Readers' Forum

Sticking to our game plan
Just read my first 2010 Breakthrough on B&L Landscaping (“Business Breakthrough,” March 2010). I like the format a lot! It is especially cool that they shared documents and the video with the rest of the green industry. It really makes it a lot more personal.

There is a lot going on with the economy, but one thing we like to say in our organization is that it has made us much smarter! We are doing extremely well despite all the gloom and doom in Cleveland and throughout Ohio. Some of the things we have done include leaning heavily on industry experts and their foresight on the economy. We began planning, diversifying and scrutinizing everything we do in our organization. Developing a solid game plan and sticking to it has paid huge dividends.

We have been selected by state local and national organizations as one of the fastest growing privately held firms in the country. We have remained extremely profitable despite the economy and have continued to grow by double digits for several years.

We are excited despite how many feel. This economy has created an enormous amount of opportunities for all creative entrepreneurs.

Keep up the great stuff! I am an avid follower of the magazine.  

Jerry Schill, vice president and owner
Schill Grounds Management
Sheffield Village, Ohio

Many benefits to hunting
Editor’s note: A sidebar in a profile of Ron Kujawa in the October 2009 issue of Lawn & Landscape discussed Kujawa’s interest in hunting, and garnered lots of feedback. Here is his response.

As a lifelong hunter I was not surprised at the excited response over the sidebar “Shooting an Elephant” (October 2009). All hunters are familiar with such emotional, if not fact-based, responses. While I commend the passion, I prefer the facts. I hope this measured response helps explain the benefits of hunting to the animals, the environment and the people of Africa.

According to The United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Conference of the Parties, published in 2007, not all elephants are considered endangered.
Countries that treat elephants as a renewable resource with economic value and allow hunting (within a highly regulated, quota-driven system) have seen their animal populations flourish. Elephants have only remained endangered in countries that have banned hunting.

“Trophy hunting is of key importance to conservation in Africa by creating financial incentives to promote and retain wildlife as a land use over vast areas,” reported National Geographic News in 2007. Trophy hunting employs tens of thousands of people in Africa and preserves more than 540,000 square miles (that’s more than the combined size of Texas, California, New York, Florida and Ohio) in the 23 African countries where it is permitted.
Most rural Africans live on diets of maize or rice; meat from hunts provides the primary protein source to the local community.

In Zimbabwe, this much-needed protein was valued at more than $250,000 annually, according to “The Income from Elephant Trophy Fees in Campfire Districts in 1992.” Anecdotally, nothing from my hunt was wasted; we witnessed first-hand the gratitude people had for the sustenance provided.

In addition to the money spent by people like me, there are many international foundations (SCIF, Mzuri Wildlife Foundation, etc.) funded by hunters that contribute additional millions of dollars for education, conservation and humanitarian projects.

Animals are protected by anti-poaching patrols employed by the hunters, and trophy fees are shared with indigenous tribes. (The Economics of Wildlife and land use in Zimbabwe, WWF Project Paper No. 36 Harare, Zimbabwe.)

I learned hunting and fishing from my father while growing up. Now, because of my professional achievements, I enjoy the heritage instilled by my forefathers in places few people get to visit. In so doing, I have seen the world as it really is; I have helped employ the needy and feed the hungry, and I am proud to pass this legacy on to my children and grandchildren.

Ron Kujawa
KEI Enterprises
Oak Creek, Wis.