December 16, 2024 • 22 mins
This week, Cal talks about good bills, bad orcas, poachers, and public access.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Col's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calaian Here's Cal.
Residents of a small mountain community in British Columbia have
been scratching their heads about a local deer wearing a
high viz vest. The safety First servid has been videoed
(00:31):
and photographed in and around the town of McBride, but
even though only about one thousand people live in the area,
no one seems to know how a deer ended up
wearing a zip up day glow vest. A local BC
conservation officer has declined to speculate on how the jacket
ended up on the animal, but in the understated humor
so typical of our Canadian neighbors, said quote, deer are
(00:53):
not predisposed to wearing clothes. That might be true, but
it wouldn't be the first time a do good or
I had to keep a deer safe by dressing it
like a construction worker. Back in twenty twenty, a deer
was spotted in Indiana wearing what appeared to be a
hunter's safety vest. It turned out that someone had illegally
adopted the fawn as a pet and put the vest
(01:15):
on it to keep it safe from hunters. I would
imagine that something like that is what's happening here. The
deer is yet to be seen again, which makes me
wonder if it found its way back home. And yes,
if you can't tell from the tone of my voice,
home is in quotes. Whoever did that to the deer
is likely staying mum because it's illegal to own wildlife
(01:35):
without the proper permits. It's also illegal in BC to worry, exhaust, fatigue, anoi, plague, pester, tease,
or torment animals, which seems likely to have happened at
some point between vest less deer and Bob the builder deer.
(01:59):
In any case, the vest will probably cause more problems
than it solves. While it might stay the trigger finger
of a hunter, it's more likely to get snagged on
something and get the deer stuck. Hopefully it falls off
on its own, but if conservation officers can catch up
with it, they say they'll tranquilize the deer and to
end its air traffic control dreams for good. This week
(02:22):
we've got killer whales the mail bag, talking turkey in
the crime desk. But first I'm going to tell you
about my week, and my week was packed. Did a
hot lap back to our nation's capital to meet with
a bunch of conservation minded companies and the leaders through TRCP.
We talked to politics and public lands. Talked a lot
about Utah's current attempt to hornswaggle our public access and
(02:44):
public acres away for short sighted, short term profit. Saw
the Ute Tribe joined the Supreme Court in an amicus brief,
which is like a friend of the Court, basically sighting
with US Supreme Court saying U, Utah folks shouldn't be
trying to diose of our collective public lands. We talked
about the good Sam Act, which enables abandoned mind site
(03:06):
clean up by cutting some red tape and making sure
that the cleanup organizations aren't on the hook for the
liability of the MIND site, which was obviously not a
big deal for the previous MIND owner to abandon. They're
somewhere between half a million and like seven hundred thousand
abandoned mines in the US. They're a huge factor in
clean water. Great news here the good Sam Bill passed
(03:29):
the Senate and the House, which means we just need
the President to sign this one bipartisan support makes things happen.
Great job to everyone who worked on this one. Senator
Heinrich got a new Mexico sponsored it. Good time to
call and say hey, thank you, Senator Heinrich. We also
talked about Bruce Westerman's Fix Our Forest Act. If you recall,
(03:50):
Westerman was a guest on this podcast. This is a
great bill that is currently stalled. So if you want
to make an impact, call your senators today and tell
them to get the Fix Our Forest Act moving. In short,
this one is more funding for state, federal, and tribal
forest management. We're talking cutting and burning to mitigate catastrophic
(04:12):
forest fires. Healthy forest means bigger bucks and bulls, plentiful birds,
plus your house is less likely to burn down. We
talked about the Farm Bill funding cwds, so much more.
Lots happening, folks. New administration is coming in hot. Let's
be on our toes and ready to help guide them
for the best results hunters, anglers, conservationists can wish for.
(04:35):
If we don't, someone else will. I'm Mike Lee, and
I approve this message. Moving on to the killer whale
disc a pot of orcas in the Gulf of California,
have developed what researchers say is a unique technique for
killing whale sharks and eating their livers. The new paper,
published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, documents for
(04:58):
separate incidents in which the same pod of orcas attack
and eat young whale sharks, which is the world's largest
fish species. In each incident, the giant mammals ram the
shark in a coordinated attack until it flips on its back.
From that position, it enters a state of tonic immobility
and can no longer move or escape to deeper waters.
(05:19):
The orca has worked together to keep the shark on
its back, which allows them to bite through the pelvic
area and access the liver and other lipid rich organs.
While orcas have been documented attacking whale sharks in the past,
most notably in a viral video from last year, this
is the first time researchers have published images and videos
of a group of killer whales working together to kill
(05:40):
this species of shark. The unusual nature of this phenomenon,
researchers say, suggests that this particular pod may have specialized
in this kind of attack, like navy seals going after
terrorists or Liam Neeson chasing down his daughter's kidnappers. The
group of killer whales has developed a special skill skill
to feed themselves with the ocean's largest fish. Biologists believe
(06:05):
this is in part because a male dubbed Maktuzuma was
present at three of the four attacks. A female orca
previously observed in the presence of Maktozuma also participated in
one hunt, suggesting they could be dating. Researchers obviously have
no way of knowing whether this is the only pod
(06:26):
that engages in this kind of predation, but it's exciting
to be able to document it for the first time.
Kind of makes you think of how you impressed your
first girlfriend. Moving forward, the studies authors say more work
needs to be done to determine exactly why these orcas
started eating whale sharks. It could be that it's not
a new phenomenon, it just hasn't been documented before. It
(06:47):
could also be that some of their other prey species
are declining and so they were forced to look for
a different calorie source or and stick with me on
this one. They tuned into Shark Week and learned that
their cousins and so South Africa eat the livers of
great white sharks. Whale sharks also have livers, but they
don't have hundreds of razor sharp teeth. Makes way more
(07:09):
sense that they're targeting the whale shark. Just a thought.
Moving on to the turkey desk. Back in episode three
twenty three, I read an email from a Missouri hunter
named Whalen who was wondering why his state allows a
fall hen harvest every year. He didn't think the fall
hen harvest was wise given the declining turkey population, and
(07:31):
he didn't buy the Wildlife agency's justification. Well. Nick Oakley
from the Missouri Department of Conservation heard that mail bag
segment and was kind enough to take some time to
elaborate on the agency's position. Nick is a wild turkey
and roughed grouse biologist with the MDC, so he's one
of the most qualified people to answer these questions. Nick
(07:52):
sent a bunch of info, But here's the bottom line.
When it comes to the turkey population in Missouri. The
problem is with POLP mooretality, not hen mortality. What does
that mean? Basically, the number of hens harvested during the
fall season is not enough to impact the overall population.
In fact, hen survival in the state hasn't varied much
(08:13):
since the nineteen eighties. The same number of hens survived
from one year to the next, but unfortunately we can't
say the same for turkey chicks also known as polts.
Habitat loss, agricultural practices, and even recreational mowing have made
it more difficult for hens to raise successful broods. According
to Nick, that is the main driver of the turkey
(08:35):
population in decline in Missouri. Let's put some numbers on that.
About twenty three thousand residents have purchased fall turkey hunting
permits this year. By contrast, about one hundred and twenty
thousand hunters chase turkeys in the spring. Only about one
percent of the total hen population is harvested every year,
which is down from about four percent in nineteen eighty.
(08:57):
That comes out to twenty five hundred hens harvested during
the fall season, which is only one hen per seventeen
eight hundred and forty five acres or twenty eight square miles.
Assuming what we know about poult size and survival rates,
those twenty five hundred hens would have added about eight
hundred polts to the state's population. That's not a lot
(09:19):
of turkeys, especially when compared to the state's overall turkey
population of three hundred and fifty thousand birds. Here's how
Nick explains how he decides whether to recommend a reduction
or cancelation of the fall season quote. The calculation I
make is whether keeping one hen per twenty eight square
miles from being harvested is worth eliminating that opportunity for
(09:43):
turkey hunters in Missouri. It is not my view at
this time that such a move would be warranted. We
simply do not harvest enough hens to impact the population
at any scale that can be effectively regulated. Now I
can understand why Missouri Turkey hundred might still be concerned.
There were about six hundred thousand turkeys in the state
(10:04):
in two thousand and three, and today that number has
been reduced by almost half. That doesn't sound good, but
biologists like Nick believe the turkey population is settling into
long term stable state. During that transition, he says, the
fluctuation around the carrying capacity is to be expected, and
there will be periods where we see population decline. If
(10:24):
that's the case, the numbers we saw in the early
two thousands were more of an anomaly than anything else.
Nick points out that Missouri turkey hunters harvested over forty
seven thousand birds last spring, which is actually an increase
from the prior year. This doesn't mean we can stop
worrying about turkeys. Missouri isn't the only state that's seen
a big reduction in turkey numbers, and state regulators did
(10:48):
reduce the overall bag limit from four to two for
this year's fall season. If Nick is correct, that change
won't have a giant impact, and so hunters in biologists
alike must continue to stay vigil and be willing to
do their part to slow and reverse the population decline. Gang,
it's still less hands, hands make more birds, I get it.
(11:11):
This is part of wildlife management. You got to have
people interested in the birds to give a crowd about them,
and that's another reason for that fall season right. We
will be at NWTF the National Wild Turkey Federation banquet
this year. Expo the big one there in Tennessee. Supporting
groups like NWTF habitat organizations really really do help move
(11:35):
the needle. Moving on to the crime desk, a repeat
poacher in Michigan is once again in hot water after
apparently getting drunk and shooting at least three deer on
private property. Fifty nine year old Cecil Edward Day was
arrested at his home in the town of Johannesburg and
charged with felon in possession of firearm, a felon in
(11:58):
possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm with a blood
alcohol content of over point oh eight, and no hunter's orange.
After conducting a further investigation, conservation officers are requesting additional
poaching charges. This isn't old Cecil's first rodeo. He was
previously convicted of taking deer from a motor vehicle, trustpassing
(12:19):
no hunter's orange, and possession of an untagged deer. He's
also spent a considerable amount of time in the Slammer
doing stints from two thousand and six to twenty ten,
twenty ten to twenty seventeen, and twenty twenty one to
twenty twenty three. The official charge on all of that
prison time was drunk driving, but those plea deals almost
(12:39):
certainly dropped many other charges in exchange for avoiding a trial.
Speaking deer poaching, a Massachusetts man was cited last month
for dropping an eighteen point trophy buck with crossbow, but
unlike mister Day, He didn't do it while truspassing, drunk,
or without the proper license. The only regulation he broke
is that he discharged his crossbow within five hundred feet
(13:03):
of a house, which is against the state's regulations. Massachusetts
law prohibits hunting of any kind within five hundred feet
of any dwelling in use, except as authorized by the
owner or occupant. This fellow was apparently within five hundred
feet of five dwellings, since that's how many citations he
received for his grave sim He was forced to surrender
(13:24):
what must have been a sweet set of antlers, and
even had to donate as venison to Fish and Game club.
The Massachusetts Environmental Police didn't say whether he fired the
crossbow at any of the homes, or if his shot
had any chance of hurting anyone. Massachusetts isn't the only
state that requires hunters to be beyond a certain distance
from homes, but most of those laws pertained to firearms,
(13:46):
not bows. Here in my neck of the woods, three
people have been charged with a variety of felonies and
misdemeanors for poaching three elk in three deer. In twenty
twenty three, a concerned citizen sent a tip to Montana
Fish Wildlife in Parks, and a year long investigation revealed
that the animals had been illegally killed on public and
private land in Broadwater County. Very little additional information is
(14:10):
available as of this recording, but will stay on this
story and let you know what we find right now.
The bottom line is that game wardens rely heavily on
tips from the public, so if you find evidence of
this kind of gross violation, give your friendly neighborhood conservation
officer recall. In what officials have called New Hampshire's biggest
poaching case in recent memory, five individuals have been convicted
(14:34):
and charged with a multitude of wildlife violations. Game wardens
received tip about poaching activities in the town of Gilminton,
and they executed a search warrant on the cell camera
and cell phone of a man named Thomas Kelly. That
evidence led to two other suspects, Sherwood Dubrie and Randy Inman.
Inman and Kelly were also in possession of twenty two
(14:56):
caliber rifles top with night vision scopes that could record video.
As you can imagine, that video footage provided a treasure
trove of evidence proving that the three men had been
joined by two other men for dozens of illegal night hunts.
The men were a hit with a total of thirty
night hunting violations, along with illegal baiting of wildlife, illegal
(15:16):
take of a black bear, illegal possession of a deer,
as well as other violations. Their penalties ran the gamut,
but Inman got the worst of it. He was fined
about fifty five hundred dollars and had his hunting and
trapping privileges suspended for ten years. He was also fined
an additional nine thousand dollars and sentenced to twelve months
in prison, but those sentences were suspended pending good behavior
(15:39):
for five years and two years, respectively. Moving on to
the free land Desk, the US government is suing a
Colorado group that built a fence in the San Juan
National Forest and claimed ownership of about fourteen hundred acres
of public land. The aptly named free land Holders began
(16:00):
construction on the fence over the summer, and authorities with
the Forest Service were notified on October fifth. The free
land Holders are an offshoot of the fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ the Latter day Saints, as far as I
can tell, they're one of these groups that claims to
be able to assert some kind of sovereignty even while
living within the United States. The group's leader, a fellow
named Patrick Pipkin, calls himself an ambassador and has requested
(16:24):
to meet with a diplomat representing the United States. He
asserts ownership of one thy four hundred and sixty acres
of National forest lands within the constructed fence line. He
clans the land belonged to them under many documents, including
the Homestead Act of eighteen sixty two in the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which is convenient because the property in
(16:44):
question is adjacent to the Blue Mountain Ranch, which you
guessed it is owned by Pipkin. Some landowners try to
expand their property by prohibiting access in the checkerboard pattern
like we've seen in the Corner Crossing case. Others start
their own cult and then just put up a fence anyway.
To his credit, Pipkin hasn't restricted access to the public
(17:04):
and there haven't been any violent conflicts all he's done
as far as I can tell. His post claims at
the noticeboard at the local post office. These claims, call
on quote all those with an equal, previous, or superior
claim to the property to reply or be it this
claim has been resolved forever now to his credit or not.
Putting up a fence on public land is a hindrance
(17:28):
to you and I, who share equal right to that access,
and it's a hindrance to wildlife. Give this guy the boot.
The US government has answered that call and sued him
in federal court. Meanwhile, thanks to a group of local volunteers,
some of the fencing has already been taken down, but
the materials have not been removed. The free land holders
should be responsible for taking down or removing all offence
(17:50):
material and paying for these volunteers time. That hasn't been
done yet as of this recording really gets my goat.
Moving on to the mail bag, a listener named Nick
from Nippewin, Saskatchewan wrote in with some praise for a
recent decision by officials in Alberta. There, Alberta Forestry Minister
(18:11):
Todd Lewin has lifted many restrictions on fur bearer trapping,
including links, river otters, fissures, and wolverines. Lewin says that
restrictions on trapping these animals was not defensible since current
population numbers for the animals are not known, especially in
the case of wolverines. He says that allowing more trapping
will provide the data biologists need to better manage these species.
(18:34):
While some might argue that it's a bad idea to
allow more take of a population that hasn't been studied extensively,
Nick likes that the forestry minister is turning to hunters
and trappers as partners in this citizen science initiative. He said, quote,
it is refreshing to see that the forestry minister in
Alberta is looking out for hunters and trappers. Luckily, the
(18:54):
animal rights crowd aren't steering the management decisions in Alberta.
It is good to see a resource user in charge
of overseeing these decisions. Thank you for your email, Nick.
If there are any Alberta trappers out there who want
to weigh in on this issue, shoot me an email
askcal at the meeater dot com listener Derek Towels or Toles,
(19:16):
who serves as a district director for the Kentucky Chapter
of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, sent me an email about
a public land attack in his state. There. The Kentucky
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resource Commission is considering transferring
the Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area to the Mead County government.
The Wildlife Division supports the decision as long as the
county agrees to grant public hunting and phishing access in perpetuity.
(19:40):
That sounds good, but Derek believes this could be a
step towards the privatization of this property. He said, quote
the Mead County Judge executive believes the county can make
money off the WMA. They also only have one hundred
and seventy five thousand dollars in their budget for recreation,
and the judge executive is not an outdoorsman and does
(20:00):
not understand what goes into hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation.
It will be quite a loss to local hunters and
anglers if they eventually lose access to Otter Creek. Derek
reports that the twenty two hundred acre WMA offers some
of the best fly fishing access in that part of
the state, along with deer hunting, turkey hunting, small game
and waterfowl hunting. Fortunately, the Commission isn't rushing into anything.
(20:24):
In a follow up email. Derek told me that they
were able to drum up enough opposition at a December
sixth commission meeting that the commissioners decided to make this
a new business item, which will allow for more public comment.
He also reported that quote the Mead County Executive Judge
himself even said he was in no hurry. He also
told Kentucky BHA members that he is open to discussion
(20:46):
with us for input. Nice work, Kentucky BHA. This is
a great example of how local engagement can steer public
officials in the right direction. Big thanks to Derek for
keeping us in the loop. Kentucky folks, or you know
everybody in general. You got a local BHA chapter around you.
This is exactly the type of stuff they work on,
(21:07):
keeping that public land publicly accessible. Another reminder that that
word access can mean surprisingly a lot of things, and
wording really matters here to some. Keeping hunting and fishing
access in perpetuity would mean Okay, I'll just charge a
bunch of money for it, which obviously excludes a lot
(21:29):
of people in this country. So thanks for staying observant
and on your toes, Kentucky BHA. That's all I got
for you this week. Thank you so much for listening,
and remember to write into ask c Al that's Ascal
at the meat eater dot com and let me know
what's going on in your neck of the woods. You
know we appreciate thanks again. We'll talk to you next week.
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Col's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calaian Here's Cal.
Residents of a small mountain community in British Columbia have
been scratching their heads about a local deer wearing a
high viz vest. The safety First servid has been videoed
(00:31):
and photographed in and around the town of McBride, but
even though only about one thousand people live in the area,
no one seems to know how a deer ended up
wearing a zip up day glow vest. A local BC
conservation officer has declined to speculate on how the jacket
ended up on the animal, but in the understated humor
so typical of our Canadian neighbors, said quote, deer are
(00:53):
not predisposed to wearing clothes. That might be true, but
it wouldn't be the first time a do good or
I had to keep a deer safe by dressing it
like a construction worker. Back in twenty twenty, a deer
was spotted in Indiana wearing what appeared to be a
hunter's safety vest. It turned out that someone had illegally
adopted the fawn as a pet and put the vest
(01:15):
on it to keep it safe from hunters. I would
imagine that something like that is what's happening here. The
deer is yet to be seen again, which makes me
wonder if it found its way back home. And yes,
if you can't tell from the tone of my voice,
home is in quotes. Whoever did that to the deer
is likely staying mum because it's illegal to own wildlife
(01:35):
without the proper permits. It's also illegal in BC to worry, exhaust, fatigue, anoi, plague, pester, tease,
or torment animals, which seems likely to have happened at
some point between vest less deer and Bob the builder deer.
(01:59):
In any case, the vest will probably cause more problems
than it solves. While it might stay the trigger finger
of a hunter, it's more likely to get snagged on
something and get the deer stuck. Hopefully it falls off
on its own, but if conservation officers can catch up
with it, they say they'll tranquilize the deer and to
end its air traffic control dreams for good. This week
(02:22):
we've got killer whales the mail bag, talking turkey in
the crime desk. But first I'm going to tell you
about my week, and my week was packed. Did a
hot lap back to our nation's capital to meet with
a bunch of conservation minded companies and the leaders through TRCP.
We talked to politics and public lands. Talked a lot
about Utah's current attempt to hornswaggle our public access and
(02:44):
public acres away for short sighted, short term profit. Saw
the Ute Tribe joined the Supreme Court in an amicus brief,
which is like a friend of the Court, basically sighting
with US Supreme Court saying U, Utah folks shouldn't be
trying to diose of our collective public lands. We talked
about the good Sam Act, which enables abandoned mind site
(03:06):
clean up by cutting some red tape and making sure
that the cleanup organizations aren't on the hook for the
liability of the MIND site, which was obviously not a
big deal for the previous MIND owner to abandon. They're
somewhere between half a million and like seven hundred thousand
abandoned mines in the US. They're a huge factor in
clean water. Great news here the good Sam Bill passed
(03:29):
the Senate and the House, which means we just need
the President to sign this one bipartisan support makes things happen.
Great job to everyone who worked on this one. Senator
Heinrich got a new Mexico sponsored it. Good time to
call and say hey, thank you, Senator Heinrich. We also
talked about Bruce Westerman's Fix Our Forest Act. If you recall,
(03:50):
Westerman was a guest on this podcast. This is a
great bill that is currently stalled. So if you want
to make an impact, call your senators today and tell
them to get the Fix Our Forest Act moving. In short,
this one is more funding for state, federal, and tribal
forest management. We're talking cutting and burning to mitigate catastrophic
(04:12):
forest fires. Healthy forest means bigger bucks and bulls, plentiful birds,
plus your house is less likely to burn down. We
talked about the Farm Bill funding cwds, so much more.
Lots happening, folks. New administration is coming in hot. Let's
be on our toes and ready to help guide them
for the best results hunters, anglers, conservationists can wish for.
(04:35):
If we don't, someone else will. I'm Mike Lee, and
I approve this message. Moving on to the killer whale
disc a pot of orcas in the Gulf of California,
have developed what researchers say is a unique technique for
killing whale sharks and eating their livers. The new paper,
published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, documents for
(04:58):
separate incidents in which the same pod of orcas attack
and eat young whale sharks, which is the world's largest
fish species. In each incident, the giant mammals ram the
shark in a coordinated attack until it flips on its back.
From that position, it enters a state of tonic immobility
and can no longer move or escape to deeper waters.
(05:19):
The orca has worked together to keep the shark on
its back, which allows them to bite through the pelvic
area and access the liver and other lipid rich organs.
While orcas have been documented attacking whale sharks in the past,
most notably in a viral video from last year, this
is the first time researchers have published images and videos
of a group of killer whales working together to kill
(05:40):
this species of shark. The unusual nature of this phenomenon,
researchers say, suggests that this particular pod may have specialized
in this kind of attack, like navy seals going after
terrorists or Liam Neeson chasing down his daughter's kidnappers. The
group of killer whales has developed a special skill skill
to feed themselves with the ocean's largest fish. Biologists believe
(06:05):
this is in part because a male dubbed Maktuzuma was
present at three of the four attacks. A female orca
previously observed in the presence of Maktozuma also participated in
one hunt, suggesting they could be dating. Researchers obviously have
no way of knowing whether this is the only pod
(06:26):
that engages in this kind of predation, but it's exciting
to be able to document it for the first time.
Kind of makes you think of how you impressed your
first girlfriend. Moving forward, the studies authors say more work
needs to be done to determine exactly why these orcas
started eating whale sharks. It could be that it's not
a new phenomenon, it just hasn't been documented before. It
(06:47):
could also be that some of their other prey species
are declining and so they were forced to look for
a different calorie source or and stick with me on
this one. They tuned into Shark Week and learned that
their cousins and so South Africa eat the livers of
great white sharks. Whale sharks also have livers, but they
don't have hundreds of razor sharp teeth. Makes way more
(07:09):
sense that they're targeting the whale shark. Just a thought.
Moving on to the turkey desk. Back in episode three
twenty three, I read an email from a Missouri hunter
named Whalen who was wondering why his state allows a
fall hen harvest every year. He didn't think the fall
hen harvest was wise given the declining turkey population, and
(07:31):
he didn't buy the Wildlife agency's justification. Well. Nick Oakley
from the Missouri Department of Conservation heard that mail bag
segment and was kind enough to take some time to
elaborate on the agency's position. Nick is a wild turkey
and roughed grouse biologist with the MDC, so he's one
of the most qualified people to answer these questions. Nick
(07:52):
sent a bunch of info, But here's the bottom line.
When it comes to the turkey population in Missouri. The
problem is with POLP mooretality, not hen mortality. What does
that mean? Basically, the number of hens harvested during the
fall season is not enough to impact the overall population.
In fact, hen survival in the state hasn't varied much
(08:13):
since the nineteen eighties. The same number of hens survived
from one year to the next, but unfortunately we can't
say the same for turkey chicks also known as polts.
Habitat loss, agricultural practices, and even recreational mowing have made
it more difficult for hens to raise successful broods. According
to Nick, that is the main driver of the turkey
(08:35):
population in decline in Missouri. Let's put some numbers on that.
About twenty three thousand residents have purchased fall turkey hunting
permits this year. By contrast, about one hundred and twenty
thousand hunters chase turkeys in the spring. Only about one
percent of the total hen population is harvested every year,
which is down from about four percent in nineteen eighty.
(08:57):
That comes out to twenty five hundred hens harvested during
the fall season, which is only one hen per seventeen
eight hundred and forty five acres or twenty eight square miles.
Assuming what we know about poult size and survival rates,
those twenty five hundred hens would have added about eight
hundred polts to the state's population. That's not a lot
(09:19):
of turkeys, especially when compared to the state's overall turkey
population of three hundred and fifty thousand birds. Here's how
Nick explains how he decides whether to recommend a reduction
or cancelation of the fall season quote. The calculation I
make is whether keeping one hen per twenty eight square
miles from being harvested is worth eliminating that opportunity for
(09:43):
turkey hunters in Missouri. It is not my view at
this time that such a move would be warranted. We
simply do not harvest enough hens to impact the population
at any scale that can be effectively regulated. Now I
can understand why Missouri Turkey hundred might still be concerned.
There were about six hundred thousand turkeys in the state
(10:04):
in two thousand and three, and today that number has
been reduced by almost half. That doesn't sound good, but
biologists like Nick believe the turkey population is settling into
long term stable state. During that transition, he says, the
fluctuation around the carrying capacity is to be expected, and
there will be periods where we see population decline. If
(10:24):
that's the case, the numbers we saw in the early
two thousands were more of an anomaly than anything else.
Nick points out that Missouri turkey hunters harvested over forty
seven thousand birds last spring, which is actually an increase
from the prior year. This doesn't mean we can stop
worrying about turkeys. Missouri isn't the only state that's seen
a big reduction in turkey numbers, and state regulators did
(10:48):
reduce the overall bag limit from four to two for
this year's fall season. If Nick is correct, that change
won't have a giant impact, and so hunters in biologists
alike must continue to stay vigil and be willing to
do their part to slow and reverse the population decline. Gang,
it's still less hands, hands make more birds, I get it.
(11:11):
This is part of wildlife management. You got to have
people interested in the birds to give a crowd about them,
and that's another reason for that fall season right. We
will be at NWTF the National Wild Turkey Federation banquet
this year. Expo the big one there in Tennessee. Supporting
groups like NWTF habitat organizations really really do help move
(11:35):
the needle. Moving on to the crime desk, a repeat
poacher in Michigan is once again in hot water after
apparently getting drunk and shooting at least three deer on
private property. Fifty nine year old Cecil Edward Day was
arrested at his home in the town of Johannesburg and
charged with felon in possession of firearm, a felon in
(11:58):
possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm with a blood
alcohol content of over point oh eight, and no hunter's orange.
After conducting a further investigation, conservation officers are requesting additional
poaching charges. This isn't old Cecil's first rodeo. He was
previously convicted of taking deer from a motor vehicle, trustpassing
(12:19):
no hunter's orange, and possession of an untagged deer. He's
also spent a considerable amount of time in the Slammer
doing stints from two thousand and six to twenty ten,
twenty ten to twenty seventeen, and twenty twenty one to
twenty twenty three. The official charge on all of that
prison time was drunk driving, but those plea deals almost
(12:39):
certainly dropped many other charges in exchange for avoiding a trial.
Speaking deer poaching, a Massachusetts man was cited last month
for dropping an eighteen point trophy buck with crossbow, but
unlike mister Day, He didn't do it while truspassing, drunk,
or without the proper license. The only regulation he broke
is that he discharged his crossbow within five hundred feet
(13:03):
of a house, which is against the state's regulations. Massachusetts
law prohibits hunting of any kind within five hundred feet
of any dwelling in use, except as authorized by the
owner or occupant. This fellow was apparently within five hundred
feet of five dwellings, since that's how many citations he
received for his grave sim He was forced to surrender
(13:24):
what must have been a sweet set of antlers, and
even had to donate as venison to Fish and Game club.
The Massachusetts Environmental Police didn't say whether he fired the
crossbow at any of the homes, or if his shot
had any chance of hurting anyone. Massachusetts isn't the only
state that requires hunters to be beyond a certain distance
from homes, but most of those laws pertained to firearms,
(13:46):
not bows. Here in my neck of the woods, three
people have been charged with a variety of felonies and
misdemeanors for poaching three elk in three deer. In twenty
twenty three, a concerned citizen sent a tip to Montana
Fish Wildlife in Parks, and a year long investigation revealed
that the animals had been illegally killed on public and
private land in Broadwater County. Very little additional information is
(14:10):
available as of this recording, but will stay on this
story and let you know what we find right now.
The bottom line is that game wardens rely heavily on
tips from the public, so if you find evidence of
this kind of gross violation, give your friendly neighborhood conservation
officer recall. In what officials have called New Hampshire's biggest
poaching case in recent memory, five individuals have been convicted
(14:34):
and charged with a multitude of wildlife violations. Game wardens
received tip about poaching activities in the town of Gilminton,
and they executed a search warrant on the cell camera
and cell phone of a man named Thomas Kelly. That
evidence led to two other suspects, Sherwood Dubrie and Randy Inman.
Inman and Kelly were also in possession of twenty two
(14:56):
caliber rifles top with night vision scopes that could record video.
As you can imagine, that video footage provided a treasure
trove of evidence proving that the three men had been
joined by two other men for dozens of illegal night hunts.
The men were a hit with a total of thirty
night hunting violations, along with illegal baiting of wildlife, illegal
(15:16):
take of a black bear, illegal possession of a deer,
as well as other violations. Their penalties ran the gamut,
but Inman got the worst of it. He was fined
about fifty five hundred dollars and had his hunting and
trapping privileges suspended for ten years. He was also fined
an additional nine thousand dollars and sentenced to twelve months
in prison, but those sentences were suspended pending good behavior
(15:39):
for five years and two years, respectively. Moving on to
the free land Desk, the US government is suing a
Colorado group that built a fence in the San Juan
National Forest and claimed ownership of about fourteen hundred acres
of public land. The aptly named free land Holders began
(16:00):
construction on the fence over the summer, and authorities with
the Forest Service were notified on October fifth. The free
land Holders are an offshoot of the fundamentalist Church of
Jesus Christ the Latter day Saints, as far as I
can tell, they're one of these groups that claims to
be able to assert some kind of sovereignty even while
living within the United States. The group's leader, a fellow
named Patrick Pipkin, calls himself an ambassador and has requested
(16:24):
to meet with a diplomat representing the United States. He
asserts ownership of one thy four hundred and sixty acres
of National forest lands within the constructed fence line. He
clans the land belonged to them under many documents, including
the Homestead Act of eighteen sixty two in the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which is convenient because the property in
(16:44):
question is adjacent to the Blue Mountain Ranch, which you
guessed it is owned by Pipkin. Some landowners try to
expand their property by prohibiting access in the checkerboard pattern
like we've seen in the Corner Crossing case. Others start
their own cult and then just put up a fence anyway.
To his credit, Pipkin hasn't restricted access to the public
(17:04):
and there haven't been any violent conflicts all he's done
as far as I can tell. His post claims at
the noticeboard at the local post office. These claims, call
on quote all those with an equal, previous, or superior
claim to the property to reply or be it this
claim has been resolved forever now to his credit or not.
Putting up a fence on public land is a hindrance
(17:28):
to you and I, who share equal right to that access,
and it's a hindrance to wildlife. Give this guy the boot.
The US government has answered that call and sued him
in federal court. Meanwhile, thanks to a group of local volunteers,
some of the fencing has already been taken down, but
the materials have not been removed. The free land holders
should be responsible for taking down or removing all offence
(17:50):
material and paying for these volunteers time. That hasn't been
done yet as of this recording really gets my goat.
Moving on to the mail bag, a listener named Nick
from Nippewin, Saskatchewan wrote in with some praise for a
recent decision by officials in Alberta. There, Alberta Forestry Minister
(18:11):
Todd Lewin has lifted many restrictions on fur bearer trapping,
including links, river otters, fissures, and wolverines. Lewin says that
restrictions on trapping these animals was not defensible since current
population numbers for the animals are not known, especially in
the case of wolverines. He says that allowing more trapping
will provide the data biologists need to better manage these species.
(18:34):
While some might argue that it's a bad idea to
allow more take of a population that hasn't been studied extensively,
Nick likes that the forestry minister is turning to hunters
and trappers as partners in this citizen science initiative. He said, quote,
it is refreshing to see that the forestry minister in
Alberta is looking out for hunters and trappers. Luckily, the
(18:54):
animal rights crowd aren't steering the management decisions in Alberta.
It is good to see a resource user in charge
of overseeing these decisions. Thank you for your email, Nick.
If there are any Alberta trappers out there who want
to weigh in on this issue, shoot me an email
askcal at the meeater dot com listener Derek Towels or Toles,
(19:16):
who serves as a district director for the Kentucky Chapter
of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, sent me an email about
a public land attack in his state. There. The Kentucky
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resource Commission is considering transferring
the Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area to the Mead County government.
The Wildlife Division supports the decision as long as the
county agrees to grant public hunting and phishing access in perpetuity.
(19:40):
That sounds good, but Derek believes this could be a
step towards the privatization of this property. He said, quote
the Mead County Judge executive believes the county can make
money off the WMA. They also only have one hundred
and seventy five thousand dollars in their budget for recreation,
and the judge executive is not an outdoorsman and does
(20:00):
not understand what goes into hunting, fishing, and wildlife conservation.
It will be quite a loss to local hunters and
anglers if they eventually lose access to Otter Creek. Derek
reports that the twenty two hundred acre WMA offers some
of the best fly fishing access in that part of
the state, along with deer hunting, turkey hunting, small game
and waterfowl hunting. Fortunately, the Commission isn't rushing into anything.
(20:24):
In a follow up email. Derek told me that they
were able to drum up enough opposition at a December
sixth commission meeting that the commissioners decided to make this
a new business item, which will allow for more public comment.
He also reported that quote the Mead County Executive Judge
himself even said he was in no hurry. He also
told Kentucky BHA members that he is open to discussion
(20:46):
with us for input. Nice work, Kentucky BHA. This is
a great example of how local engagement can steer public
officials in the right direction. Big thanks to Derek for
keeping us in the loop. Kentucky folks, or you know
everybody in general. You got a local BHA chapter around you.
This is exactly the type of stuff they work on,
(21:07):
keeping that public land publicly accessible. Another reminder that that
word access can mean surprisingly a lot of things, and
wording really matters here to some. Keeping hunting and fishing
access in perpetuity would mean Okay, I'll just charge a
bunch of money for it, which obviously excludes a lot
(21:29):
of people in this country. So thanks for staying observant
and on your toes, Kentucky BHA. That's all I got
for you this week. Thank you so much for listening,
and remember to write into ask c Al that's Ascal
at the meat eater dot com and let me know
what's going on in your neck of the woods. You
know we appreciate thanks again. We'll talk to you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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