit organizations are in the same boat. I would be willing to bet that any great cause, the American Cancer Society, United Way, Walk for Life, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Toys for Tots, any one of hundreds of veterans or religious organizations can all say that their helpers have been on the job and in the trenches for decades, and there is an almost impossible task of filling those empty volunteer spots.
I would love for my readers to take up a conservation cause and start doing their part to protect and preserve our natural resources. Not everyone has or shares my outdoor lifestyle motivation. I really don’t care what important cause you engage in, but engage in something. Please engage in something.
The most common excuse used is “I have no time to do these kinds of things,” and that is a lie. Everyone gets the same 24 hours in each day. It is the prioritization of those hours that determine if you can make a difference in something you believe in.
I have no intentions of ending or even slowing down on my conservation efforts, but I would love to have some young, invigorated helpers to participate along the way.
Don’t make a New Year’s resolution that fades away.
Instead reach out and make a few calls and get involved. The future of our natural resources depends on the success or failure of your motivation.
Send me an email and I can get you any phone number you need to make that first step.
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.