Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
England’s politically correct government has demonstrated how it was able to disarm its subjects through gradual encroachments on their rights. If the technique sounds familiar, find out how the U.S. government is moving in the same direction at the link below.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/europe-mainmenu-35/717
Rochester Hills residents have lost a court battle which will allow sharpshooters to continue on their mission to reduce the number of car/deer collisions. In the complaint it was stated that shooting them would be dangerous and was not needed, although the car/deer collisions are extremely high in the surrounding area.
As for being dangerous, sure – for the deer. Sharpshooters will not miss on standing targets with kill zones of approximately 9 inches at relatively close ranges. And, if more explosive bullets are used, such as Nosler Ballistic Tips, pass through shots and any danger of richochets will be eliminated.
Just more misdirected do-gooders on a mission of mis-management.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett announced today the removal of the western Great Lakes population and portions of the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The success of gray wolf recovery efforts in these areas has contributed to expanding populations of wolves that no longer require the protection of the Act. However, gray wolves found within the borders of Wyoming will continue to be protected by the Act due to a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms ensuring their protection under state law.
“Wolves have recovered in the Great Lakes and the northern Rocky Mountains because of the hard work, cooperation and flexibility shown by States, tribes, conservation groups, federal agencies and citizens of both regions,” said Scarlett. “We can all be proud of our various roles in saving this icon of the American wilderness.”
Today’s decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is scheduled to take effect 30 days after the publication of two separate rules, one for each population, in the Federal Register. The two rules address concerns raised during two separate federal court actions last summer requiring the Service to reinstate Endangered Species Act protections for the two populations. The western Great Lakes population was originally removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants in March 2007, while the northern Rocky Mountain population was first delisted in February 2008.
Gray wolves were previously listed as endangered in the lower 48 states, except in Minnesota where they were listed as threatened. The Service oversees three separate recovery programs for the gray wolf; each has its own recovery plan and recovery goals based on the unique characteristics of wolf populations in each geographic area. Wolves in other parts of the 48 states, including the Southwest wolf population, remain endangered and are not affected by the actions taken today.
Northern Rocky Mountain wolves
The northern Rocky Mountain Distinct Population Segment includes all of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, and a small part of north-central Utah. The minimum recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains is at least 30 breeding pairs and at least 300 wolves for at least three consecutive years, a goal that was attained in 2002 and has been exceeded every year since. There are currently about 100 breeding pairs and 1,500 wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. The Service believes that with approved state management plans in place in Montana and Idaho, all threats to the wolf population will be sufficiently reduced or eliminated in those states. Montana and Idaho will always manage for over 15 breeding pairs and 150 wolves per State and their target population level is about 400 wolves in Montana and 500 in Idaho.
As a result of a Montana United States District Court decision on July 18, 2008, the Service reexamined Wyoming law, its management plans and implementing regulations. While the Service has approved wolf management plans in Montana and Idaho, it has determined that Wyoming’s state law and wolf management plan are not sufficient to conserve Wyoming?s portion of a recovered northern Rocky Mountain wolf population. Therefore, even though Wyoming is included in the northern Rocky Mountain DPS, the subpopulation of gray wolves in Wyoming is not being removed from protection of the Endangered Species Act. Continued management under the Endangered Species Act by the Service will ensure that the recovery goal of 300 wolves in Wyoming is sustained.
Acting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Rowan Gould said the Service will continue to work with the State of Wyoming in developing its state regulatory framework so that the state can continue to maintain and share a recovered northern Rocky Mountain population. Once adequate regulatory mechanisms are in place, the Service could propose removing the Act’s protections for wolves in Wyoming. National parks and the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming already have adequate regulatory mechanisms in place to conserve wolves. However, at this time, wolves will remain protected as a nonessential, experimental population under the ESA throughout the state, including within the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation and national park units.
Western Great Lakes
The Service’s delisting of the gray wolf also applies to gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment. As the result of another legal ruling from the Washington D.C. United States District Court on September 29, 2008, the Service reexamined its legal authorization to simultaneously identify and delist a population of wolves in the western Great Lakes. The Service today reissued the delisting decision in order to comply with the Court’s concerns.
The area included in the DPS boundary includes the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The DPS includes all the areas currently occupied by wolf packs in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as nearby areas in these states in which wolf packs may become established in the future. The DPS also includes surrounding areas into which wolves may disperse but are not likely to establish packs.
Rebounding from a few hundred wolves in Minnesota in the 1970s when listed as endangered, the region’s gray wolf population now numbers about 4,000 and occupies large portions of Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Wolf numbers in the three states have exceeded the numerical recovery criteria established in the species’ recovery plan for several years. In Minnesota, the population is estimated at 2,922. The estimated wolf population in Wisconsin is a minimum of 537, and about 520 wolves are believed to inhabit Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources have developed plans to guide wolf management actions in the future. The Service has determined that these plans establish a sufficient basis for long-term wolf management. They address issues such as protective regulations, control of problem animals, possible hunting and trapping seasons, and the long-term health of the wolf population, and will be governed by the appropriate state or tribe.
“The Service is committed to ensuring wolves thrive in the Great Lakes and the northern Rocky Mountains and will continue to work with the states to ensure this successful recovery is maintained,” said Gould.
The Service will monitor the delisted wolf populations for a minimum of five years to ensure that they continue to sustain their recovery. At the end of the monitoring period, the Service will decide if relisting, continued monitoring, or ending Service monitoring is appropriate.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
In a rare Sunday session this week, the U.S. Senate advanced legislation that would set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness.
The bill calls for the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 25 years. The protected land includes 11,739acres in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore along Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The bill must still pass the U.S. House of Representatives and be supported by the President before it becomes law.
MUCC can chalk up its first policy victory for 2009 as Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm recently signed legislation into law that will limit the amount of phosphorus contained in household laundry and dish detergents by 2010. Senate Bills 362 (Birkholz, R-Saugatuck) and 152 (Brater, D-Ann Arbor) will reduce the maximum phosphorus content in dish and laundry detergents from 8.7% by weight to 0.5%.
Phosphorus enters the Great Lakes from fertilizer runoff and detergent waste, causing excessive plant growth which limits oxygen availability to fish and other aquatic wildlife. High phosphorus levels were responsible for these oxygen “dead zones” in Lake Erie in the 1960s and there are alarming signs that these problems are returning.
With increasing levels of phosphorus in the Great Lakes and modern product engineering which eliminates the need for phosphorus in household detergents, Senate Bills 362 and 152 are a critical first step to reducing pollution and its effect on our Great Lakes fishery.
While the enactment of phosphorus-free detergent is a win for the Great Lakes and those who enjoy the recreational opportunities they provide, MUCC will continue to work diligently in the coming year to reduce the amount of phosphorus in lawn fertilizer to further minimize its harmful effect on the Great Lakes.
Kirt Darner, a former outfitter and owner of a private northwestern New Mexico elk hunting park, was sentenced to $10,000 in fines and 4,500 hours of community service Monday for illegally transporting elk and receiving stolen bighorn sheep heads.
Cibola County District Judge Camille Martinez-Olguin also ordered Darner to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and a taxidermy business in Montrose, Colo., where the sheep heads were stolen. Olguin ordered Darner to serve 25 weeks of community service a year for4 ½ years — 4,500 hours — in Colorado and New Mexico.
“Mr. Darner has learned that we will not tolerate people trying to profit by stealing wildlife that belongs to the citizens of New Mexico,” Cibola County District Attorney Lemuel Martinez said. “We will continue to aggressively prosecute these types of crimes.”
Darner, 69, pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2008. He faced a maximum penalty of 4 ½ years in jail and a minimum of $10,000 in fines and restitution. In a plea agreement accepted by Judge Martinez-Olguin, Darner also agreed never to hunt, fish or possess a firearm in his lifetime.
The investigation involved close cooperation among the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
Kirt Darner, a nationally known big-game hunter and guide, and his wife, Paula Darner, were co-owners of a 40-acre game park on the Lobo Canyon Ranch north of Grants. They were indicted on multiple charges related to the possession of two trophy bighorn sheep heads and the illegal transport of stolen live elk. The Darners were accused of illegally moving three state-owned elk from the Lobo Canyon Ranch to the Pancho Peaks ranch and game park in southeastern New Mexico in 2005. Kirt Darner was paid $5,000 for each elk.
Department of Game and Fish officers who executed a search warrant at the Darner property in 2005 discovered a desert bighorn sheep head and a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep head inside a vehicle. Further examination of the heads determined that they were stolen from a Montrose, Colo., taxidermy shop in 2000. The Colorado Division of Wildlife had offered a $5,500 reward for information about the sheep-head thefts. At the time they were stolen, the sheep heads were estimated to be worth more than $20,000 each. At Monday’s sentencing hearing, a Colorado Division of Wildlife investigator testified that a former employee of Darner’s admitted to being paid to steal the sheep heads.
Previously, in Colorado, Darner was convicted of illegal possession of wildlife in 1994. In 1999 he was convicted of second degree tampering with evidence and careless driving in an incident in which he was serving as an outfitter. Division of Wildlife officers observed Darner’s client shoot at an elk decoy in a game management unit for which the client didn’t have a license. In 2008, Darner pleaded guilty to making a false statement in order to purchase a license. He had applied for landowner vouchers with the Department of Wildlife, but did not own enough property to be eligible for the program.
The Darners currently live in Crawford, Colo.
A leading anti-hunting organization is pushing a new grassroots effort to “Fight Global Warming and Save Wildlife. In the process, it is showcasing a new weapon in the movement’s assault on sportsmen’s rights: the manipulation of public concerns over global warming into a way to go after the wholly unrelated issue of hunting.
In an online solicitation, Defenders of Wildlife (DoW) is urging its supporters to, “urge President-Elect Obama and the Congress to pass legislation to address global warming and help polar bears, wolverines, bighorn sheep and other animals survive and thrive in a changing climate.”
As followers of the USSA know, global warming is rapidly becoming a weapon in the anti’s arsenal of attacks on hunting, fishing, and trapping. This is especially pronounced given the decision in 2008 to list polar bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to the loss of arctic sea ice.
The decision was made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) after a lawsuit was filed by a coalition of environmental groups that wanted to use the ESA as a way to force action on global warming. That decision, which was opposed by the USSA, did nothing to protect against the loss of the sea ice but has resulted in a loss of millions in conservation dollars due to the prohibition placed on hunting as a result of the designation.
Additionally, as the USSA argued at the time, the enormous costs of overhauling and fundamentally changing the FWS mission will leave little if any money for actual endangered species or other traditional fish and wildlife programs.
Given the rhetoric coming from groups like DoW, it would not be surprising to see similar tactics employed in the future. The USSA continues to remain vigilant on this issue.
Gratiot County, Mich. – January 13, 2009
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will partner with Pheasants Forever (PF) to acquire 140 acres of land in Gratiot County that is adjacent to the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area. DNR Director Rebecca Humphries authorized the transaction at a recent Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing.
The land, which is split in two parcels, a 120-acre parcel and a 20-acre one, is located in Hamilton Township in Gratiot County. Humphries authorized the transaction up to $370,000, with the purchase being paid for by the Turkey Habitat Acquisition Fund, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund and a $10,000 gift from Pheasants Forever.
“This acquisition is significant because of the upland bird habitat on the property,” said Humphries. “This will help us consolidate ownership, prevent land fractionalization, increase public recreational opportunities and secure additional wildlife habitat. This is an important wildlife corridor connecting existing state ownership at the Gratiot-Saginaw State Game Area.”
“The DNR especially wishes to recognize the contribution of $10,000 from our conservation partner, Pheasants Forever,” said DNR Wildlife Chief Russ Mason. “A significant portion of the land being acquired contains the habitat necessary for this special game bird, and by its actions, Pheasants Forever has helped to create more hunting opportunities for Michigan citizens.”
The Gratiot-Saginaw State Game area is 15,892 acres in both Saginaw and Gratiot counties. For more information online, go to the www.michigan.gov/dnr.
The DNR is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural resources for current and future generations.
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 129,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.
By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
According to the Brady Campaign, nationwide over 3500 students were expelled in 1998-99 for bringing guns to school. The Brady bunch adds that in the U.S., young children die or are badly injured because their parents or other gun owners don’t store their firearms properly, and children find loaded guns and use them unintentionally on themselves or other children. Older children are more at risk from horseplay with available guns, while teenagers use guns for crime.
This information was obtained directly from the Brady Campaign’s website, and for the sake of argument, let’s buy it, lock, stock, and barrel.
A simple person might conclude that grown ups ought to do a better job of keeping their guns – especially loaded ones – away from youngsters, unless there’s a clear and established understanding of the dangers and consequences of misuse. Just as important might be the parents’ role in providing lessons in gun safety, life’s issues, and criminal career paths. Ah, but who’s going to do all that. I mean, we are all so busy these days. We have our lives to lead, after all.
Ms. Brady and her center have taken everything into account for everyone and have concluded that it’s best not to keep a gun in the house. But, the no-gun policy is of little use, if the armed criminal shows up at your door. If the Bradys don’t want to keep guns in their residence, that’s fine with me; however, finger crossing doesn’t give me the edge I want now that my bodyguard, Otis, has passed on.
Consider this horrific scene. Thirteen-year old Johnny strides boldly into town – right down Main Street in Perry. He’s on a mission. Rifle conspicuously slung over his diminutive frame, he purposely marches through town yet manages to wave to a neighbor. There must be something in the water, because nobody is stopping little John Plowman on his date with destiny, even though he plainly has a gun.
At the same time in the halls of Perry High School, one Derwood Cole, long-time school board president, must have had a good dose of that same water before inviting a throng of youngsters to meet in the gymnasium and convincing them to bring their guns.
Even the principal became involved, as he unabashedly stashed guns in his office for select kids to use later.
Believe it or not, the scenario above was played out in real life over and over. It wasn’t the prelude in some shoot-‘em-up action movie. It didn’t even make the news!
It was just another day for lifelong Perry resident, John Plowman, as he toted his trusty auto-loading .22 caliber rifle through town to kill a few dirty rats. Real rats! And, Mr. Cole routinely held Hunters’ Safety Training Class at the high school for many years without incident. And, the obliging principal would always accommodate any kid who wanted to go pheasant or rabbit hunting after school by hanging onto his shotgun until class was dismissed.
Kids, guns, school. It was just as normal to mix them several decades ago as it is today. However, now the same recipe produces different results.
I don’t mind bursting a Brady bubble, so here goes. Guns are essentially the same today as they were some 40 years ago. One pull of the trigger, bang, and a bullet flies out the muzzle. Gun grabbers can demonize them and prescribe more laws restricting them, but they miss the target. Guns are one element in the equation of kids, guns, and school from yesteryear to today, which hasn’t changed, and therefore, maybe we should focus on other aspects of today’s ills.
So, where did we go wrong? Here’s a reality check: Go to a current movie. Any movie. Or, simply tune into any top-rated, primetime sitcom. Then, for comparison, watch any episode of Leave it to Beaver.
Any more questions?
NEWTOWN, Conn.
Despite a weak economy, gun sales are continuing to increase amid concerns that incoming lawmakers will institute a new gun ban on law-abiding Americans. Data derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) show a 24 percent increase in firearm purchaser background checks for the month of December 2008 (1,523,426 checks) over December 2007 (1,230,525 checks). This increase follows a 42 percent rise in NICS checks for the preceding month, the highest number of checks in NICS history. FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing firearms from federally licensed retailers. These checks serve as a strong indicator of actual sales.
A recent poll of hunters and target shooters by Southwick Associates Inc., in which 80 percent of respondents said they expect it will become more difficult to purchase firearms under the incoming administration and congress, explains the increase in sales.
“Sales of firearms, in particular handguns and semi-automatic hunting and target rifles, are fast outpacing inventory,” said NSSF President and CEO Stephen L. Sanetti. “It’s clear that many people are concerned about possible gun bans under the incoming Congress and are reacting accordingly.”
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the large increase in demand for firearms has led to a shortage of Form 4473s — the Firearms Transaction Record which must be filled out any time a person buys a firearm from a licensed retailer. As a temporary measure, ATF is allowing FFLs to photocopy the form 4473 in its entirety until they receive their orders from the ATF Distribution Center. NSSF has reminded retailers of the newly launched Electronic Form 4473 which is free and downloadable from the ATF Web site.
Final year-end NICS data reveals a total of 12,709,023 background checks reported in 2008, up 14 percent from 2007.
For more information on gun sale statistics, legislative issues and general firearm related questions, please visit the NSSF Web site at www.nssf.org — the media’s resource for all things about the firearms and ammunition industry.
Comment by Glen Wunderlich: At least the gun manufacturers do not appear to be in need of any bailout money.