Faced with declining wildlife populations more than one and a half centuries ago, Theodore Roosevelt and other hunter-conservationists took action. They compiled a set of concepts that came to be known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Of its seven guiding principles, number six addresses international resources.
Specifically, elk and other wildlife including birds and fish freely migrate across the borders between American states, Canadian provinces and the two countries.
Working together, the U-S and Canada jointly coordinate wildlife and habitat management strategies.
For example, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 highlights the cooperation between countries to protect wildlife.
The act made it illegal to capture or kill migratory birds, except as allowed by specific and highly regulated hunting rules.
The implementation of the North American model led to the most robust and healthy wildlife populations in the world.
And it stands as a living testimony of how hunting is conservation.