House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Approves Of Animal Slaughter

If you don’t like that headline then perhaps you should also not like one that states that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is an animal killer and an abuser. There are however a few marked differences between what some are accusing Gov. Palin of being and what I am accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being but both bear striking similarities………..that is if you are willing to look at things from a honest perspective.

There will always be people who will have an issue with the killing of any animal and some to the extreme of any living thing whether plant or animal. We witness everyday people who ignorantly support the protection of a handful of animals while being responsible for the deaths of more than they saved. For that, I offer no cures nor do I pretend that I can in all honesty have any marked alterations to their beliefs. I expect nothing different in return either. Read more

Michael Waddell to Chair National Hunting and Fishing Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Outdoor television star Michael Waddell has been selected as honorary chairman for this year’s National Hunting and Fishing Day, set for Sept. 27.

In the volunteer role, Waddell becomes the official spokesman for the annual commemoration’s key message: Conservation succeeds only because of America’s 34 million hunters and anglers. In fact, through license fees and excise taxes, hunters and anglers generate $100,000 every 30 minutes for fish, wildlife and habitat programs. Read more

Henny Youngman Might Say, “Take My Wolves…..Please!”

It might be an understatement to say that there’s a conflict brewing between U.S. Congressman George Miller of California and U.S. Congressman Don Young of Alaska. The battle stems from issues over wolf management in Alaska.

The state of Alaska, under the direction of the Alaska Board of Game and with the approval of Gov. Sarah Palin, is using aircraft to reduce the wolf population in specific areas where they are destroying the moose and caribou herds that supply native Alaskans with food. Animal lovers don’t like this and have been fighting the effort for some time. One of the radical groups involved is Defenders of Wildlife, of which it appears that Mr. Miller is a strong advocate for.

Rep. Miller is also the sponsor of HR3663(pdf), the misleading “Protect America’s Wildlife Act of 2007″, which is being promoted as a bill to stop aerial hunting of wolves. Read more

ISE Sacramento Prepares for Exciting 21st Year!

Sacramento, CA
January 17-20, 2008 (Thursday to Sunday)

Cal Expo, California State
Fairgrounds
1600 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95815
www.calexpo.com

This is the grand-daddy of Northern California sportsmen shows and it just gets better and better. For 2008 there will be more exhibitors with more fishing, hunting and outdoor equipment. The halls will be brimming with adventure travel destinations and show priced gear. Read more

The Pendulum May Be Swinging Back Toward More Gun Rights

You have to wonder what affect, if any, the decision first by a District Court of Appeals to rule the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns was unconstitutional and then the Supreme Court of the United States agreeing to hear that appeal, has to do with other judges and courts ruling against gun bans. Is it now becoming “in style” to rule against gun control? Does this have anything to do with an election year coming up?

It was announced yesterday that in California, of all places, a Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that San Francisco’s gun ban was invalid because it was a preemption of state law. In other words, Proposition H, voted in by the residents of San Francisco in November of 2005, was a law that was declared invalid by the Court because the city can’t ban guns because the state allows them.

The judge in this case, Judge Ignazio Ruvolo, said that the city failed to show that banning guns would only affect criminals and that by banning the guns would affect every citizen who has a constitutional right to own a gun.

This is great news for Americans and hopefully another indication that the courts are beginning to understand what it is the majority of Americans want - their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

Tom Remington

California Game Commission Gone Crazy Over Banning Lead Ammo

Phillip at the Hog Blog, also a resident and avid hunter of California, is saying that the California Game Commission has gone too far too quickly in banning certain lead ammunitions within the areas that are to protect the California Condor. He’s also beginning to lean toward the proclamation of others that this could be a back door initiative to ban hunting.

In the long run, I definitely agree that lead needs to phase out of our ammo boxes, but banning it all at once under the false pretense of “saving the condor” is a slap in the face to all hunters. This is wrong, and stinks of an anti-hunting agenda (despite my early resistance to conspiracy theory).

Phillip is calling for action by fellow hunters.

It’s critical here for sportsmen to stand up and speak out. Make our voices heard in Sacramento! Get on the phone, write letters and emails, and don’t let up. Outdoor bloggers need to get on this too, both in CA and outside of the state.

THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION!

Great advice! I too get frustrated with a lack of involvement by fellow hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. Let’s go! Take a proactive position for a change and see how effective it is.

Tom Remington

Hunters Getting Some Well Deserved Recognition

Usually hunters are the punching bag for anti-hunting and animal rights groups as they assault us with their ideals of a Utopian wilderness free from any access by us vile and evil hunters. But once in awhile, we run across someone who gets it and understands what contributions hunters make toward wildlife management and conservation.

Peter Ottesen, outdoor columnist for Recordnet.com, has an article today showering hunters with the well-deserved appreciation we far too seldom get for the efforts and monies we provide for wildlife management and the conservation of species, habitat and providing protections through land acquisitions.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveyed a total of 41.2 million breeding ducks this past summer, with nearly every species - except northern pintail and scaup - flourishing at or above record high numbers.

Species of geese far exceed their goals as well, so much so that the daily limit has been increased just to keep them at levels the habitat can support. White-faced ibis, a non-game species, has increased to more than 2,500 breeding pairs in the Central Valley. Twenty years ago, there were no known ibis breeders in the state.

These kinds of success stories are prevalent all across the U.S. as we are witness to wildlife species in numbers never before seen. Ottesen explains why this is so.

The point is the nation’s hunters have taken on an expanded, essential role in wildlife management. Since 1934 they have spent $700 million on federal duck stamps to purchase more than 5 million acres of land within the national wildlife refuge system. Annually hunters spend $1.22 billion on hunting and fishing licenses and another $616 million on taxes on equipment, according to the USFWS. Those funds are doled out to states and represent an average of 75 percent of all wildlife agencies’ revenue.

And this isn’t being noticed only by outdoor writers and other hunters.

“Hunters really care about wildlife, and their efforts keep waterfowl and non-game species of birds in healthy, sustainable numbers,” said Dave Widell, general manager of the Grassland Water District, a quasi-governmental agency that distributes water only for wildlife, not for agricultural or domestic use.

“Grasslands is made up of approximately 120,000 acres of privately owned wetlands,” Widell said. “The remaining 60,000 acres is comprised of state wildlife areas and national wildlife refuges. Without hunters to pay the money and have an obsession to preserve habitat, we wouldn’t have the strong populations of birds, not in this day and age.”

The thing is, I believe that the majority of Americans know what hunters and their contributions have done. I also believe it would be great if those same people were reminded more often through media outlets, etc. instead of being subjected us all to the same old negative rhetoric about hunting.

Studies show that 80% of Americans approve of hunting even though they may not participate themselves. At the rate that hunters are going, with increased efforts to educate the public and having a greater understanding of the need to actively promote and conserve hunting habitat, etc., it would be nice to see that 80% grow to 90% before the end of the decade.

Let’s take an extra moment out of our busy day to thank someone we know who buys a hunting, fishing or trapping license and let’s promise to educate one more person this week.

Thank you to all!

Tom Remington

Food Drops For Bear In Lake Tahoe?

The Lake Tahoe-based BEAR League wants to drop food out in the backcountry in order to draw problem bears, that is hungry ones in search of food, away from human populated areas. With a hot dry summer, there is not enough natural food for bears, who this time of year are attempting to gorge themselves with food in order to layer the body fat in preparation for the upcoming winter. With the lack of food, it has forced bears into town in search of human food, anything they can get their hands on, and this has caused some problems.

According to the San Jose Mercury News -

“We are going to do backcountry food drops, putting natural food back into the backcountry,” Bryant (Ann Bryant, executive director of the Lake Tahoe-based BEAR League) told Truckee’s Sierra Sun newspaper. “We have hundreds and hundreds of pounds of food we plan to put in several locations that won’t bring the bears near neighborhoods.”

But this idea isn’t necessarily sitting that well with California fish and game biologist, Jason Holley.

“It’s an unnatural situation that forces bears to congregate. Who knows what long-term problems that could create,” Holley said. “If the smell of people is on the food, they could be more likely to associate people with food in the future, and they could become more susceptible to hunters.”

Holley says he doesn’t think there is really any real solution to this problem and that people just need to learn to deal with it. It may even exacerbate the problem. Holley thinks human smell will be all over the food that gets dropped and bears will just continue to make the association. One has to consider if it would, in the long run, makes things worse.

Bryant claims similar programs have been successful in other states, citing Alaska and Montana as two of them.

Tom Remington

In Tahoe Region, Bears Move In

Somehow I got to figure out how to get my good friend Richard Paradis to start his own blog as he seems to be keeping me well supplied with stories, photographs and news tips. He sent me this link yesterday from the New York Times. It’s a slide show with captions showing how the bears in and around the Tahoe region of California are breaking and entering homes in order to find food. Much of the problems are a result of people feeding the bears.

Tom Remington

Mexico Calls On U.S. To Alter Boarder Plans To Save Animals

The L.A. Times has a short snippet this morning saying that the Mexican government is asking the U.S. to change its plans of building a fence because it may effect animals. Instead they want to build bridges and such done in a way so as to “be less attractive to smugglers”.

Let’s get this right. The Mexican government wants most of their people to go to the U.S. and make American dollars and ship them back to Mexico and we should listen to their recommendations? These illegals are currently destroying the ecological systems that support all of these animals they say need protecting, yet they have no interest in addressing that problem.

And we must remember that when illegals come into this country, they consider areas that are “less attractive” to cross the border. Please!

Tom Remington