Enfranchise landowners for land and wildlife stewardship: Examples from the Western United States

Programs for wildlife and recreation management on private lands are evolving in the western United States where the mix of public and private lands creates heightened management dilemmas between public wildlife ownership and private land use. In these programs, landowners are enfranchised to manage their resources for personal gains and for the benefits of the land, wildlife, and society. Some landowners have capitalized on a demand for hunting access and are using market‐oriented, fee‐based management systems as a reward for their stewardship and land access. Landowners have great power over land use and public access on their lands, effectively controlling wildlife and recreation policy, sometimes for the good and sometimes to the detriment of habitats, wildlife, users, and society. However, public sentiment is still uncertain about whether providing greater authority and responsibility to the private sector is valuable.