The Hog Blog

I don’t post up a lot about the issues surrounding sporting dogs, breeders, and associated hoopla… but maybe I should.  The HSUS and PETA have both taken a pretty resoundingly confrontational stance against sporting dogs, and the people who breed and raise them.  They disguise their position as “animal welfare”, and spend an awful lot of time propagandizing about folks who abuse their animals, or so-called “puppy farms” where the poor critters are raised in squalor and disease… certainly some pretty serious issues that need to be addressed.  Spend a couple hours watching the Animal Network shows and you’ll see what I mean. 

But the problem with the propaganda is that it totally obscures the truth that most dog breeders, trainers, and owners are diametrically opposite of the stereotypes the HSUS and cronies would like to present.  The majority of breeders and trainers are either hobbyists, or true business people who love the animals they raise, and wouldn’t dream of treating them in the ways portrayed by the antis. 

Anyway, there’s an Alliance of breeders, handlers, and trainers out there that is trying to stand up against this assault.  They’re squeaking by, as they did with the recent legislation in CA, but they’re largely unrecognized.  They are the American Sporting Dog Alliance, and their mission is a pretty important one if you enjoy hunting behind a good bird dog, or working big game hounds. 

Here’s their mission statement:

The American Sporting Dog Alliance (ASDA) is an association representing the mutual interests of sporting dog owners, breeders, trainers, guides, hunters, field trialers and handlers of all the sporting breeds. We also seek common ground with hunters, farmers, landowners, pet food and supply companies, and wildlife management and veterinary professionals. We work with individuals, groups, clubs and organizations in order to further our common goals, and to combat the threats against the traditions we represent. Those threats have become powerful and pervasive in American society today.

 A lot of dog owners think they’re immune to the attacks on breeders, and particularly on folks who raise specific breeds like the “pit bull”.  That’s exactly what the HSUS and their ilk want to see.  “Sure,” you say, “those pit bulls are a threat to humanity and have no honest purpose.  Getting rid of them won’t affect me.”

But the fact is, that tactic is no different from the one used by any other organization with an agenda to advance.  You take your weak spot, leverage it, and drive a wedge.  Want an example? 

Look what’s been happening with assault rifles.  The anti-gunners know that most hunters and outdoorsmen don’t use assault rifles (or at least they didn’t until fairly recently).  It was a weak link, the division between the “Fudds” and the “Gun Nuts”.  A lot of otherwise reasonable people were willing to see the “evil black rifle” banned, because it had nothing to do with their hunting guns, and hell, nobody but gangbangers cared about AKs, ARs, and the like.  The wedge was driven and exploited… and it danged near worked. 

The HSUS is doing the same thing to dog owners… or trying.  Organizations like the American Sporting Dog Alliance are the only thing standing in their way. 

So anyway, get on over and take a look at the website.  I’m not shilling for them, and if you don’t want to donate money, then don’t.  But at least look at the issues, and do your part at the polls, and by speaking out with a unified voice to your elected representatives. 

I guess I’ve been really remiss here, because while I spent so much time going on about the Lead Ammo ban, I never really said anything about another Assembly Bill that could mean a lot to CA hunters.

Here’s a summary of the bill:

AB 815, Berryhill. Hunting or fishing: local regulation.

The California Constitution provides for the delegation to the Fish and Game Commission of powers relating to the protection and propagation of fish and game. Existing statutory law delegates to the commission the power to regulate the taking or possession of birds, mammals, fish, amphibia, and reptiles in accordance with prescribed laws. Under existing law, the Department of Fish and Game exercises various functions with regard to the taking of fish and game. Under existing law, a city or county exercises certain limited authority with regard to the regulation of fish and game for the protection of public health and safety.   

This bill would provide that the state fully occupies the field of hunting and fishing. The bill would also provide that unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Fish and Game Code or other state or federal law, the commission and the department are the only entities that may adopt or promulgate regulations regarding the taking of fish and game on any lands or waters within the state. The bill would provide that local ordinances and regulations that regulate trapping are not subject to these provisions.

In lay terms, this means that the power to legislate matters related to wildlife management is restored completely in the hands of the CA Fish and Game Commission.  Currently, the cities and counties can set their own laws that conflict with the F&G regulations (often under the guise of “public safety”).  For example, Fish and Game often recommends antlerless deer hunts in certain zones to restore the buck-doe ratio, but cities and counties override that recommendation.  Other areas that may be impacted by this new bill include the management of wild hogs, turkeys, and resident geese in some areas that were previously off-limits. 

AB 815 seems to be doing OK without me, having passed both the State Senate and the Assembly, but it bears mention now.  Why?

Hunters don’t seem to know much about this bill, but a recent visit to PETA and HSUS websites shows that these organizations are doing all they can to mobilize their membership against it.  Now would be a REAL GOOD time to send out our support of this bill.  Contact Governor Schwartzenegger and your state representatives to encourage the final passage of AB 815. 

And while you’re at it, why not drop a note to Assembly Members Berryhill, Maze, Parra, Harman, and Hollingsworth for authoring and introducing this common sense piece of legislation. 

Wow, just like me to take off and leave the HogBlog unattended for three days or so, huh?  What can I say?  I usually like to do a post to let folks know I’m on the road, but this weekend kinda raced right up on me and got here before I was ready.

So I made a run up to Coon Camp Springs for a work weekend from Friday through Sunday.  (If you don’t know about Coon Camp Springs, you can check the site link, or go read my post about the project, and about Dave, the guy whose vision is driving this thing.) The last couple of years I tried to get up there at least once a month during the late spring and summer, but this year with all the other things I’ve had going on, plus the cost of fuel… well, I just couldn’t get up there until now.  Fortunately, Dave’s been up there a lot and has really done an impressive amount of work, both on the camp and the habitat.

The key objective for this weekend was to limb and haul some junipers that Dave and the forester felled in one of the aspen groves.  We needed to get these trees out and disturb the ground some to encourage the aspens to spread.  Aspen groves are in serious decline in CA, so having these on the property is a real bonus, and helping them grow and thrive is one of the important goals of the restoration project. 

So a couple of things should be noted.  First, getting volunteers up to the property for a work weekend is always a real challenge.  For many reasons, not the least of which is the time and cost involved in getting there, folks just don’t turn out in droves when we need some work.  Even though the cost of your fuel is deductible (I mentioned that Coon Camp Springs is a charitable organization, right?), it’s still a pretty rough trip for a weekend. 

Also, this past weekend in particular was the archery opener for deer in many of the CA zones, and since most of our potential volunteers are also hunters, there was a very real conflict.

So it was really great to get this weekend rolling with 10 people on-hand to tackle the work.  Unfortunately, after seeing what needed to be done, we really needed about three times that many.  Dave and Tim had cut down about 35 BIG juniper trees.  If you’ve never dealt with junipers, you should know that they’re really tough trees with limbs that come out at all angles and spread over the ground to form a pretty dense canopy.  To limb a single large tree is no mean feat, especially when the tree has already been felled.  To limb 35, AND to haul the cut limbs down off of the ridge is far more than 10 of us could have accomplished in a single day. 

But we gave it our best shot, and managed to make a good start before we started experiencing equipment breakdowns. 

The first to go was Dave’s chainsaw.  Something happened to the bar and chain, and the chain wouldn’t turn unless he loosened the housing bolts…an unsafe situation.  Next, Dave’s truck went down, the victim of  sage branch breaking the transmission line from the cooler to the tranny.  And then my brand new chainsaw went south too!  Still, we made a day of it, cutting and hauling until we were all covered in grime, sawdust, and juniper needles (wicked, hateful little things that itch their way down your shirt and end up in all kinds of crevices and crannies). 

The killer of killers was, after we wrapped up work for the day, we returned to camp sweaty, dirty, and tired, looking forward to nice, hot showers, only to find that one of the hoses had worked loose from the water pump, and the entire 220 gallon tank had drained onto the ground.  Dave and one of our volunteers had to load the spare tank and drive down to the CDF (CalFire) station to refill the tank, then come back and pump the water back into the reservoir. 

Of course, while we always work hard at Coon Camp Springs, we also eat pretty well.  Saturday night we feasted on smoked wild pork and fallow deer ribs, paired with fresh vegetables from Dave’s little garden.  We even had dessert on the menu… plums in port sauce and vanilla ice cream, but everyone ate so much of the main course, no one had room for dessert. 

Sunday was spent in part recovering from the exertion of Saturday.  Most of the volunteers, including myself, had to hit the road by mid-morning in order to get back home at a decent hour.  We took care of some logistics, filled the water tanks that irrigate some of the recent plantings, figured out the problem with Dave’s truck and got the transmission cooler pulled out, and made arrangements for Dave to get over to Reno and rent a vehicle to use until they got a new transmission cooler. 

I pulled back into the homefront around 8:30 Sunday night, dusty and tired.  After a long shower and a quick meal, it was time for bed to rest my aching back and arms.  I’m way too young to feel this danged old, to paraphrase Garth Brooks.  Swinging a chainsaw in the high-desert heat for hours on end can sure do that to ya! 

It was a great weekend, though, and I want to thank all of the volunteers who made the long drive and put in a long, hot day of hard labor for Coon Camp Springs.  I’m sure that, when he returns on Tuesday, Dave will add his own thanks on the Coon Camp Springs website, along with some of the photos he took of the weekend. 

Just catching up with the news from “home”, Wilmington, NC, and saw this article in the Wilmington Morning Star about the Camo Coalition.

The coalition is a perfect example of grassroots activism.  The participants are merging new technology, the Internet, with old, the phone tree.  When an issue comes up, the network comes alive and word is spread from person to person.  Before long, the growth becomes somewhat exponential and a handful of informed individuals becomes a pretty strong force. 

Examples of recent issues include

• The potential purchase of a public access area in the mountain region
• Support of keeping a commercial bycatch limit of seven red drum rather than increasing the limit to 10
• Word of a move by the U.S. Navy to expand its bombing ranges in Pamlico Sound into some of the best tarpon fishing and red drum fishing in the world, which would make the area off-limits to boaters, hunters and commercial and recreational fishermen
• Legislation currently passed by the legislature and is under veto threat by the governor that would rescind penalties for driving large boat trailers on North Carolina highways during daylight hours
• A reversal by the Wake County Board of Education on the authorization of a shooting team at East Wake High School in Wendell. The organization sent e-mails about the cancellation of the team to every member of the board, which eventually found the team not in violation of policy
• 4-H Camp Millstone in the Sandhills had a deer-cleaning and processing course each year. The Richmond County Board of Health shut it down because the meat had not been inspected. But Hamilton used facts of the state’s Hunters for the Hungry program to prove that turning a deer into venison created no health hazard and, with help of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, was able to reinstate the course.

It’s a great idea, and one that could (and SHOULD) be replicated across the country.  To learn more about the organization, check them out at http://www.nccamo.org. 

It’s the week for press releases, I guess, but this one I just recieved from Kevin Paulson of the Hunting Life website is definitely worth sharing!  Give it a read, then get your ticket for the raffle!  It’s a great prize for the winner, but it’s a winning opportunity for an even better cause!

For Immediate Release
July 11, 2008

Kevin Paulson (202)744-5806
Kevin@HuntingLife.com
Scott Hed (605) 336-6738
Scott@SportsmansAlliance4AK.org
HuntingLife.com and Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska Team up for Conservation
Effort Launched to Raise Awareness of the Growing Threat in Alaska’s Bristol Bay Region

Today marks the launch of a special campaign aimed at raising awareness among America’s hunters about a very serious threat facing one of the world’s most iconic sporting destinations: Alaska’s famed Bristol Bay region.  While the world of sportfishing has been more aware of the plans to turn this area in southwest Alaska, which is home to the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery and tremendous angling and hunting opportunities, into a massive mining district, the time has come for hunters and the hunting community to further engage in this monumental conservation battle.

“HuntingLife.com has been committed to conservation from day one so it was a natural partnership to work with the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska to protect such amazing resources like Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest.  Bristol Bay is one of those areas in America where sportsmen from all walks of life dream of hunting moose, caribou and bears or wetting a line pursuing the mighty salmon and trout.  Partnering with the Sportman’s Alliance for Alaska on this wonderful project was a no-brainer for Team HuntingLife,” said HuntingLife.com founder Kevin C. Paulson.

Read the rest of this entry »

I got an interesting email and press release yesterday, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it.  It was an announcement for a new website, Sierra Sportsmen.  The first thing I noticed, though, was the return email… sierraclub.org.  Hmmm…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2008

Contact: Kristina Johnson (415) 977-5619
Virginia Cramer (804) 225-9113 x 102

Sierra Club Launches Online Sportsmen’s Network
Conservationists, Hunters and Anglers Work Together on Drilling, Clean Water, and Global Warming

It’s all about protecting habitat.  That’s the common ground and common cause of conservationists and sportsmen.  As mining, drilling, development and global warming increasingly threaten quality hunting and fishing opportunities, more and more sportsmen are joining forces with other conservationists to protect wildlife and wild places.

Now the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization has launched a campaign to connect the 20 percent of its members (118,000 people) who hunt and fish with other sportsmen across the country who care about conservation.

“Sportsmen were some of the first conservationists, and have always been an important part of the Sierra Club. Our founder, John Muir, worked closely with Teddy Roosevelt to protect America’s wild legacy,” Sierra Sportsmen organizer Jon Schwedler said. “Now it’s crucial that sportsmen and environmentalists work together more closely so we can help save the forests, plains, lakes, rivers and streams we all enjoy.  Working together we can ensure that our nation’s outdoor legacy lives on for future generations of sportsmen.”

The Sierra Club’s new Sierra Sportsmen organizing site, www.sierrasportsmen.org will serve as a hub for hunters and anglers, allowing them to connect with each other beyond state lines,, find out about conservation issues that affect them, help pass on outdoor traditions to the next generation, restore local streams, protect game habitat, and fight global warming.

The Sierra Sportsmen site includes interviews with prominent figures in the outdoor movement such as President Lowell Baier of the Boone & Crockett Club, as well as conservation updates, and opportunities for sportsmen to take action on issues that affect us all. Members of the Sierra Sportsmen Network can stay abreast of the latest in outdoor news through Schwedler’s blog.  Schwedler is a life-long sportsman who has lived on the Chesapeake Bay, in the Big Sky of Montana, and now in  New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment.  

Sportsmen visiting the site can also share their own stories and find updates on the Sierra Club’s work in the field, including:

• Restoring streams in Idaho
• Keeping a coal plant from polluting fishing streams in Arkansas 
• Removing fence in Montana elk range 
• Protecting key habitat from oil drilling in places like Alaska’s Teshekpuk Lake, the Wyoming Range, and Colorado’s Roan Plateau 
• Teaching fly fishing clinics in Portland, Oregon

“Hunters and anglers are some of the best stewards of America’s public lands and wildlife,” Schwedler said. “By working together, whether it’s to keep streams healthy for trout or keep oil drills out of elk range, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren are able enjoy the same outdoor traditions we do today.”

In celebration of its official launch, the Sierra Sportsmen Network is holding a fishing and hunting photo contest.  Winners will receive a $500 gift certificate either from Patagonia or Bass Pro Shops.

The contest will be judged by Lowell Baier of the Boone & Crockett Club, Anthony Licata of Field & Stream Magazine, Ben Long of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Bob Poole of National Geographic, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club, Jim Posewitz of the Orion Institute, Kent Salazar of the National Wildlife Federation, Samantha Mace of Save our Wild
Salmon, and R.P. Van Gytenbeek of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

For more information, visit www.sierrasportsmen.org
 

So I checked out the website, starting with the “Welcome” from Sierra Club Executive Director, Carl Pope, that describes the philosophy behind that Sierra Sportsmen is trying to do.  Mr. Pope’s message opens with the image of John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt entering Yosemite together.

When John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt hiked into the Yosemite Valley together in 1903, they shared a first-hand interest in protecting America’s wild places. Muir was a hiker who wanted to wander mountains and valleys that were free of industrial development. Roosevelt was a hunter who wanted to explore dense forests and open fields. They were natural allies.

Natural allies… Read the rest of this entry »

I spent the past weekend down at the Native Hunt headquarters, along with Native Hunt owner/operator Michael Riddle. 

Part of the visit was spent getting a short tour of the property and Mike’s operation.  He’s got a great setup, with over 1000 acres fenced for exotics, including a herd of pure-strain European boar, some Fallow Deer, Corsican Sheep, and some buffalo.  Outside the fence are native blacktail deer, and hoards of feral pigs.

Ever since I came to CA, I’ve heard various hunt operators claim to have “pure” European or “Russian” boar on their properties.  However, unless those hogs are inside a fence, they’re not likely to be pure Euros.  The hogs most of us are familiar with in this country are feral hogs, or at best, a cross between the descendants of released Europeans and feral swine.

After spending a couple of days at the Native Hunt property, it was pretty clear that none of the hogs I’ve seen on private or public land in this state were pure Europeans.  The real thing is very distinctive. 

Mike did a pretty good article about the pure-strain boar in a recent issue of Boar Hunter Magazine.  It does a much better job describing the difference between the Euros and feral pigs than I could ever do here.  If you’ve got the time, go take a read. 

There was another purpose for our meeting this weekend as well. 

The timing and details are still in the final works, but I can now tell you that we spent a good bit of the weekend discussing a new organization dedicated to the promotion of wild boar hunting across the country.  We’re also interested in bringing various interests together, and working collaboratively with the diverse members of the hunting and wildlife management community. 

Membership questions?  Hang tight, and I’ll have a lot more information about this as we go. 

A few weeks ago, I posted up an invitation from Frank Price of the US Sportsman’s Alliance (USSA) to a couple of luncheons in CA.  At these luncheons, sportsmen from around the state can learn how to get involved and actively make a difference for all CA hunters and shooting enthusiasts.  I just received an update, from the organization.  detailing the March 8th meeting at Laguna Niguel.

Dear Fellow Sportsmen,

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance will present a luncheon on March 8 to help area sportsmen learn how they can protect their rights. 

The event will take place at the On Target Range, 27692 Camino Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.  Luncheon topics will include past successes, current activities and future issues of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

In recent years, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has been leading the way nationally in defended or increased bear hunting opportunities in eight states and the arctic and increased or protected dove hunting opportunities in 12 states.  The organization is paving the way for the next generation of hunters through its Trailblazer Adventure Program that has introduced more than 500,000 youth and their families to the outdoors and the Families Afield program that is reducing barriers to hunting.

For over 30 years, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has been meeting and defeating groups that want to destroy our outdoor heritage. Your support becomes more important with every passing day.

Contact Frank Price, Field Services Director of U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, with any questions.  This week is your last chance to RSVP to come to the luncheon!  To RSVP call me at (614) 888-4868 ext. 202 or email me at fprice@ussportsmen.org before March 5 at 5 p.m.

Sincerely,

Frank Price

Field Services Director

It’s a great opportunity if you’re in the area and want to get involved… and I strongly encourage you to do exactly that!

And why get involved?

Because we’re constantly under attack… not just in CA, but all over the country.

Many thanks to Holly, NorCal Cazadora, for sending me several updates of late, particularly some from the Humane Society of the US (HSUS).  Of particular interest is this one, regarding an attempt to ban dove hunts in Minnesota. 

Around the country, anti-hunters have found that dove hunting seems to be an easy target.  There were recent efforts in California, Arizona, and in the northeast as well to ban dove hunts.  Every time the effort is shot down, someone ressurects it.  The antis have nothing but time, and they are doing their best to fight a war of attrition, wearing down the opposition (us!) in hopes that we’ll finally just give up the fight.  They’re sneaky, using sympathetic lawmakers to plug anti-hunting legislation into the tag end of other bills and programs.  And there is no one, except us and organizations like the USSA to stand between the antis and their goals. 

But organizations like the USSA cannot function on their own.  They need membership who are willing to do more than just throw some cash in the mail every year or so.  They need people to get out and get active, just as I’ve so often encouraged sportsmen to do.  We cannot rely on someone else to protect or save our hunting priviledges.  We absolutely have to do it for ourselves.

I just received this notice in my email, and thought it worthwhile to pass along to those of you in CA.  The USSA is one of the small handful of national organizations dedicated to protecting our hunting heritage and tradition by working against anti-hunting legislation and promoting positive laws and regulations.  While I’ve been unable, so far, to get a feel for their position on the lead ammo ban, these two opportunities to meet the Field Services Director, Frank Price, will allow folks to hear it right from the horse’s mouth. 

Unfortunately, I’ll be running hunts down at Tejon Ranch during both of these visits, but if any of you can get out there, I encourage you to do so.

Here’s the message.  Contact information is at the end.

February 13, 2008

Dear Fellow Sportsmen,

I am writing to invite you and/or the leadership of your club to one of two luncheons.  One is on February 23, 2008 at the Fresno County Sportsmen’s Club, 10645 N Lanes Rd Fresno, CA 93730 from 10:00 -2:00 and the other is on March 8, 2008 at On Target Range, 27692 Camino Capistrano Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 from 12:30-2:30. Theses luncheons are to bring you up to speed on the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. We will review past issues, current activities, and preview things coming “down the pipe”.

In recent years, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has been leading the way nationally in defending or increasing bear hunting opportunities in eight states & the artic, increasing or protecting dove hunting opportunities in 12 states and is paving the way for the next generation of hunters through its Trailblazer Adventure Program that has introduced over 500,000 youth and their families to the outdoors and through the Families Afield program that is reducing barriers to hunting.

With many activities and issues coming down the road, it is important to be ready when the fight comes to town. For over 30 years, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has been meeting and defeating groups that want to destroy our outdoor heritage. Your support becomes even more important with each passing day.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you. Please RSVP at 614-888-4868 ext. 202 or fprice@ussportsmen.org.

Sincerely,

Frank Price

Field Services Director

You know, I am pretty sure that shedding light on positive actions from hunters and hunting organizations is a big deal.  But then I read something like the following, and I feel like I’m falling so short on my end of the deal:

 http://www.haywardwis.com/record/index.php?section_id=957&story_id=234463

My daughter has certain disabilities, and while none of them are immediately life threatening, they were serious enough that we spent some time in the serious illnesses ward at Duke University.  While there, I got to see courage that still brings tears to my eyes… one that stands out most clearly… youngsters whose lives were measured in weeks or months came to our door to take my daughter for a ride around the floor in a little red wagon. 

When I read articles like the one above, the ever-present cynic in me turns yellow and runs away.  I realize there is still good in the world, and the fact that the White Knights are hunters only makes my heart swell the more. 

This is what it should be all about.