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Nevada Mule Deer Succumb To Fatal Political Disease |
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Written by Bud Sonnentag
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Thursday, 14 February 2008 |
We're gathered here today to mourn the passing of our once great figurehead,
the beloved Nevada
mule deer herd. It saddens many of us to witness the passing of such a
great icon. The mule deer has enriched our Nevada heritage and bonded us together for
generations. With its passing a special part of each of us is also
passing into the hereafter.
It is only appropriate to reflect upon the cause of the mule deer
passing. Was its demise brought on by natural or man-made causes?
Did the doctors ignore the growth of the disease or promote and foster it
knowing that death would be imminent. We certainly should not stop asking
these questions.
From this untimely death there is in all likelihood no return.
This iconic animal will be missed by everyone for generations to come who will
not have a chance to meet the once great Nevada
mule deer herd, just a straggler once and a while. Unfortunately, its
neighbor the big horn sheep seems to be suffering from a similar disease.
Will it endure the same agonizing death as the mule deer ? Will the doctors
intervene while there is still hope or will its fate follow the mule
deer who passed before it ? These questions must be answered quickly
because next year may be too late.
In our grief we must not simplify this long and tragic story. Is
it possible the death of our great icon was actually premeditated murder ? Was
it engineered by a select few, who with our trusted authority, took our mule
deer through a long and protracted demise that gave the appearance of being
unavoidable to the unsuspecting. Did our mule deer have enemies that
never revealed themselves as the disease progressed from minuscule to mortal ?
How many of these enemies reside in Nevada
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Is it possible the Nevada mule deer had
enemies as far away as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature
in Washington DC ? Did the International Association
of Fish and Wildlife Agencies ignore the true diagnosis and try to heal the
mule deer situation with voodoo medicine. Did the true diagnosis by these
thousands of doctors belonging to The Wildlife Society not fit their agendas
for the future of Nevada's
Wildlife Action Plan and the Wildlands Project which is all part of the
Biodiversty Initiative emanating from the cozy relationship between USF&WS
and The Nature Conservancy. These are all intriguing questions that must
be answered. The reality is that the challenge of managing wildlife has become
enormously political. It shouldn't be, but it seems many have injected
themselves into the mule deer treatment process who have no business being
there.
I have heard environmental extremists and anti-gun advocates proclaim
the North American Wildlife Model is a fraud. The NAWM is the most
successful wildlife management program ever devised by man. It is the
envy of the world. No individual or nation can claim the success we have
achieved in North America by restoring our
wildlife to thriving populations by the sweat, toil and money of our hunters
and fishermen for the deep love of their sport. I would submit the
average American is quite happy with the wildlife recovery accomplished across
this country over the past century, if you tune out the incessant caterwauling
of the environmentalist crowd.
Today as we meet in this room, wildlife management agencies like NDOW
across this country face easy decisions only made difficult by their
temptations to listen to groups of extremists who have a different vision for
the future of our hunting heritage and our mule deer. A vision that will
lead to the destruction of the wildlife resources we spent the last 100 years
rebuilding. A vision that totally disregards the literal billions spent
to accomplish the greatest recovery of wildlife resources in the history of
mankind.
The decisions all of you make now and in the future will determine the
success of our once great mule deer herd and bighorn sheep. Your job is
not about being politically correct or embracing the priorities of special
interest groups. You don't have to listen to those voices from
afar. Stand up like men should for their state and tell Washington
DC how you're going to protect Nevada's hunting heritage and bring back our mule deer,
the property of Nevada
and the stalwart of NDOW revenue. To see this agency and its policy
makers leaning to biodiversity sends a clear signal to all that NDOW sees more
lucrative funding through sources other than mule deer and the hunter sporting
class which supported them for 100 years. Shame on you, Nevada Department
of Wildlife. You have the face of a harlot and this nation is watching you.
Read on the record to the Nevada Department of
Wildlife and Wildlife Commissioners on Feb 8th-9th 2008 commission meeting.
Bud Sonnentag
Po
Box 72
Gabbs, NV 89409
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 February 2008 )
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