First Lite Co-Founder Kenton Carruth and Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard in Boise, Idaho during the 2018 Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Rendezvous. Photo: Garret Smith

We are currently losing more hunters and anglers than we are creating. This decline is a huge problem that extends way beyond the bow or rod. Hunters and anglers pay a big part of the conservation debt. Therefore, one of the ways we can perpetuate public lands, access and our sporting heritage is by exposing non-hunters to hunting in the best ways possible. Typically food, a love of the outdoors, and explanations of game management are the most effective avenues to creating a positive impression of hunting.

Chouinard and First Lite Director of Conservation and PR Ryan Callaghan size up a trout stream in Montana. Photo: Garret Smith

This past April, at the annual Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Rendezvous, First Lite co-founder Kenton Carruth and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard had the opportunity to sit down and discuss bringing the various branches of outdoor recreation together under one roof in defense of the places we all value. In the Rocky Mountain West, your average hunter is also typically a hiker, biker, skier and/or angler. Though some organized special interests wish for a different reality, rarely do outdoor recreationists fall into neat, categories.  Moreover, whether you’re a kayaker or a pheasant hunter, we head for the woods and mountains for the same reasons.

Chouinard hooks a trout on his tenkara rod as Carruth looks on in Montana. Photo: Garret Smith

Do Kenton and Yvon agree on every issue? Of course not but they are certainly ready to discuss their differences. More critically, First Lite and Patagonia are committed to ensuring that future generations will have the same public land opportunities we've so enjoyed. With that in mind, we sincerely hope that every member of the outdoor recreation community can take the time to educate each other in the woods for the betterment of our mutual playground. Sometimes all it takes is a little trailhead diplomacy.

Carruth casts to rising trout in Montana. Photo: Garret Smith

Ryan Callaghan is the Director of Conservation and PR at FLHQ.