- Joined
- Mar 11, 2001
- Messages
- 70,011
- Reaction score
- 1,003
NPS CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION PETITIONS FGC -- Jim Matthews 30jul03
Group petitions Fish & Game Commission to close some hunting in Mojave Preserve
The National Parks Conservation Association is asking for help from hunting groups to stop certain kinds of hunting within the Mojave National Preserve and close it to hunting entirely seven months of the year. They want hunting groups to sign on to a petition they intend to present to the California Fish and Game Commission to do this.
Yes, you read that right.
The group is trying to ban hunting in the preserve from Feb. 1 through August 31 under the guise of somehow protecting desert tortoises, and they want rabbit and varmint hunting completely curtailed. They want hunters to jump on this bandwagon as though there was some legitimate reason to ban hunting during this seven-month period or that varmints and rabbit hunting was somehow a danger to tortoises.
We've been through all of this before, pointing out how both the Mojave Preserve's General Management Plan and the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan recommend that rabbit and varmint hunting be curtailed when tortoises are above ground and active. These rocket scientists have somehow devined that hunters might shoot a tortoise even though there is not a single shred of evidence that a hunter has ever shot a tortoise. Oh, they have found tortoise shells with holes in them, but they don't have a clue if those holes were made postmortem or not. In fact, in most cases it could be proven the bullet holes were made after the tortoise was long dead. It's also ludicrous that licensed hunters are blamed for what is obviously vandalism.
This is just another anti-hunting move to shut down a portion of the preserve and try to enforce ill-conceived regulations. There's no reason not to hunt rabbits, and there's no reason varmint callers can't continue to hunt coyotes and bobcats for pelts on the preserve. It's not about tortoises.
But if the non-hunting, anti-hunting groups who plan to sign on to this petition are serious about wildlife, I have a compromise solution for them: I'd bet that if they supported all of the hunter conservation groups fighting to keep all of the historic cattle water, which has supported vast populations of wildlife and is being yanked out by the National Park Service in violation of its own management plan, that the hunting conservation groups might go for a limited hunting closure.
Here's my simple compromise proposal that will help tortoises and all Mojave Preserve wildlife:
-- Close the portions of the preserve with tortoises (about 1.6 million acres) to all human activity, including hunting, hiking, camping, OHVing, etc., from March 1 through June 30, the peak active season for tortoises. No reason to discriminate against just hunters here, so let's close all tortoise habitat to all users so vandals, people who eat tortoises, and other low lives aren't out there disturbing them.
-- In return for this closure, all of the groups who want hunting closures under the guise of protecting tortoises need to pledge support and help fund a bounty system for ravens, which are devastating predators on young tortoises. This would require petitions to the Fish and Game Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but there is more justification for this proposal than their hunting closure petition.
-- In addition, these groups would have to sign on to help the hunting conservation groups protect and restore all of the historic water sources on the preserve, including all water developed for cattle, and help make it compatible for wildlife use and safe for tortoises.
-- They also need to recognize that the hunting of coyotes, bobcats and small game like cottontails and jackrabbits is not a threat to tortoises and agree that these hunting activities can continue during the regular hunting seasons for these species, as set by the Fish and Game Commission each year. This, in fact, was mandated in the legislation that created the preserve, but some of these groups forget that. They can take heart in the fact that the hunting of coyotes and bobcats is likely to help tortoise populations because both of these predators will feed on young tortoises.
This compromise would force varmint hunters and jackrabbit hunters to give up hunting on the tortoise habitat in the preserve between March 1 and June 30 each year, but it would allow hunting for these species the rest of their seasons. This is a fair and balanced proposal that helps tortoises and all preserve wildlife.
Do you think they'll support such a compromise idea?
Group petitions Fish & Game Commission to close some hunting in Mojave Preserve
The National Parks Conservation Association is asking for help from hunting groups to stop certain kinds of hunting within the Mojave National Preserve and close it to hunting entirely seven months of the year. They want hunting groups to sign on to a petition they intend to present to the California Fish and Game Commission to do this.
Yes, you read that right.
The group is trying to ban hunting in the preserve from Feb. 1 through August 31 under the guise of somehow protecting desert tortoises, and they want rabbit and varmint hunting completely curtailed. They want hunters to jump on this bandwagon as though there was some legitimate reason to ban hunting during this seven-month period or that varmints and rabbit hunting was somehow a danger to tortoises.
We've been through all of this before, pointing out how both the Mojave Preserve's General Management Plan and the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan recommend that rabbit and varmint hunting be curtailed when tortoises are above ground and active. These rocket scientists have somehow devined that hunters might shoot a tortoise even though there is not a single shred of evidence that a hunter has ever shot a tortoise. Oh, they have found tortoise shells with holes in them, but they don't have a clue if those holes were made postmortem or not. In fact, in most cases it could be proven the bullet holes were made after the tortoise was long dead. It's also ludicrous that licensed hunters are blamed for what is obviously vandalism.
This is just another anti-hunting move to shut down a portion of the preserve and try to enforce ill-conceived regulations. There's no reason not to hunt rabbits, and there's no reason varmint callers can't continue to hunt coyotes and bobcats for pelts on the preserve. It's not about tortoises.
But if the non-hunting, anti-hunting groups who plan to sign on to this petition are serious about wildlife, I have a compromise solution for them: I'd bet that if they supported all of the hunter conservation groups fighting to keep all of the historic cattle water, which has supported vast populations of wildlife and is being yanked out by the National Park Service in violation of its own management plan, that the hunting conservation groups might go for a limited hunting closure.
Here's my simple compromise proposal that will help tortoises and all Mojave Preserve wildlife:
-- Close the portions of the preserve with tortoises (about 1.6 million acres) to all human activity, including hunting, hiking, camping, OHVing, etc., from March 1 through June 30, the peak active season for tortoises. No reason to discriminate against just hunters here, so let's close all tortoise habitat to all users so vandals, people who eat tortoises, and other low lives aren't out there disturbing them.
-- In return for this closure, all of the groups who want hunting closures under the guise of protecting tortoises need to pledge support and help fund a bounty system for ravens, which are devastating predators on young tortoises. This would require petitions to the Fish and Game Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but there is more justification for this proposal than their hunting closure petition.
-- In addition, these groups would have to sign on to help the hunting conservation groups protect and restore all of the historic water sources on the preserve, including all water developed for cattle, and help make it compatible for wildlife use and safe for tortoises.
-- They also need to recognize that the hunting of coyotes, bobcats and small game like cottontails and jackrabbits is not a threat to tortoises and agree that these hunting activities can continue during the regular hunting seasons for these species, as set by the Fish and Game Commission each year. This, in fact, was mandated in the legislation that created the preserve, but some of these groups forget that. They can take heart in the fact that the hunting of coyotes and bobcats is likely to help tortoise populations because both of these predators will feed on young tortoises.
This compromise would force varmint hunters and jackrabbit hunters to give up hunting on the tortoise habitat in the preserve between March 1 and June 30 each year, but it would allow hunting for these species the rest of their seasons. This is a fair and balanced proposal that helps tortoises and all preserve wildlife.
Do you think they'll support such a compromise idea?
