History of Boone and Crockett Club

Dr. James H. "Red" Duke Jr., physician, television personality, conservationist, hunter and past president of Boone and Crockett Club, died Tuesday, August 25. He was 86.

Eighty years ago - Aug. 22, 1934 - the first duck stamp was sold. Since then, thanks mostly to hunters, the stamps have generated more than $800 million and helped secure over 6 million acres of wetland habitat in the U.S. The Boone and Crockett Club marks that day as a major milestone in the North American conservation movement, and says the 80th anniversary is worth remembering.

The Boone and Crockett Club is joining outdoor enthusiasts across the country in commemorating the 50th Anniversary of a true milestone in conservation and one of America's best ideas - the Wilderness Act.

On Sept. 3, 1964, with several Boone and Crockett Club leaders in attendance, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the legislation protecting millions of acres and establishing legal definitions of wilderness for future designations.

December 1887 - Shortly after Theodore Roosevelt convinced his friends that they should take up the charge to put a halt to the destruction of America's wildlife, their first order of business was to name this new fraternity of sportsmen. The founders decided on Boone and Crockett—two illustrious names from the country’s frontier past, names that are synonymous with America’s pioneering vitality and with rugged individualism, the very personification of the soul of Nimrod, the hunter. Both witnessed a land of abundance stripped of its soul and lamented over the progresses of civilization, well before conservation had a name.

In December 1887, Theodore Roosevelt invited George Bird Grinnell and nine other friends to a dinner party at his home in New York City. The guest list included writers, scientists, explorers, military leaders, industrialist, and political figures. The one thing that they all shared in common was an enthusiasm for big game hunting and each had traveled extensively in the West.

A hunter, angler and businessman, Bill Demmer of Lansing, Mich., has been elected president of America's first conservation organization, the Boone and Crockett Club. Theodore Roosevelt founded the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887.

Today the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch in Billings County, N.D., to its 2012 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This annual list spotlights important examples of the nation’s architectural, cultural and natural heritage that are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. More than 230 sites have been on the list over its 25-year history, and in that time, only a handful of listed sites have been lost.

In recognition of its 124-year commitment to sustainable-use conservation, the Boone and Crockett Club has received the prestigious Sporting Heritage Award of Excellence from Sporting Classics magazine.

Hunting usually isn’t top-of-mind conversation in America’s literary circles, but that may be changing as a book published by Boone and Crockett Club continues to garner national honors and awards.