Boone and Crockett Club Partners with University of Wyoming to Fund Working Lands Wildlife Conservation Professorship

March 19, 2026
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In a move that underscores the unbreakable bond between America's hunting heritage and sustainable land stewardship, the Boone and Crockett Club—founded by Theodore Roosevelt himself in 1887 to champion ethical hunting and wildlife conservation—has teamed up with the University of Wyoming to launch a groundbreaking Working Lands Wildlife Conservation Professorship. This initiative, housed in UW's College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, isn't just academic posturing; it's a targeted strike against real threats to big game populations, zeroing in on habitat preservation, savvy ranch management, and cutting-edge research into wildlife diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD). With Wyoming's vast working landscapes serving as the frontline for both elk, mule deer, and the ranchers who sustain them, this professorship will equip the next generation of experts to balance human enterprise with thriving wildlife—ensuring that public and private lands remain havens for the pursuits that define our outdoor ethos. For the 2A community, this partnership is a masterclass in proactive defense of our way of life. Hunting isn't a hobby; it's the lifeblood of conservation funding through Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on firearms and ammo, which have poured billions into habitats nationwide. By fortifying Wyoming's ranching backbone—where over 80% of big game winter ranges overlap with private working lands—this effort directly safeguards the herds that draw hunters from across the map, bolstering Second Amendment freedoms tied to self-reliance, marksmanship, and ethical harvest. Critics who decry rural America as backward miss the point: programs like this counter urban-driven narratives that erode access to public lands through overregulation or forced conservation easements. Instead, it empowers ranchers as de facto wildlife managers, reducing CWD spread (which has decimated herds in states like Colorado) and preventing the kind of population crashes that fuel anti-hunting hysteria. The implications ripple far beyond the Cowboy State. As federal overreach threatens family ranches via eminent domain or ESG pressures from Wall Street, initiatives like this build intellectual and financial firewalls, training scientists who understand that bullets and ballots preserve biodiversity better than bureaucracy. 2A advocates should cheer—and contribute—because a healthy Boone and Crockett legacy means more tags filled, more venison on tables, and more ironclad arguments in courtrooms defending our rights against those who'd turn wild lands into no-hunt wildernesses. This is conservation with a backbone; let's see it spread.

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In a move that underscores the unbreakable bond between America’s hunting heritage and sustainable land stewardship, the Boone and Crockett Club—founded by Theodore Roosevelt himself in 1887 to champion ethical hunting and wildlife conservation—has teamed up with the University of Wyoming to launch a groundbreaking Working Lands Wildlife Conservation Professorship. This initiative, housed in UW’s College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources, isn’t just academic posturing; it’s a targeted strike against real threats to big game populations, zeroing in on habitat preservation, savvy ranch management, and cutting-edge research into wildlife diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD). With Wyoming’s vast working landscapes serving as the frontline for both elk, mule deer, and the ranchers who sustain them, this professorship will equip the next generation of experts to balance human enterprise with thriving wildlife—ensuring that public and private lands remain havens for the pursuits that define our outdoor ethos.

For the 2A community, this partnership is a masterclass in proactive defense of our way of life. Hunting isn’t a hobby; it’s the lifeblood of conservation funding through Pittman-Robertson excise taxes on firearms and ammo, which have poured billions into habitats nationwide. By fortifying Wyoming’s ranching backbone—where over 80% of big game winter ranges overlap with private working lands—this effort directly safeguards the herds that draw hunters from across the map, bolstering Second Amendment freedoms tied to self-reliance, marksmanship, and ethical harvest. Critics who decry rural America as backward miss the point: programs like this counter urban-driven narratives that erode access to public lands through overregulation or forced conservation easements. Instead, it empowers ranchers as de facto wildlife managers, reducing CWD spread (which has decimated herds in states like Colorado) and preventing the kind of population crashes that fuel anti-hunting hysteria.

The implications ripple far beyond the Cowboy State. As federal overreach threatens family ranches via eminent domain or ESG pressures from Wall Street, initiatives like this build intellectual and financial firewalls, training scientists who understand that bullets and ballots preserve biodiversity better than bureaucracy. 2A advocates should cheer—and contribute—because a healthy Boone and Crockett legacy means more tags filled, more venison on tables, and more ironclad arguments in courtrooms defending our rights against those who’d turn wild lands into no-hunt wildernesses. This is conservation with a backbone; let’s see it spread.

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