Bounds praised for wildlife legislation

Wildlife Mississippi is praising Mississippi Representative Scott Bounds, chair of the House Wildlife Committee, for introducing House Bill 1390 which will allow the Mississippi Department

manage Mississippi's white-tailed deer and wild turkey populations.

With the recent confirmation of chronic wasting disease in Mississippi, the time to effectively manage our white-tailed deer population for future generations is now more important than ever before. There are approximately 782,000 hunters and angler in Mississippi that spend approximately $2.5 billion per year; deer hunters represent the largest number of hunters and the largest percentage of these expenditures.

I realize that the first reaction of most individuals to a bill that would require the mandatory reporting (not physical tagging) of harvested white-tailed deer and wild turkey beginning on March 1, 2019 is not often praise, but let me explain how important this legislation is to you as a hunter/conservationist.

House Bill 1390 will require the simple reporting as stated, and at no cost to the hunter. Reporting would be done via a smart

have 72 hours to report their harvest. Harvest information would include information such as the date, county of harvest, public or private land and sex of the animal. Deer clubs, enclosures or private lands that are on the

be exempt since they are already reporting. Currently, Mississippi and Florida are the only two states that do not require harvest reporting of some type. Alabama has implemented this system of harvest reporting called “Alabama Game Check” and it has proven to be very hunter-friendly, accepted and effective.

Harvest reporting is the most effective tool to collect needed information to equip policy makers

efforts to more effectively manage Mississippi's white-tailed deer and wild turkey resources.

This is common sense legislation that goes for a good cause and is long overdue.

I have worked with the Mississippi Legislature for a long time. Mississippi is fortunate to have Chairman Bounds serving this great state. He is respected by his peers and our citizens. He has earned that by listening more than talking, recognizing the needs of others, being reasonable, honest, fair and genuine, and being passionate about whom he represents and caring more about what is right than popular.

We need more people in government service with these traits, and with more people serving our great state with traits like Scott Bounds, Mississippi is a better place to live, work and raise a family.

James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their website is www.wildlifemiss.org. The opinions in this column are Cummins' and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Starkville Daily News or its staff.