Reprinted from February-March, 200 issue of The Outdoorsman

(Jim Slinsky is a sportsman, conservationist and defender of our right to hunt, fish, trap, and shoot.  He is also a staunch advocate of the individual interpretation of the Second Amendment.  Jim is the Founder, Producer and Host of the "Outdoor Talk Network", a nationally, syndicated, outdoor-talk radio show program.

The Outdoor Talk Network is an educational and entertaining program with the focus on fishing, hunting, trapping, shooting and related environmental and legislative issues.  He has interviewed the most important and influential people in the outdoor industry. His radio show is syndicated nationwide by Salem Radio Network.

For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com ED)

How did you like our banquets? From all reports we have received, everyone attending in Elko and Las Vegas had a wonderful time. I want to thank everyone who made these events special. A very special thanks to Billy, Bushey, Steve, and Darlene for without their support we could never have done what we did with so much flair and class! While I'm thanking people, there is one special person who I would like to thank. All sportsmen in the state of Nevada should thank this person for his generous support of HUNTER'S ALERT!". Without his support, we could not have reached a fraction of the people that we do now. His true concern for sportsmen has given us a special impetus to reach as many and fight as hard as we can to keep our heritage of hunting and fishing alive. This very special person chooses to remain anonymous, but to him and his undying loyalty, I offer a salute from all sportsmen in this great state of Nevada!

Peter Ward was horn, raised and has lived on the shores of Lake Manitoba for the past seventy one years. During this time, he has been a student of waterfowl and waterfowling while keeping a vigilant eye on the Delta Waterfowl and Wetland? Research Station, the Delta Marsh and the surrounding prairie region He has seen the coining and the complete domination of modern agriculture He has seen the ducks disappear and he has seen the recent explosion in predator populations. What follows are his thoughts on the role predators play in today's waterfowl world. "No one likes to deliberately kill predators for the sake of killing. Thus, among the millions of human predators who seek and kill ducks, few kill predators. Therefore, if we are unwilling to curtail human mortality, we must find ways and means to curtail predator mortality on ducks. Perhaps nothing can illustrate this more graphically than the 15 percent of hen mallards who are now successful in getting off a brood in prairie Canada A nesting success rate at which the mallard can only grow fewer