HA Newsletter 21

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Game and Fish Department began hunting coyotes by helicopter this week in hopes of giving newborn antelope a better chance of survival.

In order to straighten out the mess that former NDOW administrator Willie Molini left behind, sportsmen will require four separate things. One, a governor who cares about sportsmen, Two, some knowledgeable Wildlife commissioners, Three, a new direction in NDOW, and Four, getting some bills passed at the legislature.

A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE October 1999 Chet Friday, Folsom, California

The afternoon of August 31, 1999 found me grocery shopping in Elko in preparation for my muzzle loader deer hunt in the East Humboldt Range, just south of Wells, Nevada. While pushing my shopping cart through the store aisles, I noticed a large, heavy-set gentleman wearing a shirt with several mountain lions elegantly embroidered on it. To me, the shirt seemed to impart a special merit to lions, as to infer that they were somehow more deserving than other wildlife species. I remember contemplating if this individual had spent much time in the field and concluded he was probably unaware of the potential adverse impact that an unmanaged lion population can have on a managed mule deer herd. During the following week I hunted the same drainages and ridges that I had successfully hunted in 1989-92, however, I only saw approximately a third of the deer that I had encountered during my previous excursions. More significantly, unlike these earlier hunts, I was unable to locate any older age class bucks (I did nonetheless, notice significantly more coyote activity). Time and time again, the better bucks 1 saw in most of the drainages I examined were relatively young and had medium-sized racks that barely reached their ear tips. Clearly, both the quality and quantity of mule deer in Nevada's East Humboldt Range had endured a severe decline during the past 7 years.

At the May Wildlife Commission meeting, Lincoln County board members Mark Holt and Jim Cole testified that they did not want mountain lion quotas raised in their area. This testimony came after Commissioner Quilici told NDOW that they have not been following their own mountain lion policy. The policy clearly states that the use of sport harvest is how to control lion numbers. With the harvest down from 15 to 25% statewide, Commissioner Quilici moved to increase tags statewide by 25 to 100%.

Once again, Nevada Division of Wildlife (NDOW) has shown they are not capable of doing their job. They disregarded sound scientific knowledge and because of that disregard there is a good chance that the sage grouse will soon be placed on the federal T & E List. (Threatened or Endangered)

NDOW Full of S - - -moke and Mirrors For the past decade, NDOW has given us many reasons (BS) why our game numbers have declined. (Never predators!) Of course, they expect we should believe what they preach.

Following are a few beauties from out of the past and their latest tap-dance.

...If it takes Nevada Division of Wildlife ten years to figure out that we have a predator problem, then Nevada Division of Wildlife is the problem.

...Senator Ann O'Connell and Assemblyman David Humke have worked hard for sportsmen. They need your support in the upcoming election.

The Jarbidge Shovel Brigade is a nonprofit organization founded in response to pressures put on public land users, by federal agencies. South Canyon has become a rallying call for people all over the United States. This is our way of telling the Federal Government, "enough is enough, we want our public and private land right back."

Unlike large cats that can break or bite through their prey's neck and kill by suffocation or strangulation, wild canines do not have this ability and kill their prey by literally tearing it apart while it is still alive. An effective approach successfully employed in the past to control predators that prey on deer would be to reclassify mountain lions from a big game species to a predator and offer a bounty on coyotes. Ed. note: This fawn has its eyes open and ears up. It is literally being eaten alive!!

In August, 1998 Terry Crawforth was appointed as the new administrator of Nevada Division of Wildlife. (NDOW) Shortly after that, Wildlife Commissioner Jack Coons wanted to know what the new administrator's goals and objectives were. Of course, like many other things the new administrator was asked, he ducked, dodged and refused to respond to these questions. Basically, he hid behind his boss, Pete Morros, who has protected him from this "terrible request". Everyone should know that public employees don't need to have goals or objectives!