The Peasant Wars

(Republished by permission)

Opinion by George Dovel

George Dovel is Editor and Publisher of The Outdoorsman.

In 2003, North America’s foremost wildlife scientist, Dr. Valerius Geist, made the following observations:

“The miracle of North American conservation is that it is basically a blue-collar system, grounded in the political and financial support and the active participation of large numbers of middle-class citizens who bring their basic honesty and decency to bear on important issues. This is just the opposite of the elitist system that has existed throughout Europe for centuries and is spreading like cancer around the world today, even right here at home. Read more

Does Trophy Hunting Spoil The Gene Pool?

Yesterday I posted a rebuttal to a Newsweek article that supported the theory that trophy hunting was creating “weak and scrawny” game animals. The Newsweek article used information from a study done on big horn sheep on Ram Mountain in Alberta, Canada, that made the claim by some involved in that study that in 30 years it was trophy hunting that had caused a reduction in body size and horn length and mass. Since that posting, my mailbox has filled up with information.

Trophy hunting, as used in this post and related articles, can be best described as the effort of hunters to select an animal for harvesting that has large antlers/horns in combination with big body mass. The theory is that this type of harvesting selection is creating weaker and smaller species because hunters are culling out the best of the litters to hang on their walls. This simply is not true. Read more

Large Predators: Them And Us!

Reprinted by permission from the author.

Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, The University of Calgary
Calgary, Canada.

We pay close attention to large predators. We do so because we evolved as prey. It was our ancient fate to be killed and eaten, and our primary goal to escape such. Our instincts are still shaped that way.

There is thus a reason why the bloody carnage on our highways is a mere statistic, but the mauling of a person by a grizzly is news. It’s not only that so many fossilized remains of our ancient ancestors are meals consumed by large predators in secluded caves or rock niches, but also that we speciated like large herbivores. That is, our pattern and timing of forming species, of adapting to landscapes, mimics and coincides with that of deer, antelope or cattle, but not that of large carnivores. And that despite our fondness for meat, despite “man the hunter”, and despite the fact that at least on species of humans, Neanderthal man, grew into a super predator. Read more

Rocky Mountain Angoras

By Denny L. Vasquez

© Copyrighted

“Are you gonna make it?” my guide whispered in my right ear. I didn’t even make an effort to turn toward him, but just gave a slight nod of my head in response. I snickered to myself’ “Are you gonna make it?” he asks. Hmph, I thought! a fine time to ask me that seemingly senseless question now.

We were almost to the trailhead, and it didn’t matter that I was gulping air as if it were some type of coolant that could soothe the fire in my lungs or that my body felt like rubber from running across the face of this hell that he called a mountain. At that moment I couldn’t have held still for a steady shot if my life depended on it. And to top it off, we were up at a minimum of 10,000 feet in elevation; but it was probably closer to 11,000. Read more

The Endangered Species Act Is Now Endangering Our Species

As the courts continue to decide what the Endangered Species Act is for, we have reached a point where it appears now that our wildlife that needs protecting is in eminent danger. Yesterday, Federal Judge Paul L. Friedman, ordered that the gray wolf in the Western Great Lakes region be placed back under protection and management of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That decision and the subsequent ruling of the court I now see as jeopardizing the health and sustainability of our other wildlife and plant species all within specific ecosystems. Read more

Maybe Hunting Leases On Private Lands Not Such A Great Idea

The ideal thing for hunters is for every landowner to leave his or her land open to hunting during the various seasons. We know that doesn’t happen for a variety of reasons, one of them being the realization that in some cases a landowner can rake in a sizable hunk of change by selling the hunting rights to his land. In some cases, landowners might be having to rethink that strategy as destruction to crops might be more costly than what they get for a lease.

Back last February, a Moffat County rancher named Rodney Culverwell, started killing elk that he says were destroying his property. He was charged with 16 counts and found guilty on 4 felony counts of illegally killing elk, etc.. He could face jail time and hefty fines of up to $400,000. 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

Fair Chase Is Ethical

Think for a moment about the title of this article. I have heard that simple statement repeated unendingly it seems and there is never a shortage of places to read about it either. Many who espouse to the feel-good title of an ethical hunter do so because they deem themselves to be one who believes in fair chase. The two main ingredients to look at in the title are “fair chase” and “ethical”. What is fair chase? Or in more brevity, what is fair? What does that four-letter word mean? And what about “ethical” or ethics, sometimes replaced with the word morals?

“It’s easy to define fair chase!”, I have heard repeatedly. “It’s hunting while affording the game every reasonable opportunity to escape.” And who is defining reasonable? Boone and Crockett has taken it upon themselves to define fair chase. Read more

“Undue Burden: The Real Cost Of Living With Wolves”

Are you looking to get a different perspective on wolves other than the Disney version or one that is perpetuated by the mainstream media? Now is your chance. Western Institute for the Study of the Environment says: Read more

Colorado Anti-Hunting Bill Dead….For Now

A bill that was sponsored by Colorado democrat Rep. Debbie Stafford and supported by the Humane Society of the United States, to end hunting in enclosures died in the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee on February 6, 2008.

HB1096, a bill that many said was poorly worded and very vague, was suspended indefinitely in the Colorado committee and many hope it is never revived in any way but you can be assured Coloradoans have not heard the last from at least the Humane Society of the United States whose aim is to stop all hunting. Read more

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