MISSOULA, MT– Sitka Gear has added its name to the list of companies and organizations that has joined in support of a hunter ethics initiative being launched by the Boone and Crockett Club to highlight the core values of fair chase and to strengthen the image of the North American hunter.

"The timing for this effort couldn't be better," said CJ Buck, the Club's vice president of communications. "There are clear signs that hunting's modern relevancy is being questioned, if not outright under attack. We're also seeing more and more sportsmen expressing their concern about the public image of hunters and hunting."

The purpose of the Hunt Right; Hunt Fair Chase initiative is to revisit the commitments to fair chase hunting sportsmen have made over this past century. These commitments amount to an overall conservation ethic that has benefited game populations and made hunting honorable and socially acceptable.

"Every once and a while it's a good idea to dust off those things that make hunting great, talk about them more, and play it forward," Buck explained. "We intend to take sportsmen back to a time when their predecessors were highly respected within our society for their skills, character, ethics and commitments to wildlife and conservation."

Under the vision of Boone and Crockett Club founder, Theodore Roosevelt, sportsmen became the first conservationists embracing the responsibility to conserve wildlife, which included a conscious effort to ensure hunting was conducted ethically and would never overwhelm game populations. The Club called this approach to hunting fair chase.

"We know the timing for an effort like this is right because we're seeing more of our younger generation getting into hunting not for the kill, but for the challenge, adventure and effort, and to do it right with no regrets," Buck continued. "This tells me that fair chase is alive and is as important to today's sportsmen as it was when hunter-led conservation first began. Having a company like Sitka Gear that represents a newer brand to our industry supporting this effort is yet another sign we're heading in the right direction. Fair chase is as relevant today as it has ever been."

To date Sitka Gear joins the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Buck Knives, YETI, the Wild Sheep Foundation, Boyt Harness, Leupold & Stevens, and Realtree, as well as media partners The Outdoor Group, Bonnier, Sports Afield and many others in this effort.

The Hunt Right; Hunt Fair Chase initiative will feature a print, digital and social media campaign. To learn more about the initiative and how fair chase ethics benefit the public image of the North American hunter, please visit http://www.huntfairchase.com.

About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club is the oldest conservation organization in North America and helped to establish the principles of wildlife and habitat conservation, hunter ethics, as well as many of the institutions, experts agencies, science and funding mechanisms for conservation. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Montana. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org.

Media contact: Greg Duncan, Blue Heron Communications, 800‑654‑3766, greg@blueheroncomm.com