ThinkingAfield.org

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) couldn’t be happier with the formation of a new group of Congressmen that will promote its agenda.

On February 18, U.S. Representatives Jim Moran (D- VA) and Elton Gallegy (R- CA) announced the formation of a new Congressional Animal Protection Caucus. The goal of the group is to get like-minded members of Congress together and promote animal rights policy in Washington, D.C. through forums and briefings.

According to the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), the legislative wing of the HSUS, the new caucus will “take lawmaking for the animals to the next level.” HSLF went on to gush in its blog, “we could not be more excited about their leadership of this new organization of humane lawmakers.”

HSUS President and CEO, Wayne Pacelle was also prominently quoted in Rep. Moran’s press release announcing the caucus’ formation.

Pacelle stated, “The newly constituted Congressional Animal Protection Caucus will help better align our federal policies with public opinion, and we are excited to work closely with its leaders and with the entire Congress to combat cruelty and abuse.”

As of press time, a full list of other U.S. Representatives joining the caucus was not available. However, the USSA will let sportsmen know as the names become available. Each member of the caucus should be contacted by constituents in their districts.

Representatives should be made aware of HSUS’ radical anti-hunting agenda. They also need to be aware that sportsmen expect their representatives not to kowtow to that agenda.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Contact: Joel Sheltrown
Toll-free: 1-888-347-8103

(LANSING) State Representative Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch) today introduced legislation to place an issue before voters that would allow a portion of the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to be used for wildlife and fisheries habitat improvement and management. The measure would also increase the amount of revenue available annually from the fund.

“Despite the importance hunting and fishing has in Michigan and its impact on the state’s economy, Michigan is near the bottom nationally in support of its conservation programs,” Sheltrown said. “An increase in state general fund revenue is unrealistic given the state’s continued budget deficits. Imposing new fees or increasing existing fees above the rate of inflation to make up shortfalls is counterproductive to the long-term viability of hunting and fishing programs. There has to be a different solution.”

Sheltrown’s solution would create a ballot proposal to dedicate half of Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund annual expenditures for the development and management of habitat for game and sport fisheries including the stocking of game and fish. The remaining half would continue to fund the acquisition of land and development of public recreation facilities. Currently, three-quarters of the fund is used for acquisition purposes and one quarter is used for development.

The ballot proposal drafted by Sheltrown would also increase the amount of money available annually from one third of revenue deposited into the Trust Fund each year to one half of the money deposited. It would continue to allow the full amount of annual interest and other earnings to be spent. Based on 2008 spending, Sheltrown’s ballot proposal would provide $36 million for wildlife and fisheries habitat and management and $18 million each for land acquisition and public recreational facility development. Last year, approximately $12 million was spent for development and $36 million was spent on acquisition of new state lands.

“I understand there may be some concerns about reducing funding for the acquisition of new state land,” Sheltrown explained. “But local governments are complaining already about the DNR’s inability to meet its Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) obligations on the land it already owns. The upside is that this proposal would increase recreational development funding of existing public land by 50% and most importantly would fully fund wildlife and fisheries programs without the need for new fee increases.”

Based on 2008 figures, the Sheltrown proposal would provide wildlife and fisheries habitat funding at an amount equal to 58% of the total budget for the DNR’s Wildlife and Fisheries divisions. This surpasses the amount currently contributed by hunting and fishing license fee revenue and is seventeen times the amount currently contributed to those two divisions through the state’s general fund.

“The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund has been a triumph of smart government. Since its implementation in 1976, the fund has contributed nearly $700 million in grant funding for land acquisition and recreational development,” Sheltrown said. “As the fund now nears its statutory maturity, the resources are available to expand on its success by guaranteeing a perpetual source of revenue for Michigan hunting and fishing programs long into the future. If this ballot issue is approved by voters in November 2010, it will make Michigan a national leader in conservation programs without the need for new fee increases.”

Major Victory for American Workers Right to Self-Defense

Fairfax, Va. – Today, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in support of allowing employees to store legally owned firearms in locked, private motor vehicles while parked in employer parking lots. This decision upholds NRA-backed legislation passed in 2004.

“This is a victory for the millions of American workers who have been denied the right to protect themselves while commuting between their homes and their workplace,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “This effort was aimed at skirting the will of the American people, and the intent of legislatures across this country while eviscerating Right-to-Carry laws. This ruling is a slap at the corporate elitists who have no regard for the constitutional rights of law abiding American workers.”

In March 2004, the Oklahoma legislature passed an amendment holding employers criminally liable for prohibiting employees from storing firearms in locked vehicles on company property. A number of corporations subsequently filed suit in opposition to the new laws, alleging they were: unconstitutionally vague; an unconstitutional taking of private property; and preempted by various federal statutes. The lower court ruled in favor of the injunction.

“This issue was contrived by the gun control lobby who goaded corporations into doing their dirty work for them,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. “However, this ruling is a vindication for every hardworking and lawful man and woman whose basic right to self-defense was taken away on a whim by corporate lawyers. NRA is prepared to defend this right and to ensure the safety of every American worker.”

In October 2008, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Attorney General Drew Edmondson appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals the lower court decision to strike down the NRA-backed worker protection laws. Today’s proceedings handed down by Circuit Judges Paul J. Kelly, Bobby R. Baldock, and Michael W. McConnell reversed the lower court’s grant of a permanent injunction.

Alaska Congressman Introduces Two Bills to Allow the Import of Trophies and Guarantee Conservation Funding

(National)- The US Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) applauds the action taken on February 12, 2009 by Representative Don Young (R- AK) to introduce two bills drafted to permit the import of sport hunting polar bear trophies.

The bills, HR 1054 and HR 1055, address a serious problem that emerged in the wake of the recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decision to list polar bears as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

HR 1054 is a short-term fix that eliminates legal confusion surrounding existing trophies and permits created when the U.S. Department of Interior on May 15, 2008 formally listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). HR 1055 provides a comprehensive solution by amending the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prevents polar bears from being imported, no matter their ESA status. Young’s amendment allows for new trophies to be imported to the United States.

Under the Polar Bear’s new designation as a threatened species under the ESA, the other law that prevents their import, no trophies can be brought into the U.S. In addition to denying hunters the ability to hunt one of the world’s great species, the import prohibition eliminates a significant source of conservation funding for polar bears as the bulk of those dollars are generated by Americans hunters as they pay various trophy fees.

The Interior Department issued the threatened listing in response to a lawsuit by environmental activists who allege that shrinking arctic ice caused by global warming may cause polar bear numbers to decline in 50 years.

“The threatened species listing provides no solution to arctic ice,” said Rob Sexton, USSA Vice President of Government Affairs. “The only result of the listing is to suspend polar bear hunting. The threatened listing is pure political theater.”

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects and advances America’s heritage of hunting, fishing and trapping. It does so in the courts, state legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

The Feds aren’t going to like losing control over their subjects in Big Sky country, if this bill continues forward.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1417-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m2d16-Showdown-under-the-Big-Sky

Having guns in national parks is nothing new; they have been allowed for years – as long as they were unloaded and locked away. A lot of good that does when imminent danger is at hand.

Anti-gunners argue that only a few deaths have occured as a result of human-wildlife encounters. Too bad it hasn’t been one of their own; maybe that would make a difference.

Having been in the wilderness regions of Arizona mountains (then referred to as National Monuments), I was only approached once by a protective Javelina, as I got a little close to its offspring while photographing. I sure would have felt better had I been carrying. And, although I never had a meeting with a mountain lion, I knew they were in the neighborhood, as I lay asleep in their midst.

Gun grabbers also argue that certain park visitors won’t be inclined to hike and watch the birds, if they know some honest citizen might carry a sidearm for personal protection. That may be true, but who cares. Others may visit for the same reason.

I guess the Brady Bunch assumes lawful gun owners will go wild when in the wild and will somehow begin careers as serial killers without cops watching over them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601151.html

In January, Michigan no longer requires the idiotic “safety inspection’ of handguns after purchase.

This simple idea – one of allowing honest citizens to report purchases on their own – permits law enforcement more time to catch bad guys and to be otherwise productive. What’s astounding is that this concept – again, one which will eliminate wasted time of tax payers’ servants – has taken some 2 years to come to fruition.

So, we make a job easier by eliminating intrusive red tape and it takes years to make it happen. Who in their right mind, other than those on the take or those in defiance of John F. Kennedy’s advice, would choose more government management of anything!

Great piece linked below.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090106/OPINION02/901060303/1014/OPINION

After 7 consecutive years of testing – and, this year testing 1021 deer for CWD – none was found. In addition, no bovine tuberculosis was found by Ohio’s Division of Wildlife.

This is satisfying for Michiganders who have experienced the effects of disease in their deer herd insofar as none of the bad stock is coming from our Southern neighbor.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090217/COLUMNIST22/902170417

Seven of 14 ultra-light led migrating whooping cranes arrived at Florida’s St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on Saturday January 17 after traveling more than 1,200 miles from their summer grounds at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. Half of the flock is expected to remain at St. Marks NWR for the winter. The rest of the birds will continue south to Chassahowitzka NWR, 65 miles north of St. Petersburg.

“St. Marks has been anticipating the birds arrival for months, and the outpouring of community support around Wakulla and Leon counties has been phenomenal,” said Terry Peacock, Refuge Manager at St. Marks NWR. “We are thankful for the help of all of our volunteers who have assisted with pen set-up and helped with other preparations around the refuge.”

The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), an international coalition of public and private groups, leads the annual project, now in its eighth year, in an effort to reintroduce this endangered species in eastern North America. Each fall, pilots from Operation Migration (OM), a non-profit organization and founding WCEP partner, lead a new generation of whooping cranes behind their ultralight aircraft to wintering grounds in Florida. The cranes will make the return flight to the Upper Midwest on their own in the spring.

This year’s migration began from Necedah NWR on Oct. 17, with four ultralight aircraft leading the birds southward. To help speed the migration and improve safety for the birds and the pilots, a new route was developed this year that took the team around the Appalachian Mountains rather than over them, taking them through the state of Alabama for the first time. The ultralight-led flock also passed through Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia before crossing the Florida border.

One of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge covers 70,000 acres and more than 60 miles of coastline in Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties along the Gulf Coast of northwest Florida. The landscape includes coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers, and the refuge is home to a diverse community of plant and animal life. The refuge was established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds.

The Visitor Center at St. Marks NWR is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The public and media are encouraged to visit the St. Marks NWR visitor center to learn more about the whooping crane re-introduction and ultralight project. The cranes will begin to head north to their summering grounds in the Spring.

The staff of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge request visitors to be respectful and aware of the safety of the whooping cranes and their pens. Anyone who encounters a whooping crane in the wild should give them the respect and distance they need. If you see a whooping crane, do not approach birds on foot within 600 feet; try to remain in your vehicle; do not approach in a vehicle within 600 feet or, if on a public road, within 300 feet. Also, please remain concealed and do not speak loudly enough that the birds can hear you. It is very important that all visitors to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge respect the area closed for the cranes. Any interaction with humans is detrimental to the birds learning wild behavior.

There are now 73 migratory whooping cranes in the wild in eastern North America — including the first whooping crane chick to hatch in the wild in Wisconsin in more than a century. Many of these cranes have settled into their wintering locations in parts of the Southeast, including Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida. State partners from Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia provided strong support throughout the migration.

In late October, biologists from the International Crane Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also released six additional chicks into the company of older birds at Necedah NWR in Wisconsin, in the hopes that the chicks learn would the migration route from adult whoopers or sandhill cranes. This technique, called “direct autumn release” (DAR) is being tested to complement the known success of the ultralight-led migrations. Chicks for direct autumn release were reared in the field and released with older birds after fledging, or learning to fly. This method of reintroduction has been extensively tested and proven successful with sandhill cranes released with other sandhills but it remains to be seen if it will work with whooping cranes or with mixed species.
In 2001, project partner Operation Migration’s pilots led the first whooping crane chicks, conditioned to follow the ultralight aircraft south from Necedah NWR to Chassahowitzka NWR. Each subsequent year, biologists and pilots have conditioned and guided additional groups of juvenile cranes to Chassahowitzka.

The whooping crane chicks that take part in the reintroduction project are hatched at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. There, the young cranes are introduced to ultralight aircraft and raised in isolation from humans. To ensure the impressionable cranes remain wild, project biologists and pilots adhere to a strict no-talking rule, broadcast recorded crane calls and wear costumes designed to mask the human form whenever they are around the cranes.

New classes of cranes are brought to Necedah NWR each June to begin a summer of conditioning behind the ultralights to prepare them for their fall migration. Pilots lead the birds on gradually longer training flights at the refuge throughout the summer until the young cranes are ready to follow the aircraft along the migration route.

Most of the reintroduced whooping cranes spend the summer in central Wisconsin, where they use areas on the Necedah NWR, as well as various state and private lands. Reintroduced whooping cranes have also spent time in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and other upper Midwest states.

Project staff from the International Crane Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service track southbound cranes in an effort to learn as much as possible about their unassisted migrations and the habitat choices they make along the way. The birds are monitored during the winter in Florida by teams from ICF, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Operation Migration and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. They are also tracked as they make their way north in the spring. ICF and FWS biologists, along with Wisconsin DNR biologists, continue to monitor the birds while they are in their summer locations.

The Whooping Crane Recovery Team has established a target number for this reintroduction. Once there are at least 125 individuals, including 25 breeding pairs, migrating in this eastern corridor the population could be considered self sustaining.

Whooping cranes were on the verge of extinction in the 1940s. Today, there are only about 500 birds in existence, 350 of them in the wild. Aside from the 73 Wisconsin-Florida birds, the original population of whooping cranes nests at the Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories of Canada and winters at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Coast. A non-migrating flock of approximately 30 birds lives year-round in central Florida. The remaining 150 whooping cranes are in captivity in breeding facilities and zoos around North America.

Whooping cranes, named for their loud and penetrating unison calls, live and breed in wetland areas, where they feed on crabs, clams, frogs and seeds. They are distinctive animals, standing five feet tall, with white bodies, black wing tips and red crowns on their heads.

Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership founding members are the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration Inc., Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey?s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and National Wildlife Health Center, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team.

Many other flyway states, provinces, private individuals and conservation groups have joined forces with and support WCEP by donating resources, funding and personnel. More than 60 percent of the project?s estimated $1.6 million annual budget comes from private sources in the form of grants, public donations and corporate sponsorship.

For more information on St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge visit http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/. For more information on the whooping crane project, its partners and how you can help, visit the WCEP website at http://www.bringbackthecranes.org.

A Wisconsin Whooping Crane Management Plan that describes project goals and management and monitoring strategies shared and implemented by the partners is online at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/birds/wcrane/wcraneplan.htm.

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 http://www.fws/gov.

Domesticated animals have the right to be properly fed, housed, and generally cared for; beyond that, however, elevating them to human levels seems absurd. An interesting perspective on the subject is at the link below with opposing views at hand.

http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/why-animal-rights-don-t-exist