A Wyoming outfitter recommends that hunters switch to lead-free bullets. See details on loadnode.com.
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Quebec Innu hunters are apparently crossing the border into Labrador and shooting caribou from the George River herd and the endangered Red Wine herd. Outfitter Ray Broughton says fewer than 100 Red Wine caribou are left. He is calling for law enforcement to step in. The Assembly of First Nations states that the Innu have the inherent right to hunt on their ancestral lands, which include parts of Labrador and Quebec. Indigenous The number of rafting trips in West Virginia dropped almost 9% in 2009 vs. 2008, according to the state Division of Natural Resources. The industry saw a high-point in 1995, with 257,446 visitors, but has dropped ever since. Bucking the trend, Adventures on the Gorge, a resort that features Mountain River Adventures, Rivermen, and Class VI River Runners, saw strong whitewater visits, increasing revenue 33% over 2009. The group hosted nearly 35% of West Virginia’s whitewater rafting guest. Closures of amberjack, black sea bass, and bottom fishing harvest brought various parts of the fishing industry together to protest at Capitol Hill in Washington on February 24. The groups are pushing for passage of the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act (HR 1584 and S 1255). Safari Club International, Rocky-Mountain Elk Foundation, and the National Rifle Association have announced their opposition to Montana initiative 8-161, which would eliminate guaranteed outfitter tags. One big issue is “wildlife management by ballot,” where issues can be confused by emotion rather than decided by reason. Can’t find the NRA statement online. If you know where it is, please leave a comment. To develop oil shale, you need water, and Shell Oil was trying to gain some water rights on the Yampa. The conditional water right would have given shell 375 cubic feet per second, which they would have pumped into a reservoir holding up to 45,000 acre feet. The Yampa is Colorado’s last free-flowing river, and rafting outfitters were unenthusiastic about the possible loss of water. Shell abandoned the project because of delays related to the global economic slowdown. The Colorado Springs Gazette has published an editorial against House Bill 1188, claiming that it is a violation of property rights, and a subsidy to the rafting industry. The opinion piece cites a Colorado Supreme Court ruling, and says that “Responsible commercial outfitters… have negotiated arrangements with landowners.” In short, the law “take(s) from the few and give(s) to the many.” My take: The phrase “Property Rights” irks me. Property does not have rights. People have rights. Some people own property, and they have certain rights in association with their ownership of that property. That said, I don’t see such rights as absolute. A U.N.-supported wildlife treaty has been signed by over 100 nations to protect seven shark species: great white, whale, basking, spiny dogfish, porbeagle, shortfin and longfin mako sharks. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 17% of 1,044 known shark species are threatened. Deep snow in Minnesota is making it difficult to operate shooting preserves. This and the bad economy result in a double-whammy for the hunting clubs. The Wild Wings preserve of Oneka actually sought out customers for the first time, since its membership waiting list couldn’t bring in sufficient business. Nonresident spending in Montana dropped around 30% in the third quarter of 2009, according to a study by the University of Montana. Outfitted trips were particularly affected, according to Norma Nickerson of the UM Institute of Tourism & Recreation Research. People scaled back, such as doing half-day trips instead of full-day or multi-day excursions. Continue reading Montana Tourist Spending Drops Greatly in 2009
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