More than 60 years ago, we asked readers to contribute their perspectives on what it means to be an outdoorsman. The product of that discussion was Outdoor Life’s Conservation Pledge, an ecology-era declaration of what we hold most precious, embroidered on a shoulder patch that readers were encouraged to sew onto their field jackets.
It wasn’t just a wearable declaration. Senators and presidents publicly recited the pledge, and it was a fixture of Outdoor Life’s masthead.
Simple and powerful as that pledge is, it lost prominence and faded from OL’s masthead more than a decade ago. It’s time to bring it back. This year we are rewriting our Sportsman’s Pledge, and we want your help in drafting its message and intent so it will be relevant for the next generation. Help us write the next pledge right here in the comments section.
The best comments will win the Editor’s Choice bows and crossbows from our 2012 Bow Test. Contest ends May 1.
Please keep your suggestions short and concise (50 words or less). Here are a few examples from the OL editors …
1) We pledge to become stewards of our natural resources — air, water and land.
2) We pledge to fight for our rights as sportsmen and women.
3) We pledge to always practice the highest ethical standards.
4) We pledge to introduce children to hunting and fishing.
Original Conservation Pledge: “I give my pledge as an American to save & faithfully to defend from waste the natural resources of my country – its air, soil, and minerals, its forests, waters & wildlife.”
Write your suggestion in the comments section below and feel free to comment as many times as you want!