Hunters: Practical conservationists doing good works Successful conservation in North America has always been married to the Sportsmen. In Australia, it works differently. We have a different hunting tradition to that of the United States, but there are numerous examples of hunters providing the money and wherewithal for practical conservation. In South Australia, hunters have provided money and voluntary labour for wetlands conservation. South Australian hunters have also provided large sums of money and countless hours of voluntary labour to set up and run The Bunkers conservation park in the State's far north for the endangered Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby, an enterprise for which they have been recognised by the federal government. South Australian hunters, in association with the SA National Parks Service, have also been at the forefront of efforts to control the depredations of feral animals in national parks. These are all examples of practical conservation at work unlike the noisy, but ultimately useless efforts of many of the so-called "conservationists" who, though well meaning, achieve little of practical value. The American system has much to commend it, and we can learn from it, not least because of the fact that hunting is seen as a valuable conservation tool in the United States. With the successful feral animal control programs running in South Australia's National Parks, that fact has also been realised by some state government agencies in this country.

Peach Springs in the Gammon Ranges of South Australia. Part of the Gammon Ranges National Park, it is one of the areas where 'practical conservation' is undertaken by the South Australian Branch of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia in co-operation with the S.A. National Parks Service. SSAA-SA is at the forefront of successful practical conservation efforts. The Gammon Ranges are a fragile 'mountain desert' .