THOMAS DUST NYONI ACE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Detractors and naysayers will use anything in their power and expend resources to frustrate your efforts in management and conservation of our natural resources. It is common knowledge that some have huge interest in that area. Masisi’s forthright response is meeting the challenge pound for pound, and his efforts are commendable. My spirits are high! Very high! You see Eric, I liked your approach to resolving the elephant controversy. Consultation with key stakeholders in the management and conservation of natural resources to get different opinions is the best approach. It is an established truism that tackling a problem from different loci leads to a better understanding. Species conservation will be more effective if it is based on good science and reliable evidence but too often this is not the case in the leadership. It is regrettable that a large proportion of conservation interventions have hitherto been based on experience, opinion or even anecdote, and not evidence. You see wildlife management is not an easy task, you don’t bring a former first brigadier to manage it, or someone from a royal clan to say this how the game is played. No! You need fundamentals.…