Russian River: Fish On!

Check out the photos of fishing the Russian River in Alaska!

Tom Remington

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Alaska Moosenapping Foiled

Two apparently orphaned baby moose were found in the back of a woman’s pickup truck cruising up the Seward Highway in Alaska. Supposedly the mother moose had been killed, leaving the two baby calves to fend for themselves. The woman who was “moosenapping” the two calves and wasn’t identified, said she was afraid the two calves would be killed and she was taking them away to where it was safe.

Read the whole story in the Alaska Daily News.

Tom Remington

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Ooops! “Bear Haven” Man Should Not Have Fed Bears

A man featured in a recent Animal Planet series about his life among wild grizzly and black bears at his Alaska cabin has been charged with illegally feeding them dog food and cookies.

Tom Remington

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Everything Grows Anew Come Spring

Just outside Anchorage, Alaska, the grasses are greening and the bull moose antlers are coming in.

Photo by Al Remington

Posted by Tom Remington

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Alaska - The Last Frontier

Where everything is wild!

Photo by Al Remington

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Montana’s New Gun Law Going Viral

H/T to reader Greg Farber on the Global News Post article.

Montana’s HB246 is the talk of the states it seems these days. It didn’t take too long I suppose but with each passing day, more media, not the main stream though, and new Internet media are picking up on the brazen and testy new gun law bill that Montana signed into law last month. I first brought you that story right here on the Black Bear Blog.

I’ll dispense with all the proper speak and get to the nitty gritty of the bill. Montana’s HB246 says that any guns or gun parts manufactured in the state of Montana and sold exclusively in the state of Montana cannot be regulated by the federal government.

Back on April 20, 2009 I made this comment.

While several states are calling for legislation that reaffirms their state sovereignty in opposition to a federal government that is out of control, Montana, it appears, has taken this step a little bit further. No one knows how this will play out in the courts as it is sure to be challenged.

We know that many states now have taken some degree of assertiveness, if only to make a statement in protest of too much governmental control. Montana seems to be the first to draw a big and bold line in the sand, while at the same time dropping a grenade into the court (figuratively speaking) of the U.S. Government.

The Global News Post describes Montana’s bold move this way.

Montana has gone beyond drawing a line in the sand. They have challenged the Federal Government. The fed now either takes them on and risks them saying the federal agents have no right to violate their state gun laws and arrest the federal agents that try to enforce the federal firearms acts. This will be a world-class event to watch.

Montana could go to voting for secession from the union, which is really throwing the gauntlet in Obama’s face. If the federal government does nothing they lose face. Gotta love it.

Speaking of secession, if you will recall back during the U.S. Supreme Court case of District of Columbia vs. Heller, the state of Montana was hinting that should the Supreme Court rule against an individual’s right to keep and bear arms as an interpretation of the Second Amendment, then the U.S. Government would be in breech of the contract Montana had with the U.S. Government when it agreed to join the union. Some legal authorities believe that Montana has that “ace up the sleeve” while other states don’t.

Which brings me to an additional point in this discussion. Since Gov. Schweitzer signed Montana’s bill, at least two other states, Alaska and Texas, have drafted similar bills.

Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, says he’s not really sure how all this would play out in court. As a matter of fact, Marbut says the MSSA is looking into the possibility of taking a proactive approach and filing a suit in court in order to prove the legal principles within HB246.

Tom Remington

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Alaska Moose With A 9 Handicap

Photo by Al Remington

Photo by Al Remington

This moose was spotted hanging out at the local golf course near Anchorage, Alaska. I think he was looking to play through.

Posted by Tom Remington

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Montana Declares State Sovereignty Through Gun Legislation

*Scroll down for Updates*

Montana’s Governor Schweitzer has signed into law HB246, the so-called Montana-Made Gun Bill. What makes this bill unique and extremely interesting is that it is another attempt through gun legislation to reaffirm the state’s right to sovereignty.

HB246 declares that “A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured commercially or privately in Montana and that remains within the borders of Montana is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration……”

Providing that a gun, ammo or an accessory is made completely in Montana and stays in Montana, the bill tells the federal government to take their restrictions, regulations and controls and peddle them some place else.

While several states are calling for legislation that reaffirms their state sovereignty in opposition to a federal government that is out of control, Montana, it appears, has taken this step a little bit further. No one knows how this will play out in the courts as it is sure to be challenged.

Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, said that it is likely that the MSSA will begin a campaign for “vetting the legal principles” of this bill.

HB 246 will become effective on October 1, 2009. MSSA is beginning now to plan our legal strategy for vetting the legal principles involved. Soon after October 1st, MSSA will determine if it is necessary to file a lawsuit in federal court to prove the principles established in HB 246

An interesting and proactive approach to a national problem that’s for sure. I heard a rumor this morning that Alaska may also be considering a similar move and already some people are stirring in Idaho suggesting a similar bill will help bolster their recently passed state sovereignty bill.

*Update*

Since I originally posted this article, I have received the following information pertaining to other states’ action toward state-made firearms.

Alaska HB186 is a similar bill to protect certain guns and accessories made in Alaska from government regulation.

Texas bill HB1863 also would prohibit the federal regulation of certain firearms and accessories.

Tom Remington

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Idaho Wildlife Services Admits Hunting of Wolves Will Not Be Effective Management Tool

The United States Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in the 2008 Wolf Activity Report of Idaho Wildlife Services, that hunting of wolves after delisting would not be effective at managing wolf numbers.

With another delisting of wolves in sight, and the IDFG poised to use sport harvest to help control wolf numbers, many wolf advocacy groups have expressed concern about the State’s wolf population being drastically reduced in short order. However, a review of the last 5 years of data on wolf take by the Idaho WS program indicates that of 200 wolves taken, only 32 (16%) were taken by shooting from the ground using conventional hunting methods, as compared to 69 (~35%) taken by trapping. Furthermore, almost half of the wolves taken by WS were taken by aerial hunting (99, ~50%). WS employs highly skilled and trained field personnel, and these employees have access to telemetry equipment as well as databases that track the most up-to-date wolf sightings. Yet despite these advantages (advantages that sportsmen will not have), only a small fraction of the wolves taken by WS are taken using the conventional methods likely to be employed by sport hunters.

Hunting from the ground is not the most effective way to take wolves, and after the public is allowed to begin hunting wolves, it would seem likely that wolves will become even more difficult to hunt as they become more wary of humans. Winter harvest levels of 28-47% are sustainable in wolf populations (Mech 2001), but based on WS experience and information regarding wolf harvest in Alaska (where most wolves are taken by trapping and snaring, rather than hunting), we believe it is highly unlikely that hunting alone could be used to accomplish that level of removal in Idaho.

Back in January of this year, I wrote that Idaho’s wolf hunting rules would be ineffective in dealing with wolf populations and growth patterns. We can clearly see that with the resources made available to Idaho Wildlife Services, they admit conventional means of hunting wolves will have little affect on reducing or even maintaining populations. So, what will Idaho Department of Fish Game do? Do they have any plans to deal with this?

Wolf advocate groups contend that hunting wolves will bring them back to extinction. The only way that is going to happen is if once again all protections and means of management were lifted to allow anyone the use of anything to kill wolves.

In this report, officials state that after a time when hunters have had a chance to beat around the woods shooting at wolves, the canines, being an intelligent and highly adaptable animal, will steer clear of humans making the task of killing wolves that much more difficult.

All this talk of concern for how we are going to set up rules for hunting is probably premature as delisting will once again be delayed through lawsuits. By that time, it is really anybody’s guess as to how many wolves there will be and how much further damage they have laid on ungulate populations, private livestock and other wildlife.

The other issue yet to be resolved is whether or not the Idaho wolf management plan and the rules established for hunting wolves are even legal. Some members of the Idaho legislature contend that the only legal wolf management plan the state adopted was in 2002. In that bill it clearly states that IDFG does not have authority alone to adopt wolf management plans without the approval of the legislature. It appears that this is in fact the case and thus we really don’t know what kind of rules IDFG will implement to hunt wolves.

Tom Remington

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I Think We Still Have Some Snow To Melt Yet

Taken near Portage Glacier, Alaska.

Photo by Al Remington

Posted by Tom Remington

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Mt. Redoubt Continues To Dump Nasty Ash In Anchorage

Photos below sent to me by Al Remington in Anchorage, Alaska.

The first photo was taken at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2009. The second photo, taken from the exact same location, was taken a 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2009.

Photo by Al Remington

Photo by Al Remington

Posted by Tom Remington

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Mt. Redoubt Spews, Rumbles, Grumbles And Spreads Dirty Ash

Photos and text by Al Remington

I arrived - Ninilchik - about 2:00pm and watched a puff or two and then the big one at 3:30. It loaded the drink with heavy stuff - headed for Achorage and Girdwood. It was like a windy snowy night with fair visibility by the time I came thru 4 hours later, except everything blowing was brown and the fresh snow-fall from last night turned the same…

The high stuff at 30,000ft made it to anchorage. I made a respirator out of a paper-towel in Girdwood.

I thought I was ok in Ninilchik but from early morn. until 3:00pm the upper winds shifted again from blowing it on Homer, to blowing it away from Homer towards, cough, cough-home.

The ground did some quivering here and there. I kept my eyes on the birds, too.

Posted by Tom Remington

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There Must Be Something To Eat Around Here

Photo by Al Remington (Alaska)

Tom Remington

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Alaskan Blue Stew

This recipe for Alaskan Blue Stew was found on the menu of Sal’s Klondike Diner in Soldotna, Alaska.

1 (121 ton) Blue Whale
2,092 Medium Onions (quartered)
8,242 lbs. Shredded Potatoes
4 - 65 lb. Matanuska Cabbages
2100 lbs. Carrots
862 lbs. Celery
Season to Taste

Cut whale in bite size pieces (including blubber). Place in an empty gas storage tank.
(I’m sure that will be easy to find). Adding vegetables, cover with water. Add seasoning.
Cook at 325 degrees for 42 hours, (then simmer 6 days). Serves 600,000 people, approx.
the population of Alaska.

Tom Remington

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Fishing Season Open On The Kenai - Alaska

Photo by Al Remington

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