Below you will find a recent article written by Jim Beers. You’ll also find a short bio about Mr. Beers. His article helps readers to begin making a connection between the efforts of those manipulating the Endangered Species Act for personal agendas and those wanting to strip Americans of the Second Amendment rights.

I will also include two other parts along with Jim Beers’ article and bio. One is a bit of an introduction to his article and the last will be a response by someone who has read Beers’ piece.

This information raises some interesting questions about the connections of people once in high places moving to other organizations and landing in high places. You can draw your own conclusions.

First will be Beers’ bio, followed by his introduction, the article and then a response to that article.

Jim Beers is a retired US Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Biologist, Special Agent, Refuge Manager, Wetlands Biologist, and Congressional Fellow. He was stationed in North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, and Washington DC. He also served as a US Navy Line Officer in the western Pacific and on Adak, Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. He has worked for the Utah Fish & Game, Minneapolis Police Department, and as a Security Supervisor in Washington, DC. He testified three times before Congress; twice regarding the theft by the US Fish & Wildlife Service of $45 to 60 Million from State fish and wildlife funds and once in opposition to expanding Federal Invasive Species authority. He resides in Centreville, Virginia with his wife of many decades.

Folks,

This is a copy of something I just sent to Charles Kay, a great biologist and friend. Since I just remembered that Charles is probably in Africa, I thought I would send this around.

Remember that the Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service under Clinton oversaw the theft of $45 to 60 Million from the hunting and fishing excise taxes. Those funds that were intended by law FOR STATE FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAMS were NEVER REPLACED AND OUR STATE AGENCIES NEVER REQUESTED THAT THEY BE REPLACED (don’t want to offend the boys and girls passing out all those federal grants). The stolen funds were used to pay for the capture, transportation, conditioning, and release of WOLVES IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK to ‘seed’ wolves in the Upper Rockies. That Director established The Defenders of Wildlife as the erstwhile federal “partner” responsible for “paying” for wolf depredations. This was and is merely a smokescreen to fend off complaints of the harm of wolves, only a small amount of livestock loss was ever remunerated and dogs and game herds and other losses were simply unavoidable casualties of this “war”. That ex-FWS Director went to work in a top job with The Defenders of Wildlife as soon as the law permitted (The National Wildlife Federation payed her a big salary while she had to cool her heels after resigning when the Republicans won the Presidential election). As you read the e-mails below, remember she still directs this wolf business for The “Defenders”, lobbies her former associates in FWS, and, I would guess, is a player in the upcoming election where if she is lucky (and we are not) she will be reincarnated in some other position in a “high place”.

Hopefully you may find this worthwhile. FYI

Jim Beers

Subject: Re: Wolves and The 2nd Amendment

Charles,

I believe the entire predator “push” from grizzly increases in range and numbers; to limiting methods of take of cougars (dogs, on-sight as depredating, seasons); to federal requirements (in the works as grant requirements) to make cougars invading places like Iowa, Kansas, etc. Protected Native Species and not classified as unprotected so that any take is difficult; to keeping black bears on the Threatened List in LA and FL (and adding other states opportunistically) and claiming large tracts of Florida as “Florida Panther” Critical Habitat — all are seriously jeopardizing the future of our 2nd Amendment Rights. Not only will game numbers (and hence seasons and harvest and license revenue and ancillary expenditures) decrease: areas open to hunting will decrease and hunter participation will necessarily decrease. Then there is the SAFETY EFFECT. Hunters that leave a kill to get equipment to haul it out or to get help will increasingly return to a predator on the kill. Hunters using bows for big game or turkey hunters or predator callers, all sit still and watch INTO the wind. There will be more run-ins with un-harassed grizzlies and cougars and black bears as food dwindles or as rabies or other disease outbreaks ravage the increasing predator population. What hunter will dare to sit and call after hearing how some guy was attacked FROM BEHIND by a grizzly or jumped by a wolf (a wolf once jumped a Russian lumberjack from behind WHILE HE WAS RUNNING THE CHAINSAW!)? What parent will let their kid go our after school to hunt alone after reading these accounts of attacks?

All of this will shrink the number of hunters and urban hunters especially. While the rural residents (both hunters and non-hunters) will increasingly want, need, and use guns - the anti-gunners will have a big leg-up as fewer and fewer urban folks hunt and become less vociferous in challenging the take-away activities of anti-gunners and urban mayors. Bottom line is a shrinking contingent of gun users and gun defenders with a concomitant increase in the need for guns in a shrinking rural American population that is more and more subject to the imaginary whims of urban voting blocs. Result? More rural residents from families and retirees to resource-dependent businesses and other entrepreneurs leaving rural environs. As an old bureaucrat it looks good for federal growth and bureaucrats that will have less opposition to buying more and more of rural America for everything from re-establishing Native Pre-Columbian Ecosystems to establishing “Corridors” and “Roadless” “Wildernesses” as more rural areas are evacuated. The only “winners” will be bureaucrats, politicians, and the modern rich land-buying aristocrats.
The environmentalists and the animal rights radicals never “win” because they will never be “happy” until they are the only ones left and that will never happen. I am reminded of that great line by Eli Wallach as the Mexican bandit chief in The Magnificent Seven. As Yul Brynner invites Wallach to move on and leave the villagers alone, Wallach snarls “If God did not want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep!”. For too long we have been sheep.

Jim Beers

Subject: Wolfs and The 2nd Amendment

Hi Guys,

A friend forwarded me you URL today. My name is xxx I live in Powell, WY. Like you over there, our elk herds are rapidly disappearing. I am working on a freelance article commissioned by Predator Magazine. The subject of the article is the politics of wolf reintroduction. In particular, the connection between Defenders of Wildlife and Handgun Control, Inc, now known as the Brady Campaign.

As you likely know, Defenders is one of the main players in this ongoing circus. They have funded most of the court cases that have kept and will keep wolves listed for the foreseeable future. in 2004 they won two key decisions, one in Federal District Court in Oregon, one in Vermont. Basically these two judges found that so long as there are no wolves in Oregon/Washington, they are still endangered in our area. These decisions were based on the way the US F&W drew the wold management boundaries, and the way that the Endangered Species Act spells out management requirements. On the 28th of this month, the US Fish & Wildlife Service will “delist” wolves. The day after that, DoW et al, will file a motion for injunction which will likely be granted. In order for delisting to proceed, the wildlife management groups in ID, MT, and WY fish &game will have to appeal theses precedents in Federal Appellate court. If they are successful there, DoW will appeal that decision. According to my sources inside the WY F&G they expect that will take 2-3 years. By then the damage will be done. Unless the states can have the original decisions overturned in Appellate court, wolves will remain protected far into the future. As you know, we are already standing on the brink of “too late”.

Wolves cannot be reintroduced in eastern Washington, because DoW was able to have the Mountain Caribou in that area listed as endangered. So, wolves cannot be reintroduced there until the caribou populations have recovered. That will never happen because caribou don’t want to be there in the first place.

So here’s the Catch. The way that U&S F&G has drawn their boundaries between elk species, if DoW can manage to get the Rocky Mountain subspecies listed as only “threatened”, they can stop sport hunting of that subspecies throughout its entire range!!

What better way to cut the financial legs out from under both the NRA and State fish and game organizations.

The connection between wolves and anti-gun groups comes in the form of one Charles J. Orasin. For more than 15 years he was the rabid VP of Operations for Handgun Control, Inc. IN a flurry of Congressional hearings regarding shady fund raising practices in 2000, he disappeared from HCI and reappeared at Defenders of Wildlife as their VP of Operations. Should we believe that he just abandoned his life’s work to kill the 2nd Amendment to go save wolves and sea turtles?

If you look at the string of Federal Court rulings they won after he got to DoW you see and alarming pattern. Did you know that 10-12 years before the wolf planting recovery programs were started, elk were transplanted into areas that exactly match the original wolf reintroduction proposals? Never make the mistake of thinking that reintroduction of wolves has anything to do with “balancing” the ecosystem. For 6 years, the US Fish & Wildlife Service fought Wyoming’s management plan tooth and nail. Seemingly over night, they reversed their position. Why?

In 2003, I read an article that said the National Park Service was considering a study on the impact of wolves on ungulate populations. When you call and ask them about it now, you get a lot of er….uh….well… we ..ah.. never did the study….”Why not?” er …uh…well… we don’t see an impact high enough to warrant spending the money on it. Yet, The studies in Wyoming and Idaho tell a different story altogether. I believe it is the alarming results of state studies that flipped the US F&G literally over night.

The 2007 study done by the WY G&F shows that 4 of Wyoming elk hers are close to calf survival rates that will not support its population WITHOUT growing predation from wolves/grizzlies/lions.

Predator Magazine is the only publication that has the hair to have a go at putting out the news that the Endangered Species Act is being manipulated by DoW and their ilk, not to save species, but to do away with the 2nd Amendment. Most folks think I’m just a crackpot, conspiracy nut. But, WHY did MR. Gun Control go to work for DoW? Why did their strategy change so suddenly upon his arrival. I can find but one answer. I sent your URL to Ralph Lemeyer at Predator Magazine. He was asking me to find some wolf kill photos for the article. I think you guys have that covered! I hope we can get together sometime to compare notes.

Best Regards, and keep Hammerin ‘em!

Posted by Tom Remington

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We have heard this discussion often of late and in Florida once again they are debating a bill that would allow an employee to keep a gun in their car at work provided it is kept locked in the trunk or the glove compartment of their automobile.

News4JAX has a brief story about the proposed bill, SB1130, and quite interestingly they are running a poll to see what readers think of this bill. Here’s what the poll asks.

Should the legislature pass a bill allowing employees to keep a gun in their vehicle on company property?

1. Yes, it’s their constitutional right to bear arms.

2. Only if the employee has a permit to carry a gun.

3. No. It’s the employer’s right to set the rules on company property.

4. I see both sides and haven’t decided.

Go over and participate in the poll offering your thoughts and make sure to check out the results of this poll. You might just find it interesting.

Tom Remington

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By Milt Inman
Milt Inman is chief photographer for Skinny Moose Media and U.S. Hunting Today.

Some days ago, I was at a body of water taking photos of anything that looked interesting to me. I got pictures of birds, animals, reptiles, flowers, landscapes and people. Then I saw a man standing up in a boat move into a cove near me. I wondered what he was looking for. He was not fishing as near as I could tell but every once in a while he would throw something out in the water that would land with a soft whispering sound and disappear into the water.

After a few minutes, he pulled on a rope and hauled a mess of white stuff into the boat, shook it out and threw some things back into the water, which in turn were gobbled up by a large bird that followed the boat around.

Now this happened over and over again, so I thought he must be fishing with a net of some kind. I am from the state of Maine where net fishing like this is not legal and being in Florida seeing this done is all new to me.

I was told by some natives that this way of fishing was called Net Casting and the big bird was a pelican.

It takes a lot of time and practice to be able spread this large net out and land it flat on the water. A beautiful sight to see. Thats why I call it “THE ART OF NET CASTING!”

Milt Inman

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In Florida more than 2 million people participate in hunting and fishing activities pumping $4.8 billion in the state’s economy. That’s more than Disney or the three Florida NFL teams. According to the South Florida Business Journal, many people don’t think about the economic impact hunting and fishing have to this state.

Other findings of the study include:

* Annual spending by Florida fishermen is $4.4 billion, three times more than the cash receipts from the state’s orange crop.
* The 2 million Florida residents who hunt and fish each year are more than the number who attend Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers games (1.6 million).
* The economic stimulus of hunting and fishing amounts to $13 million a day being pumped into the Florida economy.

Tom Remington

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In a subdivision of Orlando, Florida where it is reported that some residents had been feeding a bear, police, under the direction of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, ended up killing a bear after it was Tasered twice. This is another one of those cases where it ends up being a lose - lose situation for authorities.

We all hear stories everyday of bears coming into neighborhoods looking for food. More times than not garbage cans are their target as they put off some pretty attractive aromas for a bear. If people don’t properly care for their garbage, they can have unwanted visitors, not just bears.

We also know that often times people move into the suburbs and do what they can to draw wildlife into their back yards, even to the point of putting out food for the animals. According to one report in the Orlando Sentinel, someone in the Tivoli Woods neighborhood was feeding this particular bear.

When the bear appeared in the area on Tuesday, some frightened neighbors called 911. Orlando police responded and followed the instructions of the FFWCC in dealing with the bear. Once again, according to this report in the Orlando Sentinel, this is how officers dealt with the bear.

Residents in the 4700 block of Walnut Ridge Drive complicated efforts to shoo away the bear by refusing police requests to go inside their homes.

“We also observed dozens of citizens standing on their front lawns taking pictures of the animal,” wrote Officer Frank Sikos of broadcasting pleas over his patrol car’s public address system to avoid the bear. “Many of the residents did not comply.”

For 45 minutes, police followed the bear blaring sirens and flashing emergency lights as it wandered house to house along Walnut Ridge Drive, Oak Crest Road, Tarflower Lane and Spindletree Lane.

When the bear returned to Walnut Ridge Drive, it walked into an open garage where residents Jennielyn Rodrigues, Sovet Navarez, William Hodge and Gary Navarez were sitting at a table.

“All four began screaming as the bear charged at them,” the report states. “Hodge threw a chair at the bear as (they) attempted to enter their home.”

One of the police officers got ready to use his shotgun to shoot the bear but feared hitting the people. The bear wandered outside again, where police officers tried to encourage it to escape harm by heading into nearby woods.

“The bear did not comply and instead turned toward us,” Sikos wrote. “The bear was more interested in entering the garbage cans around the homes than avoiding the officers on the scene.”

The animal came within a car length of Sikos and took two more strides despite his efforts to scare it away.

“I did not want to use deadly force on the animal,” he wrote. “I deployed my department-issued Taser, striking the bear in the torso.”

The 50,000 volts of electricity slowed the bear long enough for officers to lasso one leg and its neck with animal-catch poles. That didn’t do much other than upset it.

“The bear became agitated and we moved from yard to yard as the bear tired. However, the bear had spurts of energy,” Sikos wrote of being pulled around the neighborhood.

Another officer zapped the animal a second time with a Taser and a second leg was harnessed with a catch pole, according to reports.

“We again moved from yard to yard as the bear wrestled with us,” Sikos wrote. “We then observed the bear appeared to have passed out. A short time later, we determined the animal had passed away.”

It certainly appears to me that these officers did everything in their power to avoid killing the bear. In all honesty, I think in most cases the bear would have been dispatched much sooner than as happened in this case. The efforts of the Orlando police and the instructions of FFWCC should be commended but instead many of the same residents who refused to go inside as instructed by police, are complaining that the bear didn’t have to be killed. Their ignorance and uncooperative attitudes actually contributed to bear’s death.

The officers went out of their way to avoid having to kill the bear. Even when they Tasered the bear for the second time, that ended up killing the bear, it was still not their intention to cause death.

The job of the Orlando police department is to protect the citizens of the Tivoli Woods. Had the people gone inside and stayed there, the police could have observed the bear until it returned to the woods. Police Sgt. Jones tells reporters the same thing.

“We couldn’t leave until the people went inside and the bear went into the woods. As long as the people remained there we had to treat the bear as a threat,” she said. “Everybody loves animals and they’re cute, but they’re not cute if they maul somebody.”

If you don’t want to see a bear killed needlessly, as some would say this one was, then take care of your garbage and when authorities do show up in your neighborhood to respond to a bear encounter, cooperate with them and perhaps you can save the life of bear.

Tom Remington

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If you’re in Florida, get in a long line for a chance at one of 4,500 alligator hunting permits being issued. Today is the first day you can get one. Each permit entitles the holder to 2 gators. The season begins August 15th and runs through November 1st.

There is a bit of a catch but not one that seems to deter too many gator hunters. The cost for a permit for Florida residents is $271.50. If you’re a non-resident, dig deep to come up with $1,000.

Hunters can apply for permits by visiting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Web site at www.MyFWC.com/license or by calling 1-888-HUNT FLORIDA (486-8356).

Tom Remington

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I keep telling my fellow bloggers that there is a time and a place for everything and sometimes it is good just to keep things on the light side. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, hunting news can be a bit on the slow side this time of year so this is often when Steven, my son and business partner, and I explore new ideas and work toward improving on some of the ones we have.

Earlier this spring I went on an outing with Chief Photographer Milt Inman and my brother to a place called Medard Park. Medard Park is just east of the city of Tampa, Florida and comprises a good amount of land along with an interconnected system of small lakes and ponds. Most of these bodies of water contain some great bass, catfish and all the alligators a fellow could want and not want.

While we were there, we noticed several alligators most of which were basking in the afternoon sun. Usually during the daytime, alligators will remain beached somewhere or mostly submerged while keeping their body temperature regulated. They are not very active.

So you can imagine the surprise I had when this one alligator surfaced about 75 yards from the elevated walkway, thank God, that I was on and began swimming right toward us and some fisherman who were trying to catch some fish from the same boardwalk.

I played around with the video and cut out a section of it and put a little “appropriate” music to it for your viewing pleasure. In case you might be wondering, the accompanied music was performed by yours truly.

Tom Remington

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In a bit of an unusual occurrence, the major labor union AFL-CIO has sided with the National Rifle Association is support of a bill in Florida that would put a stop to business owners banning such things as guns from their automobiles at workplaces.

The Tampa Tribune has the whole story.

Tom Remington

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Last Friday I told you I went with my brother and good friend and chief photographer, Milt Inman, to Myakka River State Park for a day out and a photo shoot. We had a great time and it was refreshing to get out from behind the computer screen and enjoy an absolutely incredible day outside.

Below are six selected photos that Milt sent me this morning to share with all of you. We hope you enjoy them, if only a fraction of the amount of pleasure we got from taking them.

All of the photos are Milt Inman photos.

Near the visitors center overlooking a large meadow surrounding the Myakka River, this dead tree provides a perfect roosting and lookout spot for turkey vultures.

We took a hiking trail called High Fox Road. About 500 yards from the main park road, we came upon a large clearing. A few years back, a fire destroyed much of the forest. Standing alone in the clearing was this skeleton of a tree.

If you get off the beaten path as we did, you’ll find all kinds of wildlife. We chased around a flock of wild pigs for several minutes hoping to get close enough to grab some photos. But as many of you know, wild boars aren’t the most social animal in the forest. One that does seem quite undaunted by the presence of a few humans, is the armadillo. This guy didn’t seem too bothered with us being there to get a few pictures. He was just too busy digging in the sand looking for something good to eat.

Near the upper end of Myakka Lake, sits a large meadow spanning several hundred acres in my estimate. Perched high atop a dead tree stub was this red-shouldered hawk. He was more intent on locating a stray rodent than being concerned about us trying to get a good photo. I think he posed quite wonderfully here for us.

As we roamed around the wooded section near Clay Gully, we located a marshy area with high field grass. Around the perimeter we found game trails as this seemed to be a very popular area for wildlife. While we were exploring the surrounding area, we noticed a few of these stunning wild purple irises growing up in the dampness of the marsh.

As the day was winding down, we headed for home. We passed a boat landing on Lake Manatee, which is just north of the Myakka River State Park. When we stopped in to check out the facilities, the sun that had brightened our day, was sinking into the western sky over Lake Manatee.

Tom Remington

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Takin’ it to the streets! We hear everyday about how deer have found safe havens in people’s back yards all across America. The same is true in the Naples, Florida area. A small city on the southwestern coast that is growing rapidly and expanding into the forests, fields and mangroves.

In development neighborhoods like Golden Gate Estates, deer can be seen most often and for poachers like 20-year old Donald Barrs and 22-year old Joe Barrs, taking their poaching to the streets seems easier that heading out of town into the country where fewer people live.

So they loaded up their Lincoln Town Car, grabbed a rifle and headed out looking for game. Once spotted, they fired from the open window of the car killing two deer, one pregnant the other a button buck. A resident, Gregory Nelson, who has observed poaching in his neighborhood before, heard the four shots - I guess the poachers are bad shots if it took four to kill two standing deer - grabbed his binoculars and attempted to get the license plate number of the car. The two crooks jumped from the car, grabbed the deer, tossed them in the trunk and sped away.

When that didn’t happen, he jumped in his own car and caught up to the poachers. He then called 911.

It is not deer season and neither of the two men were licensed. Both are being charged with illegal killing of deer and other related charges are pending. I guess when authorities questioned the two men and asked them why they did it, their response was, “Why not?”

Throw the book at em!

Tom Remington

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It’s nearing the end of the deer hunting season in many places but if you’re still looking for some venison, Florida has thousands of acres still available for non-quota deer hunting.

Find out where you can go. Tim Tucker files a detailed report and what you can expect in many of the open wildlife management areas.

Tom Remington

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Just recently I wrote about how the NWTF released turkeys into the wild in Tampa and Salt Lake City as sort of a symbolic event celebrating the success of all the hard work of restoring them in the wild. This event has been going on for many years now around Thanksgiving time, and one of the biggest contreversies out there is the fact that the turkeys are not being saved and released. In fact, the turkeys are only being caught, placed in a box, and then released the next day. It is simply just a symbolic release of what the NWTF has been doing for the last 25 years. Kids and groups show up to the event. CBS even showed up, interviewed the NWTF, and reported on how they were lying to our children.

After more researching, I found people who say that the stress on the turkeys is quite dramatic, and sometimes can lead to death. Some people who even support the NWTF think that this event should be changed and that catching and releasing the wild turkey just for the sake of a learning day is not worth it. Some who I have talked to believe the event should be better planned. Maybe institute a day where turkeys were really being caught, and then reintroduced into a new area. Coordinating efforts would really need to be at its best in this case. Others felt that showing a video, giving away free memberships to the program, and doing give-aways is a better way to celebrate.

Either way, I personally felt the CBS article was extremely biased. They weren’t worried so much about the turkey, but the lying to our children. These are the same people who lie to their kids about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I felt it was more about guns and because it relates to hunting. Here is a short piece from the CBS article:

“The media that we’re doing here today is an event showing that this is what it took to bring wild turkeys back on this continent — talk about the heritage and talk about the history of this country,” Kennamer says. As for the turkey, well, he says, “he had a bad night in a box.”

So far, the kids aren’t aware they were tricked.

I emailed the NWTF and told them I supported them in their efforts, and in their programs. I am still not sure where I stand. I don’t have a problem with rehearsing and celebrating a very important part of our history. If it is true that the turkeys become so stressed that it can seriously result in death then I would want the NWTF to reconsider holding this event in the exact same manner. But overall I still am very supportive of what they do.

But here is the response I got from Tammy Sapp, Senior Vice President of Communications for the NWTF.

Steven,

Thank you very much for your support. The story was a very distorted piece
of editing from a reporter that did not read our press release and was
obviously against hunting. (See Tampa Tribune article below). What’s even
more frustrating is Dr. James Earl Kennamer spoke to the reporter at length
the night before the release so he did understand it was a symbolic release
to celebrate this restoration success story. But he chose to file a story
that was biased and inaccurate.

We’ve been doing wild turkey releases at Thanksgiving for many years now as
a way to focus on the good things hunters and wildlife professionals have
done for wild turkey restoration. Prior to Thanksgiving, the media is
looking for a story about wild turkeys. We’ve provided them with that
through these wild turkey releases as well as an opportunity to get our
message out about hunters and wildlife restoration. And, 99 percent of the
time, we’ve received positive stories in newspapers and TV about the work of
our members and partners. There will always be reporters who will twist our
message because they don’t like hunting. However, we can’t let that stop us
from continuing to try to get the word out. The hunting community has long
said we shouldn’t just preach to the choir, and I plan to continue telling
the nonhunting public about the millions of dollars hunters have spent for
wildlife conservation.

Your words of support had a healing quality and I appreciate your efforts!

Best Regards,

Tammy Sapp
Senior Vice President/Communications
National Wild Turkey Federation
803-637-3106

sports.tbo.com/sports

TV Reporter Wields Hatchet Against Turkey Federation
By FRANK SARGEANT
Published: Nov 19, 2006

In a story he called “The Great Turkey Rescue That Wasn’t,” CBS
national news reporter Steve Hartman did a hatchet job on the National
Wild Turkey Federation on Friday’s evening news, based on an event that
brought the reporter to Tampa last week.

Hartman, like many other reporters, was invited to a symbolic turkey
release at Two Rivers Ranch near Thonotosassa to celebrate the
restoration of the wild turkey across America, mostly funded by
hunters.

Hartman got the same press release everyone else did-in fact, he showed
it on the air. But apparently Hartman didn’t have time to read any
farther than the headline - he got the idea that wild turkeys were to
be released into some sort of preserve where they could live happily
ever after, and came primed to do that story - a “turkeys reprieved at
Thanksgiving” tale of the sort that is so popular with TV stations at
this time of year.

In fact, limited hunting is allowed on Two Rivers, and that didn’t sit
right with Hartman.

He totally ignored the thrust of the event, which was to point out that
wild turkey numbers nationwide have come back from fewer than 30,000 to
more than 7 million thanks to transplants, as illustrated in the Two
Rivers release.

The restocking programs have been paid for almost entirely by hunting
license fees, excise taxes on hunting gear, and donations from the
National Wild Turkey Federation, a hunting/conservation organization.

Instead, Hartman homed in on the fact that the turkeys were trapped and
kept overnight in release boxes, then released into areas where some of
them might eventually wind up being taken by hunters.

Of course, Hartman did not get the fact that hunting has been allowed
on this particular ranch for more than 40 years, and that it has
perhaps the most dense turkey population in the state despite the
controlled hunts.

Hartman said that the turkeys had been “abducted” and also that they
had been “kidnapped,” and that he “felt bad for the turkeys.”

Fortunately, 13 of the trapped turkeys were released without incident,
and most are probably back sitting on their roosts along Blackwater
Creek this morning.

All except one, that is. That would be the gobbler that ran into the
fence.

For reasons known only to Hartman, when a big gobbler was released, he
laid down his camera and began to sprint after the bird. The turkey
wasn’t about to be caught by a guy from New York with a doughnut around
his middle, of course, but in running away from Hartman it ran full
tilt into a barbed wire fence.

Feathers and blood flew. The turkey made it through the fence and
wobbled off toward a nearby cypress head, drooping one wing and
limping. That gobbler probably wound up as coyote food shortly after
sundown - nature does not provide much slack for the infirm.

For some reason, the footage from that part of the “Great Turkey
Release That Wasn’t” didn’t make the air.

Like many, I have admired the often funny, whimsical or touching
stories generated by Steve Hartman in his travels around the nation.
But this time he wandered far off the track and insulted both the NWTF
and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, without the
likes of which there would be no wild turkeys anywhere in the nation
these days, and missed an opportunity to share a story that should have
been told to the national audience of CBS.

Tammy Sapp
Senior Vice President/Communications
National Wild Turkey Federation
803-637-3106

Steven Remington

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This week the NWTF released turkeys back into the wild near Tampa and Salt Lake City as a way of celebrating hard work and turkey restoration for the last 30 years. In the 1930’s the wild turkey population was at an all time low with nearly 30,000 spanning all of North America. With the hard work of the NWTF we have seen a dramatic success in turkey restoration.

Initial restoration efforts involved the release of pen-raised wild turkeys, but quickly proved fruitless, however, because pen-raised birds did not have necessary skills to survive in the wild. Thanks to the development of the cannon net, and later the rocket net, wildlife professionals began catching wild birds and moving them into suitable areas to start new populations.

Because of the tireless efforts of state and provincial agencies, the NWTF and thousands of volunteers have helped transfer more than 188,000 wild turkeys to restore turkey populations across the country.

Kids from school groups and others attended the event, learning more about how the restoration process began and what it takes to keep our wild turkeys striving in the field.

CBS Early Show
I even watched this morning on the CBS Early Show about this event and immediately I was sickened by the liberal bias of our news media. After everything the NWTF has done for the wild turkey there seemed to have been problems by reporters that the turkeys were gathered up and released back into the wild where they originally came from. The reporters asked what the turkeys got out of this event with a response, “A bad night in a box.” The CBS reporter felt that the NWTF was lying to our children and that the event was too close to turkey hunting season that there was possibly more to this event than simply teaching our kids about the restoration process.

First off it sickens me to think our media is clueless on a long time American heritage of hunting these wild turkeys. If it wasn’t for the NWTF we would never have seen as many turkeys as we do today. The event is not lying to our youth. It is a day of celebration and learning. It is a day of passing on tradition to our next generation by showing them the importance of our hunting heritage.

These anti-hunting groups and media outlets are the ones lying to our youth with the reporting of lies and persuasion. The reporter went on to say how he wanted to tell all the children the truth about the day. I am sorry but what is it the NWTF is lying to our children about? When I go to watch Tecumseh, a famous outdoor act about a famous Indian during the times of the Revolutionary War do I feel I am being lied to because the event is only a reinactment of what happened over 200 years ago? No. It is the celebration, and the honoring of important pieces of our history.

Steven Remington

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It is the responsibility of a hunter to know the laws, to abide by them and to know where they are at all times. Before a safe hunter would discharge a weapon, they would know how far they are from all buildings, streets, cars and other people.

Evidently this was not the case in Alachua County, Florida. In Florida, schools have what is refered to as a “lockdown” procedure. Anytime there is any kind of potential danger that could put school children at risk, a school is shut down and locked up, keeping the children inside the building and safe. This is a good procedure and one that is unfortunately a part of our everyday lives.

A man was squirrel hunting neaby a school in that county. He was spotted by a resident, who not knowing what the man was doing, alerted authorities who immediately ordered a lockdown.

On Tuesday in Gilchrist County, two 17-year olds where squirrel hunting next to the school property and once again officers had to order a lockdown.

Hunters need to be responsible and think before doing something like this.

Tom Remington

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Sounds of a bratty little kid who can’t have his way! The best way to counter the whining, crying, irrational and unreasonable people who think animals are human beings, is to just expose them for what they are. Here’s another in a long line of letters abhoring the sport of hunting. I’ll give you the low-lights.

I cannot for a moment imagine intruding on an animal’s own habitat, and shooting and killing it for fun.

Yup, that’s what we do. We just load em up and blast away randomly killing anything that’s alive. That’s why people better stay out of the woods when hunters are in them.

It never ceases to amaze me that the murder of animals can be considered a “sport.” A sport involves two relatively equal sides. Are the animals told the rules? Are they provided with guns or bows and arrows? Please tell me where the sport is in this picture.

Of course the animals are given the rules! If they are the creatures this person thinks they are they can read, write and have emotions therefore they can read the rules too. And nobody is stopping them from going downtown and buying a gun or bow and arrows. Who does she think we are? Some kind of socialistic democrats bent on keeping the wildlife down and out?

Further, most people are unaware that hunting is permitted on wildlife refuges. A refuge is supposed to be a place of safety and serenity. Not a place where poor, helpless animals are blown to bits or severely injured.

Who told this person? I thought this was a secret. The last time I visited the Green Swamp Wildlife Refuge in central Florida, I came across several deer reclining in their chaise lounges sipping on pinacoladas. I remember I spoke to one big buck and told him he better get on some sun screen before he got skin cancer. Actually I was tricking him because my plan was to blow him to bits just for the fun of it or maybe I would just severly wound him. That would be more fun and would last longer. I’d get my money’s worth out of that.

Did you know that animals now in our refuges can opt in for either satelite or cable TV? Oh yeah! There were too many allegators complaining that while getting their pedicures they got bored.

As a social worker with 30 years’ experience working with young people, it particularly concerns me when hunters indoctrinate their children into this violent “sport.” 

Ah, ha! I knew I was onto something when I mentioned socialistic. Now I understand. And this highly educated social worker needs to understand that statistics show that kids who grow up with guns and learn about the SPORT of hunting, almost never grow up violent and abuse guns. Maybe this person should concentrate on getting the foster kids out of the homes of child molesters.

If the South Florida Sun-Sentinel insists on writing so enthusiastically about this horrific activity, please include it where it belongs — next to the stories about violent crimes — not on the sports pages.

Absolutely! Let’s not have hunting activities show up on the same pages where professional basketball players jump into the crowd and beat the crud out of a fan. Or that picture and story of the hockey game that broke out at the fight the other night. Or the masses who died and got injured at the soccer match. Or the stories of the baseball players and other pro athletes who achieve bigger and better things in their SPORTS by using drug enhancers. No, we wouldn’t want hunting included with that.

We all should write a letter to this person thanking them for doing so much to put hunting in the light where it belongs.

Tom Remington

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