Fair Chase

Hunting Think Tank Update

2012-02-19T15:56:00.001-05:00

Hunting Think Tank II

September 6-8, 2011

Dundee, Illinois

Convened by Orion-The Hunters’ Institute and supported by the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation and the Pope and Young Club

Prepared by Eric Nuse

The value of hunting as a tool of wildlife management and to the economy is well known. However, the intrinsic values of hunting to society and to hunters is not well articulated or researched.

The meaning of the term hunting is regularly contested. Many organizations and writers use descriptors to narrow what they believe hunting to be, such as modern, sport, or subsistence.

At the first Hunting Think Tank we explored these topics in depth. We came up with a list of next steps that led to Think Tank II.

Questions we explored:

1. Has there ever been a comprehensive literature review of works seeking to define hunting? If not, find a way to do this.

2. Based on the results of our work, can we frame the word “hunting” so that it is accurately understood by the public and evokes a positive image?

3. Can we develop mental tools to help with decision making prior to going afield and during the hunt to help hunters make good, ethical choices?

Our first step will be to conduct an exhaustive literature search on hunting, resulting in an annotated bibliography of the hunting literature with a focus on defining hunting, both historically and in the modern era. This work will help us build a better foundation on which to define hunting – both what it is and what it is not. Professor John Edwards at West Virginia University will oversee a graduate student in doing this work starting January 2012.

A working group headed by Dr. Thomas Baumeister will be collaborating to build an “American Model of Hunting” analogous to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. The Model will be based on the core tenets and principles inculcated in modern hunting that hunters can be proud of and that the conservation community can use to build public support.

By articulating what makes up the core of hunting, organizations and individuals can examine different hunting practices and based on the specific facts, determine if they meet the definition of hunting. The tenets could be incorporated into hunter education training and other hunter curricula.

Currently, several writers who participated in the Think Tank are writing articles based on issues explored that will be published in the outdoor press. An outdoor writer workshop with a textbook is also being developed.

This information will be made available to professionals, outdoor writers and hunters for distribution and discussion.

The anticipated long term results are: clear, honest thinking on why we hunt; clarifying the values we collectively bring to hunting; recognizing the needs hunting fills for us; and recognizing the individual and societal benefits it brings. This clarity and focus on what is important should result in raising the bar of hunter behavior, enable a rational and clear defense of hunting, assist in recruiting and retaining quality hunters, and increase public support for democratic hunting.

Participants:

Dr. John Edwards, West Virginia University

Jim Posewitz, Orion-The Hunters’ Institute, author

Galen Geer, author and lecturer

Phil Seng, DJ Case and Associates

Dr. Thomas Baumeister, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Del Benson, Colorado State University and McGraw Wildlife Foundation

Michael Sabbeth, Attorney and author

Jim Dudas, McGraw Wildlife Foundation, writer

Eric Nuse, Orion-The Hunters’ Institute

Also assisting:

Dr. John Organ, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Dr. Jim Tantillo, Cornell University

The Mindful Carnivore

2012-02-15T16:50:00.001-05:00

Tovar's just released book, The Mindful Carnivore, is a must read for thinking hunters and folks who care about where their food comes from. This thoughtful book is more than a journey from vegan to hunter, it is also a review of human thought on our place in nature and our impact on the land and other creatures. Well written and well researched, I rate it right up there with books by Richard Nelson, Rick Bass, Jim Posewitz and Ted Keresote.

From the jacket of the book here is what others say about it:
"A remarkably candid, nuanced, and engaging meditation on what it means to be human. There are no prescriptions or preachy admonitions—just an honest account of the mindful unfolding of a person who has taken seriously the responsibility of being dependent upon the death of other organisms in order to live. The Mindful Carnivore is a bracing read."

—Jan E. Dizard, author of Mortal Stakes and Going Wild
"An unflinching account of one omnivore’s dilemma, drawn with psychological sensitivity and ecological sense. Cerulli treats compelling arguments on both the pro- and anti-hunting sides of the environmental divide with equanimity, while being just as equally impatient with both sides’ time-worn clichés and sound-bite slogans. A nourishing read!”

—Mary Zeiss Stange, author of Woman the Hunter and Hard Grass
"Tovar Cerulli has written the book I’ve been waiting for. It’s memoir, adventure story, and exploration. His journey is from vegan to hunter, but it’s more than that. It’s a journey into history, ethics, nutrition, ecology, and philosophy. An entertaining read—and an entertaining ride—into the human experience. A savory morsel indeed."
—Daniel Herman, author of Hunting & the American Imagination

I recommend picking up a copy at your local book store (or have them order it if they don't have it) and give it a read.
For those of you in the New England area here is a partial list of events Tovar is hosting. He is a great guy that you will enjoy meeting

Events in 2012

Thursday, Feb 16 – 7:00 pm – Concord, NH
Discussion and signing at Gibson’s Bookstore (RSVP here)

Tuesday, Feb 21 – 7:00 pm – Montpelier, VT
Discussion and signing at Bear Pond Books (RSVP here)

Sunday, Feb 26 – 1:00-3:00 pm – Montpelier, VT
Book launch party at the Unitarian Church, sales by Bridgeside Books (RSVP here)

Friday, March 2 – 5:30 pm – Brattleboro, VT
Discussion and signing at Everyone’s Books (RSVP here)

Saturday, March 3 – 1:00 pm – Webster, MA
Discussion and signing at Booklovers’ Gourmet (RSVP here)

Tuesday, March 6 – 7:00 pm – Northampton, MA
Discussion and signing at Broadside Books (RSVP here)

Tuesday, March 13 – 5:15 pm – Middlebury, VT
Discussion & signing hosted at 51 Main by the Vermont Book Shop (RSVP here)

A Mindful Carnivore

2012-01-28T09:56:00.000-05:00

From my friend Tovar Cerulli:

Lone Wolf Commands a Following

2012-01-28T09:31:00.001-05:00

New York Times article on the first wolf tracked into California:

...Ardent wolf fandom and ire do not surprise Ed Bangs, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service’s recently retired wolf recovery coordinator. “When wolves come back, one side says it’s the end of civilization, our children will be dragged down at the bus stop,” he said. “The other side thinks nature is finally back in balance and can we all have a group hug now.”

California will see the same divisions, said Mr. Bangs, who in his 30 years in gray wolf management attended hundreds of contentious meetings with residents, ranchers and environmentalists.

“I like to say wolves are boring,” he said, “but people are fascinating.”

Wild Hogs and the Role of Hunters

2012-01-26T09:08:00.002-05:00

From Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partners "Conservation Field Notes"

http://bcove.me/sm2kkw8v

From Wisconsin DNR:

Wild hogs in the woods

Wildlife and agriculture officials take a stand in the mud to ferret out feral pigs from pockets of the Wisconsin countryside.

Kyle LaFond

Feral pigs have gained a foothold in 23 states, including Wisconsin, mostly in Crawford and LaCrosse counties.

From California Fish and Wildlife:

California is “hog heaven” for wild pigs

The relationship between California residents and wild pigs could be described as “love/hate.” That is, hunters love them while everyone else seems to hate them. Classified as a game mammal in California, wild pigs provide year-round hunting opportunity.

Montana's wildlife policies raise ethical question

2012-01-23T11:20:00.004-05:00

From the Washington Examiner:

Montana is looking to recreational hunters for help in enforcing more of its wildlife management policies, but one regulator worries they are being asked to cross an ethical line in doing so.
The question is whether the state is unwittingly putting those hunters in a fix: Does their new role fall within ethical hunting guidelines or does it reduce them to wildlife management mercenaries whose actions could give hunting a black eye?
That's the concern of Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioner Ron Moody, who recently questioned whether the agency's policies and proposals are asking hunters disregard what it means to be an ethical hunter.
...The man who wrote the book on ethical and fair-chase hunting, Jim Posewitz, said public perception is very important for hunters. The FWP's use of hunters to enforce wildlife management policies can work, provided the agency uses the right hunters, he said.
FWP should provide training so the hunters used have an understanding of the last century's conservation efforts in North America and also understand that the overall goal is to have sustainable, manageable wildlife populations, he said.
"We need to make sure they're very elite and a very respected group of hunters. We're not sending out assassins or SWAT teams. We are sending out sensitive, trained hunters to handle a very sensitive situation," Posewitz said.
Aasheim said additional hunting training has previously been suggested, but has not been implemented. Currently, the state provides a basic hunter education course and each person who participates in the annual bison hunt receives a 30-minute DVD that discusses ethics and hunting, he said.
Posewitz worked for the FWP for 32 years and founded Orion — The Hunters Institute, an organization that advocates for ethical hunting. More than 600,000 copies of his book, "Beyond Fair Chase: The Ethic and Tradition of Hunting" have been handed out as part of hunter-education programs.
He cited Helena's program to control urban deer as a model of how it can be done right. Each year, the city receives authorization from FWP to kill a number of deer to maintain a manageable density of animals within the city. This year, that number is 220.
"They're not out there liquidating the deer. They're keeping the deer in balance with the carrying capacity of the city, and they're doing an excellent job of that," Posewitz said.

A Murder at Paradise

2012-01-13T09:01:00.001-05:00

From the New York Times By TIMOTHY EGAN
PARKLAND, Wa. — The next time somebody mindlessly bashes a “federal bureaucrat,” as if the term itself were a parasitic disease, remember the bright young woman we said goodbye to here a few days ago: Margaret Anderson, a park ranger in a flag-draped casket.
...The other point worth noting is about how selfless and valuable so many public employees are — especially those who work the parks, forests, deserts and wildlife refuges owned by every citizen. The hours are torturous, and the rewards inconsistent.
more:

Hunting Access & Hunter Behavior

2012-01-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

A recent study done by Responsive Management titled, Issues Related to Hunting Access in the United States, indicated that difficulty gaining access to lands for hunting has become a constraint to recruiting and retaining sportsmen. Adequate access to land is one of the fundamental issues that affect the future of hunting.
The survey asked hunters about possible reasons that landowners may close their land to public hunting. The top three related to the misuse of the land: irresponsible shooting, alcohol use, or other bad behavior by hunters. Other top reasons cited were property damage caused by hunters; litter;landowner wanting to allow only personal/family use of the land; and liability concerns.
Unfortunately asking landowners that have closed their land was not within the scope of this study. My reading over the years points to landowners wanting to be in control of what goes on on their land and the only way currently open to them is posting.

The Meaning of Meat: Adult-Onset Hunters Look to the Land for Sustenance

2012-01-02T21:08:00.000-05:00

From http://northernwoodlands.org/ by Tovar Cerulli
As a teenager, Deborah Perkins found hunting repulsive. During her years at Greely High School in Cumberland, Maine, she wrote a passionate essay arguing that the pursuit was morally wrong. Two decades later – now living 25 miles north, in Poland, and working as a consulting wildlife biologist – she hunts grouse, turkey, and deer.
more:

Celebrating 2011

2012-01-01T16:53:00.001-05:00

A hearty New Year’s cheer from all of us here at Orion-The Hunters’ Institute to you and yours.

With all the problems in the world and hard times here at home, it is easy to get a bit gloomy - not to mention the fact that most hunting seasons are over until spring.

However, as I look back on 2011 there are many accomplishments to be proud of:

· The concept of fair chase is now common knowledge, as evidenced by the passing of the 600,000 sales mark of Jim Posewitz’s classic Beyond Fair Chase

· Wildlife as a public trust resource was restored and strengthened in a state legislative battle coordinated by Orion that has positive national ramifications

· Hunting Think Tank II was successfully held at the Max McGraw Wildlife Center with support from McGraw, the Pope and Young Club and a great group of deep thinkers

· Our Fair Chase Hunting blog is averaging over 2,000 page views per month

· The Orion message of ethical hunting is being wonderfully portrayed on the normally dismal TV hunting channels through Randy Newberg’s On Your Own Adventures show

· Founder Jim Posewitz has published a new book, Taking A Bullet for Conservation, The Bull Moose Party- A Centennial Reflection 1912-2012

· Poz is also engaged in an effort to restore a free ranging, huntable bison population on 3 million acres of eastern Montana prairie.

The day-to-day value of Orion was summed up to me in a phone message I got last month from Leslie Kaufman, a reporter and blogger with the New York Times. She said, “I have a question about hunter ethics and I was told that Orion is the place to go.”

I am optimistic about the future of hunting and the role of hunters in wildlife conservation and look forward to more successes in 2012.

Wishing you a productive and successful 2012!

A hunter’s new years cheer,

Eric and Ingrid Nuse

and the entire Orion family: Mark Hirvonen, Jim Posewitz, Jim Tantillo, Pat Hudak, John Organ, Randy Newberg, and Gayle Joslin

Interior secretary announces recovery of wolves in the Western Great Lakes, removal from Endangered Species List

2011-12-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

FromThe Wildlife Society NewsBrief:

U.S. Department of the Interior Share
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region have recovered and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. More

Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA's Fisheries Service propose policy to improve implementation of Endangered Species Act

2011-12-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Share
A new federal policy proposal will help clarify which species or populations of species are eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act and will provide for earlier and more effective opportunities to conserve declining species. The public is invited to comment on the policy, proposed by the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act. Comments will be accepted for the next 60 days. More

Hunting and Fishing Montana's Rocky Mountain Front

2011-12-15T18:44:00.003-05:00

This from the Backcountry Hunter's and Angler's by Ben Long:

The Buffalo Are Back – Well, Almost

2011-12-12T07:56:00.004-05:00

This article originally appeared in the Montana's Bully Pulpit blog:

By: Jim Posewitz

While it is a little soon to put your ear to the ground to hear the throb of running buffalo -- they are back. Recent efforts to “manage” the Yellowstone buffalo and their quarantined overflow merely represents a passing checkpoint along the route to restoring wild, free ranging, state managed, and huntable Montana buffalo. The current proposal involved the idea of penning the brucellosis free surplus either on the Spotted Dog or Marias Wildlife Management areas. The idea drew little support from Montana hunters and open hostility from vicinity landowners. The Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission made the right decision today in allocating the available buffalo to herds managed by Montana Indian Tribes. Given the truth of history, there is a certain moral justice in that decision. Besides, there was no “fair chase” hunting potential in the corralled buffalo.

As the buffalo drama continues to play itself out in our natural and political environments we must sharpen our focus on the CMR Wildlife Refuge and its potential to host wild, free ranging buffalo. Over a million acres of public land, once home to this iconic species, make the refuge ideal for initiating this consummate wildlife conservation aspiration. Add adjacent public lands and the area’s potential triples. For now, an immediate start on the CMR is clearly in order. It is time for the U.S. Department of Interior and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to launch a joint environmental assessment on the restoration of buffalo. That assessment will focus on the natural environment. While the assessment is underway the rest of us need to address the political environment by spreading the message that we are ready to put the final piece of the North American wildlife restoration miracle in place. It will be a treasure our generation can pass to hunters still within the womb of time.

**Photo is of Jake Butt with 2011 Bull in Crow Pasture. Jake submitted this photo in the photo contest. Good luck in winning some more Sitka gear Jake, looks like you already swear by it.

Officials debate way forward on grizzly bear management

2011-12-05T19:20:00.001-05:00

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee ponders what's next
At its winter meeting in Missoula last week, members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee questioned what would be next for the grizzly bear populations in the Northern Rockies, as the bear remains--for now--under federal protection.
Missoulian; Dec. 4

Invest in Conservation

2011-12-03T09:15:00.001-05:00

This from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership:

No one can better appreciate the importance of conservation funding than sportsmen.

Eric,
With Congress continuing its debate over budgets and the national deficit, the TRCP is collaborating with other sportsmen’s and outdoor recreation groups to promote the message that investments in conservation stimulate the economy and protect American jobs.
This week, the Outdoor Industry Association, the American Sportfishing Association and the TRCP co-sponsored an advertisement in Politico magazine to advocate for continued funding for conservation in America. View the ad.
The TRCP’s latest action in support of hunting and fishing was prompted by a recent letter to the president from more than 100 of the nation’s leading economists, stating that funding for public lands supports American jobs and drives economic growth. No one can better appreciate this than sportsmen.
The economists’ position validates the findings of a study commissioned by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation revealing that activities related to outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing, as well as natural resources conservation and historic preservation, generate 9.4 million jobs, $107 billion in annual tax revenue and more than $1 trillion in total economic impact. Learn more about the report’s findings.
Learn more about the TRCP’s work in support of conservation funding – and consider supporting our efforts.

Why Do We Get Up at 0 Dark Thirty?

2011-11-24T11:58:00.001-05:00

Why unfavorable odds don't deter Vt hunters
WCAX
By Alexei Rubenstein - bio | email With only a few days left of rifle season, Eric Nuse is getting all the time he can. The 32-year veteran former Vermont ...
http://www.wcax.com/story/16114145/why-unfavorable-odds-dont-deter-vt-hunters?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6485716

Conference Workshop to Focus on Restoring Bison to the Northern Plains

2011-11-20T12:32:00.001-05:00

Orion Founder Jim Posewitz is working on this project in Montana.

A workshop, “Bringing Bison Back: America’s Last Big Game Challenge,” is scheduled for 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., Monday, March 12, at the 77^th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It will examine the political, cultural and ecological steps necessary for bison to be restored, managed and valued as a wildlife resource on northeastern Montana’s Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR) and other multi-jurisdictional landscapes.
The Great Plains of Montana once sustained bison herds that numbered in the millions. Like so many other wildlife species, the bison population was decimated
by market hunting and habitat loss during the latter half of the 19^th century. Through historic conservation efforts—led primarily by sportsmen clubs and conservationists, including William Hornaday, Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell—many of the game species suffering from overexploitation recovered to a sustainable degree were and been restored to native habitat. The American bison, however, was not one of those species.
More:

Locavore "Wild Foods" Festival

2011-11-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

From The Elm the student paper for Washington College in Chestertown, MD:
...
The first event of the two-part celebration took place on Friday evening with a lecture entitled “Hunting: A Matter of Life and Death,” by Drew University Professor Dr. Marc Boglioli. Boglioli’s lecture explored attitudes toward hunting in Vermont, both of the hunters themselves and anti-hunting activists as researched in his book, A Matter of Life and Death: Hunting in Contemporary Vermont. His research focused specifically on deer camps and the stigmas associated with them, such as misogynistic perspectives and an obsession with killing. His findings, however, revealed that deer hunters in Vermont are separatist rather than misogynist and view the deer camps as an escape from the compulsory competition associated with gender in society. “Deer camp is a liminal place where men are free to act in ways counter to the dominant societal expectations,” said Boglioli.
Additionally, he described the hunters’ approach to nature as respectful rather than exploitative.
More:

Genuine Hunting

2011-11-10T15:17:00.001-05:00

I'm rereading one of my favorite books, Hunting the Whole Way Home, by Sidney Lea. On page 25 he is describing a bird hunt in one of his Vermont covers. He tells of seeing chickadees, hearing the "gritty croaks of ravens" and the "pileated woodpecker's flourish."
He goes on to say:
"Why should I be less enthralled by any of these creatures than by a game bird? My answer is scarcely recondite, yet few will grasp it who have not traveled my kind of beautiful miles. And of course, indifferent or plain hostile to genuine hunting, that 's exactly what most people will never do. I preach to the small choir. To the great congregation my sermon is either an attenuated frontier romanticism or, more commonly, a bloodthirst tricked up as aesthetics.
It's true enough that I can't evade the fact of blood. A kill defines the hunt and all its subordinate objectives and agents, including the hunter: in that one moment, the path of an elusive and superbly equipped prey intersects with a human predatory capacity, both schematic and intuitive, mundane (which boots to bring, which shells?) and superstitious (hunt high ground in an east wing); and for that one moment, the world reveals a gorgeous coherency.
The anti-hunting propagandist is appalled by such a sacramental perspective, precisely because its icon is a bloodstain. Nor will the hobbyist sportsan read me rightly. I speak only to and for the passionate hunter, the one who regards this business as more than mere sport. Surrounded like everyone by a mechanized and abstractive culture, he appreciates how seldon human gesture can be unmediated, literal.
I've always understood all this somewhere in my soul, but I've need to come this far before bringing it to articulation, however imperfect." p. 25
Sounds right on to me.
Ps. Sidney Lea is the poet laureate of Vermont, you've got to love a state like this.

Federal Court Upholds National Roadless Rule; Sportsmen Celebrate Conservation Victory

2011-11-04T09:53:00.002-04:00

News for Immediate Release Oct. 21, 2011 Contact: Katherine McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org

Decision by appeals court resolves uncertainty regarding 2001 rule, safeguards the prime habitat provided by inventoried roadless lands.

WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today commended a decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that reinstated the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as the law governing 49 million acres of inventoried roadless areas located on the nation’s national forests and grasslands. The ruling overturned a lower district court’s decision enjoining the 2001 rule in August 2008 and resolved uncertainty about federal management of roadless areas across America.
The so-called “roadless rule” is a multiple-use national forest management regulation that was designed to limit road building and timber harvest on undeveloped public lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The rule determines the management of all national forest roadless areas outside of Idaho.
“Today’s decision affirmed the value of backcountry areas in sustaining healthy and secure habitat for fish and wildlife – something hunters and anglers have known for years,” said Joel Webster, director of the TRCP Center for Photo by George Cooper.
Western Lands. “Sound roadless conservation policies safeguard big-game habitat security, productive trout and salmon fisheries and our sporting traditions. The 2001 roadless rule is a strong mechanism for conserving America’s backcountry recreational activities and outdoor heritage.”
The TRCP has mobilized a broad cross-section of sportsmen, conservationists and recreationists supporting conservation of roadless areas and the outdoor opportunities they foster. For purposes of the rule, roadless areas are defined as contiguous blocks of backcountry public land that are 5,000 acres or larger and do not have improved roads.
While access is important to sportsmen, densely roaded areas have been shown to negatively affect elk and deer behavior, reproduction and survival and consequently hunter opportunity. Excessive, poorly located roads contribute to increased sediment loads in waterways that are important to wild trout and salmon, thereby diminishing the number and size of fish.
“We appreciate the dedication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in upholding this popular land management policy,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh, “and we applaud the court’s decision as one made in the absolute best interest of our public-lands fish and wildlife populations and outdoor recreation.

“As the 2011 fall hunting season continues, sportsmen have reason to celebrate backcountry conservation,” continued Fosburgh. “Whether they’re hunting the West Big Hole of Montana, the northern Blue Range of New Mexico or backcountry lands in Vermont’s Green Mountains, public-land hunters across the nation will benefit from the court’s thoughtful decision for generations to come.”
Learn more about the TRCP’s work in support of roadless area conservation.

Vermont wildlife officials say Pete the Moose's former home to close

2011-11-04T09:39:00.002-04:00

From the Burlington Free Press

MONTPELIER — The northern Vermont game preserve where Pete the Moose lived and died is to close, state officials said Thursday, moving Vermont a step closer to ending the practice of allowing wildlife to be imported into the state and fenced in on private hunting grounds.

Walt Driscoll, a member of the state Fish and Wildlife Board, said the owner of the Big Rack Ridge hunting preserve in Irasburg told him he planned to close the preserve in Irasburg.

...“For a long time, we’ve had this idea that wildlife that lives anywhere in North America and especially here in Vermont does not belong to any private individual,” Scott said.

Lawmakers made that position official this year when they passed a law declaring that wild animals are a public trust, meaning that legally they are “owned” by every resident of the state.

More:

Baucus to introduce Front wilderness bill

2011-10-29T15:39:00.002-04:00

From the Great Falls Tribune.com

Jim Posewitz, founder and board member of Orion-The Hunter's Institute and a longtime advocate for sportsmen, introduces Sen. Max Baucus at an unveiling of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, which Baucus will introduce in Congress. TRIBUNE PHOTO/JOHN ADAMS

HELENA — U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced Friday that he will sponsor the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act in Congress.
The long-anticipated bill, which Baucus said he plans to introduce this session, would add 67,000 acres of new wilderness to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. The measure also would designate another 208,000 acres as conservation management areas, which would limit road building but allow current motorized recreation and public access for hunting, biking, timber thinning and grazing.
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Green Fire, Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

2011-10-25T09:21:00.002-04:00

If you are a fan of A Sand County Almanac and Aldo Leopold, seeing this DVD is a must.
I was able to attend a screening at Sterling College with Leopold biographer, Curt Meine and film makers Ann and Steven Dunsky. The room was full of hunters, conservationists, students and environmentalists which led to a lively discussion after the film.
The essay, Thinking Like a Mountain, served as the thread that ran through the film. Greenfire does an holistic job of tracing Leopold the man and his thinking from childhood until his death. 30 years after cutting down a female wolf and watching the "fierce green fire dying in her eyes." Leopold writes,"I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean a hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view."
DVD's can be ordered at the Aldo Leopold Foundation book store. More about the DVD and trailers at the Greenfire website. You will not be disappointed.

ABOUT THINK TANK II and “SPORT HUNTING”

2011-10-25T09:04:00.000-04:00

From the Thinking Hunter:

I’ve been doing some work on my notes and ideas from the Think Tank II. I came away from the gathering wishing it had been at least one day longer. There was a lot of free discussion about the present state of recruitment to the outdoors but I heard something that was, to me, very important for the future of hunting, and it was the simple statement that hunting would be referred to as “hunting” and not “sport hunting” or have any other adjectives affixed to it.
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