April 7, 2025 • 25 mins
This week, Cal covers the latest news from Washington, D.C., a 6,500-year-old hunting kit, and a case of young anglers being held at gunpoint.
Check out the new "Cal of the Wild" T-Shirt
Connect with Cal and MeatEater
To learn more and get involved with any Cal to Action, click here.
MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Youtube Clips
Subscribe to The MeatEater Podcast Network on YouTube
Shop Cal's Week in Review Merch
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calahan. Here's
cal The birds are chirping, the days are getting longer,
and the weather is warming up. If you don't live
in Montana, that can only mean one thing. It's that
time of year when your anglers get yelled at by
(00:31):
adults who, as the kids say, these days have no chill.
No chill whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
What killed the dinosaurs, guys.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
The latest example comes from where else, Florida, where a
railroad police officer was caught on camera snapping the fishing
poles of two anglers near the town of Tease or Tice.
The teenagers were casting their lines into a river from
a railroad bridge that's part of an active rail line.
Fishing from the bridge is ill eagle not to mention dangerous,
though they weren't the only ones to do so. In
(01:04):
the video, the officer can be seen handing a backpack
to one of the boys as he grabs the fishing
pole from the other, snaps the rodden half, throws it
in the river, and pulls the boy off the bridge
by his arm. The boys weren't handcuffed for about ten minutes,
but ultimately just given a trespassing warning. You shouldn't trespass fish,
and that officer had every right to get those boys
(01:25):
off the bridge. I'm sure it's job depended on it,
but breaking their fishing poles struck many, including myself, as
a bridge too far. That's why a local nonprofit out
of Tampa Bay is about to replace the boys fishing gear.
So I guess that's something This week, We've got the
FEDS legislation dogs in North Carolina ELK. But first I'm
going to tell you about my week, and I am
(01:45):
just going to make this short. Public lands and access
to them are on my mind. Every walk I take
every day is on public lands. Snort is tracking sent
through the snow that's piling up here in Montana on
public ground. It's a joy to watch every time. You
don't have to use this stuff, but you do need
(02:07):
to let your elected officials know you care about it.
It's working for you all the time, even if you're
not out living on it or recreating on it or
making a living on it. Specifically, get a hold of
Dan Sullivan of Alaska, who says the idea of selling
public lands is great Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, who has
(02:28):
actually been on this here podcast. He's a forester. I
think he's got a good head on his shoulders, but
he needs some support from all of us public land
to advocates and people who just generally like good old
American freedom. Writ in Old Bruce and tell him that
every acre is important. Likewise, Senator Hoven in North Dakota,
(02:52):
who recently said Montana people just think differently about public lands.
If you feel slighted when you hear that in North dakotins,
and I know a lot of you do, because you
hunt on public lands, and you travel and camp on
public lands, and even though you don't have a lot
of federally managed public lands in your state, you go
to states that do have them, and you enjoy that
(03:13):
stuff being there, even if you don't use it. Every year,
You folks and everybody else, please write in to John
Hooven in North Dakota and let that fellow know that
you think very highly of your public lands, just like
the Montana kids do. This is very real right now.
It's happening. It's not hyperbole, okay, gang, It's really happening
(03:35):
right now. Your elected officials are trying to wade through
this stuff. They need your support in letting them know
how to do the right thing. Don't give up on
our public lands. Moving on to the Washington d C desk,
we're going to start with some good news. US Fish
and Wildlife Service announced it would rehire fired probationary employees
(03:58):
and pay their back pay. The announcement comes on the
heels of a decision by a US District Court judge
who found that the mass layoffs were illegal. The Trump
administration appealed the case to the ninth US Circuit Court
of Appeals, but that court refused to halt the order.
I'm sure the Trump administration will appeal the ruling up
to the Supreme Court, but for now, thousands of fired
public lands employees have their jobs back, along with all
(04:21):
the paychecks they missed. That's especially good news for a
program that we've talked about here previously our interview with
Doug Austin of the American Fisheries Society. He mentioned a
sea lamprey control program on the Great Lakes staffed by
US Fish and Wildlife Service employees. Many of these employees
got fired in the mass layoffs and Great Lakes anglers
(04:41):
worried that sea lampreys would be allowed to once again
spread out of control. This recent announcement from the Fishing
Wildlife Service means the program should be adequately staffed. Additionally,
water fowlers, the refuge system administered by US Fish and
Wildlife Service is exactly where your duck stamp dollars go.
For longtime listeners, you may recall several instances of understaffed,
(05:04):
underfunded refuges having to shut down or partially shut down
hunter access prior to this. This reversal should be a
win for migratory birds and migratory bird hunters. In less
good news, the Department of Interior is releasing details about
a plan we covered last week that aims to build
so called affordable housing on public land. In an interview
(05:28):
with Bloomberg Law, BLM Acting Director John Raby said the
agency has identified four hundred thousand acres four potential housing projects.
He said they're looking at all federal lands within a
radius of ten miles of cities and towns with populations
greater than five thousand people. The BLM manages about two
hundred and forty five million acres, so that's a pretty
small percentage of that total. Raby also clarified that the
(05:50):
plan does not call for lands to be divested. Instead,
he said, quote, it's an opportunity for us to do
something meaningful that will address really big challenges we have.
This is largely what public land advocates expected when Interior
Secretary Doug Burgham announced the plan last month. No one
wants to see residential neighborhoods in the middle of the
(06:10):
national parks. At the same time, towns with populations of
five thousand people aren't exactly major metropolitan areas. Hunters and
anglers should keep both eyes open as specific parcels are
proposed for housing sites. Burgham's announcement was about more than
just identifying and building on public land using the normal process.
He wants to see the process streamlined, which could mean
(06:32):
less public input, and, as we covered the previous week,
could also mean not going through the typical land evaluation
process that lets the American people know what they're losing.
That's why we really need to be tracking, and that's
exactly what we'll be doing here on Cows. We can review.
Every taxpayer should be invested and concerned over the use
of any acre of public land. On the chopping block.
(06:55):
The four hundred thousand acres in question have gone through
both NIPA National Environment Policy Act and the Federal Land
Policy Management Act, which the combination of the two are
basically an assessment of the ground which determines its ecological
value and value to the American people and FLIPMA. Federal
Land Policy Management Act is the mechanism which provides the
(07:18):
structure and outline for selecting ground to be sold. Broad terms,
but basically it now, we the American people, know this
is happening. It's going to happen. What we need to do.
Our job is to demand to know how it's going
to be used, how the land is going to be
used to best serve the American people, minus fraud, abuse,
(07:43):
and of course with efficiency. What is being done to
maximize this round of disposal to prevent the next round
from happening? And friends and neighbors, you better believe that
the next round of land sales is being planned right
now before this one's out of the game. All fingers
pointing at our buddy Mike Lee for that. It's a
(08:03):
good time to remind you that since the inception of
National Forests, public lands, people and organized interests have wanted
those lands, and since the very beginning they've used the
exact same excuses that we're getting right now. Nothing's really changed,
nothing will change in the future, which is why we
(08:24):
need to demand proper guidelines, proper systems to say, Okay,
if you get this right now, what are you going
to do to maximize this and prevent this so called
need from arising again? And we're not getting that, not
from any one of these politicians. They haven't even defined
affordable housing median income home here in the Greater bos
(08:46):
Angelis metropolitan Area nine and forty nine thousand dollars, that
is affordable housing for a certain group of individuals. Right.
It is absolutely not affordable housing for me or anybody
I know. That's just one example of why we have
got to ask some questions or else the floodgates are
(09:09):
going to open and we're just going to lose more
than we should. Moving on to the legislation desk, and
Michigan lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require a
game warden to get a warrant before entering private property.
HB four zero seven to three was proposed by State Rep.
Dave Preston of the Central Upper Peninsula. He says his
(09:30):
constituents have complained to him about game wardens entering their
properties without permission, and he wants to see that end.
Current law follows the open fields doctrine, which should sound
familiar to regular listeners of this show. The open fields
doctrine allows law enforcement to search someone's property outside that
property owner's curtilage, which is the area immediately surrounding the home.
(09:52):
The Supreme Court has ruled these searches do not violate
the Fourth Amendment. Game Wardens also have a special need
to enter private property, since wildlife is owned by the public,
not the landowner. Michigan House Bill for zero seven three
would change that. In the Minton State. It would require
game wardens to obtain a warrant to enter private property
in all but two cases, if the game wardens believe
(10:13):
delaying a search would result in the destruction of evidence
or an individual will be endangered, or if they are
in hot pursuit of a criminal. This bill is currently
before the Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism. Over in Illinois,
House Bill eighteen seventy three would be an enormous win
for access, specifically water access in the Land of Lincoln.
(10:35):
This bill would make it so that any segment of
a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting
use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part
of the year will be open to public access and use.
These public uses include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and waiting.
Many other states have similar laws on the books, but
Illinois isn't one of them. If you live in Illinois
(10:56):
or like to fish there, give your state legislators a call.
Thanks to Colton Boomgarden for sending this one in a bill.
In Oklahoma, it would allow the Department of Wildlife and
Conservation to issue five mounta lion tags per year via raffle.
Is currently illegal to hunt mounta lions in the state,
though residents can kill them if they are damaging property
(11:17):
or livestock. A hunting season might sound like a good idea,
but it's unclear right now whether these five permit holders
would have any cats to hunt. There have been only
eighty one confirmed mountain lion sightings in the Sooner state
since two thousand and two, which, for those counting, is
only about three and a half sightings on average per year.
The Department of Wildlife conservations say that these sightings are
(11:37):
of loan individuals and there is no evidence of a
viable breeding population. I'm not sure what's motivating this bill,
but it's enjoyed plenty of support. Senate Bill one zero
seven to three past the Senate by a wide margin
and has not yet been assigned to a House committee.
The Washington State Department of Fishing Wildlife just adopted a
(11:58):
new set of rules that outlaw hunting over bait for elk, deer,
and moose. Current rags allow hunters to use bait as
long as the amount of bait accessible to wildlife does
not exceed ten gallons and is more than two hundred
yards from another known bait site. But these new rules
outlaw baiting entirely, including the use of scent lures. In
an announcement, the department said that the new rules are
(12:20):
necessary to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease. CWD
was first detected in eastern Washington eight months ago, but
the baiting ban applies statewide, the department said quote even
though CWD has only currently been detected in eastern Washington,
the state wide bands prevent undetected diseased outbreaks from spreading
between populations. Research has proven that CWD spreads more quickly
(12:43):
when animals congregate together, which is what the baiting ban
is designed to mitigate. Along with the baiting ban, the
agency has also adopted new restrictions on moving carcasses, and
hunters will be required to get their deer, elk, and
moose tested for CWD if they're harvested in the eastern
region of the state. Scanning through the public comments on
this proposal, it looks like Washingtonians are split. There are
(13:04):
plenty of non hunters who support the rule and criticize
anyone who uses bait to hunt. There are also some
hunters who voice support and said some versions of I
don't need debate to kill an animal, but some also
oppose the rule. I read a comment from someone who
claimed to be a disabled VET saying that baiting allows
him to hunt even though he isn't able to hike
through the woods. Others wondered why the band needs to
(13:25):
be statewide when CWD has only been detected in small areas. Still,
others voice suspicion that this rule is just another way
Washington State Wildlife officials are trying to limit hunting. But
whatever you think about a baiting ban, it's too late
to change it. The new restrictions will take effect April
twenty fourth. Last one for you. A few weeks ago,
(13:48):
I told you about a new bill passed by the
Utah legislature that would increase non resident hunting license fees
by as much as one hundred percent. It's true that
the tables included in the budget bill did not call
for those kinds of increases, but the Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources is saying not so fast. In an email
sent to members of the media, the agency claims that
non resident fees are not actually being increased by that much.
(14:10):
For example, non resident three hundred and sixty five day
phishing licenses will increase from ninety four dollars to one
hundred and twenty dollars for adults, and combination licenses will
go from one to fifty to one ninety for adults.
That's good news for non resident hunters, but some of
the increases will be more significant. The agency admitted that
non resident buck deer permits for general season hunts will
(14:33):
increase from four hundred and eighteen dollars to five hundred
ninety nine dollars and limited entry permits will increase from
six hundred and seventy dollars to one thousand, seventy dollars.
Non resident bowl elk permits for general season hunts will
increase from six hundred and thirteen dollars to eight hundred
and forty nine dollars, and limited entry permits will increase
from one thousand fifty to one thousand, nine hundred and
(14:56):
fifty the Department of Wildlife Resources. He's also highlighted another
bill the legislature passed to put further restrictions on hunting guides.
What stuck out to me is the creation of a
new guide category called a spotter. A spotter will have
to be licensed and pay a fee to the Department
of Wildlife Resources, and includes anyone who is quote compensated
(15:17):
by a guide or outfitter to locate or monitor the
location of protected wildlife on public land. For those of
you who don't know, for high dollar tags big old narley, mule, deer,
el sheep, certainly, it has become quite common to have
a moderate to large force of people who are not
(15:39):
guiding the hunter out in the woods, mountains, fields, spotting
for specific trophy class animals. Yeah, I have my own opinions.
I would love it if folks who have more experience
with this would write in askcl at the Meat Eater
dot com. I'd love to get you on the show
to talk this through. So this bill also limits how
(16:03):
many spotters you can have in the field, and I
think that's very telling of what the public thinks of
this practice. Moving on to the Canine crime Desk, I
recently received an email from listener Paul McCallister about a
sad story of a couple of hound dogs here in Montana.
A houndsman in the Paradise Valley recently lost two of
(16:24):
his walker hounds, Boone and Boone was eleven years old
and Bandit was nine. They were last seen on a
trailhead all the way back in January. Their owner posted
on social media asking for the public's help finding them,
and tons of people got involved, including lost pet groups
from across the country. Then two months later, the owners
received a call about a walker hound's body that was
(16:45):
found in a nearby river. The dog turned out to
be Bandit, and his owner was shocked to discover that
he had a gunshot wound. Looks like someone shot the
dog and threw him in the river. He assumes that
Boone met the same fate, but that dog has not
yet been found. Now they're trying to find the person
who did this. For you, local folks. The dogs went
missing on Old Yellowstone Trail Road at the Sphinx Creek
trailhead south of tom Minor. Anyone with information should call
(17:09):
Park County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Taylor. Four six two two
two four one seven two. Let's see if we can
figure out who's responsible. Won't bring those dogs back, but
at least the family can get a little closure. Moving
on to the confirmation desk, the US Senate held confirmation
hearings last week for President Trump's pick to lead the
(17:31):
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brian Nesvick. Took questions from
senators and tried to convince them that he's the man
to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service as its nineteenth director.
Neswick has worked for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
for the last thirty years. He served as a Regional
Wildlife Supervisor in chief Game Warden, and was elevated to
lead the agency in twenty nineteen. In his statement to
(17:51):
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public works. He characterized
himself as an experienced leader who would fit right in
among the eight thousand wildlife professionals who served US Fish
and Wildlife Service.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I know how to put tire chains on a four
wheel drive pickup in a snowstorm, how to classify deer
from a helicopter, and how to patrol some of America's
most remote and wild country from a horse.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
And I know how to lead.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Every day, I will lead the employees of the Fish
and Wildlife Service. I know firsthand the dedication of these
incredible people to their profession and their country. If confirmed,
I will execute my charge decisively and work every day
to provide the men and women of the Service with
the leadership that they deserve and the American people expect.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Nesbeck also highlighted some of his proudest accomplishments at the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, one of which was his
work with endangered species.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I'm proud of my work on big game migration corridors,
protecting my state from the scourge of invasive species, and
working with the public and talented wildlife managers to recover
species listed under the ESSA.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
One of Nesvik's most headlined grabbing comments came in relation
to Trump's America First agenda. Rather than characterizing that agenda
as at odds with protecting wildlife and habitat, he sees
those things as working hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
President Trump's America First Agenda includes building a government that
better serves the citizens of our country, and there are
immediate and transformational opportunities to demonstrate that, improving the service's
interactions with the public, simplifying regulations, accelerating permitting with technology,
and relying more on education, voluntary compliance, and verification.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Whether Nesvick can be an effective defender of wildlife and
ecosystems in an administration bent on cutting costs seems to
depend on who you ask. The Center for Biological Diversity
says Nesvick has a quote extreme record on wildlife issues.
They slam him for not coming down hard enough on
a man who illegally captured a wolf in twenty twenty
four and showed it off at a local bar. They
(19:46):
see Nesvick's nomination as an attack on Wolve's, grizzlies and
other endangered species, and they use his membership in the
Wyoming stock Rowers' Association as evidence for this. The other hand,
Nesvik is seeing support not just from groups aligned with
the Trump agenda. The National autobund Society praised Neswick as
an experienced leader who has shown his dedication to wildlife conservation.
(20:08):
Mike Lahey of the National Wildlife Federation said his organization
quote looks forward to working with Neswick to support and
fund the professionals at the US Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Wildlife Refuge System as they continue to
pursue a science based, collaborative approach to recovering imperiled species.
Thanks in part to this broad basis support, Politico's E
and E News reports that Neswick's nomination is a foregone conclusion.
(20:32):
As you might already know depending on when you listen
to this episode, he'll likely earn support from both Republicans
and Democrats, and I hope he'll earn that trust as
a defender of wildlife and public lands. We'd love to
get him on the podcast, so if anyone out there
can connect me, let's line it up. Moving on to
the gear desk, we often think of complicated honey gear
(20:55):
as a modern problem. If we could only get back
to the way our ancestors did it, we'd go out
in the field with nothing more than a spear and
a loincloth man. Those were the days. Well, a new
study from Texas has thrown some cold water on that
romantic notion. They're in Big Ben National Park archaeologists have
unearthed what they believe could be the oldest intact full
weapon system in North America. Rather than just a few
(21:16):
stone points, this site turned up an entire hunting kit,
which they estimate is about six thousand years old. What
kind of gear was this prehistoric prong horn hunter toting
around the team of researchers found four dart knock ends
that fit against an ancient spear throwing device known as
an addleaddle. They found a straight flying boomerang, six stone
tipped for shafts to connect napped stone points to the addleaddle,
(21:39):
four hardwood four shafts possibly used to deliver poison, and
a partial at laddle. They also found human feces and
a folded, tanned prong horned hide with hair still intact.
Whoever went into that cave folded that hide and put
it on a rock and nobody touched it for six
thousand years, which is insane. I don't know why the
(22:00):
researchers think this represents a complete hunting kit. If hunters
six millennia ago or anything like hunters today, they were
never really satisfied with what they had. They were always
looking for ways to get something a little better, whether
that meant upgrading their tools or weapons, or getting rid
of that stuff that wasn't really necessary. But whatever the
case may be, it's cool to think of that prehistoric
human sitting in that cave taking stock of his gear
(22:23):
and dreaming about the next prong horn hide to add
to his collection. Fun fact for you, you longtime listeners,
know this fossilized feces is a copper light. I'm getting
too over this shit to the news fat. Moving on
to the North Carolina elk desk. For the first time
(22:44):
in modern history, North Carolinians might get a chance to
go out and legally harvest an elk. House Built three
eighty two would allow the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission
to establish an elk hunting season and issue two permets
by raffle and auction for the twenty twenty six hunting season.
In March twenty five, House Bill three eighty two was
reported favorably by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Committee and
(23:06):
is now headed to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
They're only able to consider an elk season thanks to
decades of hard work by wildlife officials and volunteers alike.
After being totally extirpated from North Carolina, the state Wildlife
Resource Commission estimates that they are around two hundred and
fifty elk roaming in a few southern Appalachian counties. This
is enough to sustain a small hunt, which would increase
(23:27):
the visibility and funding for continued conservation efforts. This, by
the way, is one of the reasons these small hunts
are called Even for small populations of game animals, the
hunts generate tons of attention, which in turn generates more
money to keep growing these populations. Anyway, that work will
continue reintroduction efforts that began over twenty years ago. That's
(23:49):
when the National Park Service reintroduced elk from Canada to
the Great Smoky Mountains, and the experiment was deemed a
success in two thousand and eight. This bill passes, North
Carolina will join Tennessee, which raffled nineteen elk hunting permits
this year, in Virginia, which raffled five. That's all I
got for you, this week, remember to write in to
ask cl that's Ascal at the meteater dot com and
(24:12):
let me know what's going on your neck of the woods.
You know we appreciate it. More importantly, get familiar with
your elected officials and their staff right in email, call
say what's happening. You can always give them the old
compliment sandwich. Love what you're doing here. You really need
to work on this. And by the way, thanks for
doing this. I owe a couple of phone calls to
(24:33):
Steve Danes and Ryan Zinky here in Montana for being
on the record not in support of public land sales.
Gotta get that done, all right. That's all I got
for you. Thank you so much and we'll talk to
you next week.
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calahan. Here's
cal The birds are chirping, the days are getting longer,
and the weather is warming up. If you don't live
in Montana, that can only mean one thing. It's that
time of year when your anglers get yelled at by
(00:31):
adults who, as the kids say, these days have no chill.
No chill whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
What killed the dinosaurs, guys.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
The latest example comes from where else, Florida, where a
railroad police officer was caught on camera snapping the fishing
poles of two anglers near the town of Tease or Tice.
The teenagers were casting their lines into a river from
a railroad bridge that's part of an active rail line.
Fishing from the bridge is ill eagle not to mention dangerous,
though they weren't the only ones to do so. In
(01:04):
the video, the officer can be seen handing a backpack
to one of the boys as he grabs the fishing
pole from the other, snaps the rodden half, throws it
in the river, and pulls the boy off the bridge
by his arm. The boys weren't handcuffed for about ten minutes,
but ultimately just given a trespassing warning. You shouldn't trespass fish,
and that officer had every right to get those boys
(01:25):
off the bridge. I'm sure it's job depended on it,
but breaking their fishing poles struck many, including myself, as
a bridge too far. That's why a local nonprofit out
of Tampa Bay is about to replace the boys fishing gear.
So I guess that's something This week, We've got the
FEDS legislation dogs in North Carolina ELK. But first I'm
going to tell you about my week, and I am
(01:45):
just going to make this short. Public lands and access
to them are on my mind. Every walk I take
every day is on public lands. Snort is tracking sent
through the snow that's piling up here in Montana on
public ground. It's a joy to watch every time. You
don't have to use this stuff, but you do need
(02:07):
to let your elected officials know you care about it.
It's working for you all the time, even if you're
not out living on it or recreating on it or
making a living on it. Specifically, get a hold of
Dan Sullivan of Alaska, who says the idea of selling
public lands is great Bruce Westerman of Arkansas, who has
(02:28):
actually been on this here podcast. He's a forester. I
think he's got a good head on his shoulders, but
he needs some support from all of us public land
to advocates and people who just generally like good old
American freedom. Writ in Old Bruce and tell him that
every acre is important. Likewise, Senator Hoven in North Dakota,
(02:52):
who recently said Montana people just think differently about public lands.
If you feel slighted when you hear that in North dakotins,
and I know a lot of you do, because you
hunt on public lands, and you travel and camp on
public lands, and even though you don't have a lot
of federally managed public lands in your state, you go
to states that do have them, and you enjoy that
(03:13):
stuff being there, even if you don't use it. Every year,
You folks and everybody else, please write in to John
Hooven in North Dakota and let that fellow know that
you think very highly of your public lands, just like
the Montana kids do. This is very real right now.
It's happening. It's not hyperbole, okay, gang, It's really happening
(03:35):
right now. Your elected officials are trying to wade through
this stuff. They need your support in letting them know
how to do the right thing. Don't give up on
our public lands. Moving on to the Washington d C desk,
we're going to start with some good news. US Fish
and Wildlife Service announced it would rehire fired probationary employees
(03:58):
and pay their back pay. The announcement comes on the
heels of a decision by a US District Court judge
who found that the mass layoffs were illegal. The Trump
administration appealed the case to the ninth US Circuit Court
of Appeals, but that court refused to halt the order.
I'm sure the Trump administration will appeal the ruling up
to the Supreme Court, but for now, thousands of fired
public lands employees have their jobs back, along with all
(04:21):
the paychecks they missed. That's especially good news for a
program that we've talked about here previously our interview with
Doug Austin of the American Fisheries Society. He mentioned a
sea lamprey control program on the Great Lakes staffed by
US Fish and Wildlife Service employees. Many of these employees
got fired in the mass layoffs and Great Lakes anglers
(04:41):
worried that sea lampreys would be allowed to once again
spread out of control. This recent announcement from the Fishing
Wildlife Service means the program should be adequately staffed. Additionally,
water fowlers, the refuge system administered by US Fish and
Wildlife Service is exactly where your duck stamp dollars go.
For longtime listeners, you may recall several instances of understaffed,
(05:04):
underfunded refuges having to shut down or partially shut down
hunter access prior to this. This reversal should be a
win for migratory birds and migratory bird hunters. In less
good news, the Department of Interior is releasing details about
a plan we covered last week that aims to build
so called affordable housing on public land. In an interview
(05:28):
with Bloomberg Law, BLM Acting Director John Raby said the
agency has identified four hundred thousand acres four potential housing projects.
He said they're looking at all federal lands within a
radius of ten miles of cities and towns with populations
greater than five thousand people. The BLM manages about two
hundred and forty five million acres, so that's a pretty
small percentage of that total. Raby also clarified that the
(05:50):
plan does not call for lands to be divested. Instead,
he said, quote, it's an opportunity for us to do
something meaningful that will address really big challenges we have.
This is largely what public land advocates expected when Interior
Secretary Doug Burgham announced the plan last month. No one
wants to see residential neighborhoods in the middle of the
(06:10):
national parks. At the same time, towns with populations of
five thousand people aren't exactly major metropolitan areas. Hunters and
anglers should keep both eyes open as specific parcels are
proposed for housing sites. Burgham's announcement was about more than
just identifying and building on public land using the normal process.
He wants to see the process streamlined, which could mean
(06:32):
less public input, and, as we covered the previous week,
could also mean not going through the typical land evaluation
process that lets the American people know what they're losing.
That's why we really need to be tracking, and that's
exactly what we'll be doing here on Cows. We can review.
Every taxpayer should be invested and concerned over the use
of any acre of public land. On the chopping block.
(06:55):
The four hundred thousand acres in question have gone through
both NIPA National Environment Policy Act and the Federal Land
Policy Management Act, which the combination of the two are
basically an assessment of the ground which determines its ecological
value and value to the American people and FLIPMA. Federal
Land Policy Management Act is the mechanism which provides the
(07:18):
structure and outline for selecting ground to be sold. Broad terms,
but basically it now, we the American people, know this
is happening. It's going to happen. What we need to do.
Our job is to demand to know how it's going
to be used, how the land is going to be
used to best serve the American people, minus fraud, abuse,
(07:43):
and of course with efficiency. What is being done to
maximize this round of disposal to prevent the next round
from happening? And friends and neighbors, you better believe that
the next round of land sales is being planned right
now before this one's out of the game. All fingers
pointing at our buddy Mike Lee for that. It's a
(08:03):
good time to remind you that since the inception of
National Forests, public lands, people and organized interests have wanted
those lands, and since the very beginning they've used the
exact same excuses that we're getting right now. Nothing's really changed,
nothing will change in the future, which is why we
(08:24):
need to demand proper guidelines, proper systems to say, Okay,
if you get this right now, what are you going
to do to maximize this and prevent this so called
need from arising again? And we're not getting that, not
from any one of these politicians. They haven't even defined
affordable housing median income home here in the Greater bos
(08:46):
Angelis metropolitan Area nine and forty nine thousand dollars, that
is affordable housing for a certain group of individuals. Right.
It is absolutely not affordable housing for me or anybody
I know. That's just one example of why we have
got to ask some questions or else the floodgates are
(09:09):
going to open and we're just going to lose more
than we should. Moving on to the legislation desk, and
Michigan lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require a
game warden to get a warrant before entering private property.
HB four zero seven to three was proposed by State Rep.
Dave Preston of the Central Upper Peninsula. He says his
(09:30):
constituents have complained to him about game wardens entering their
properties without permission, and he wants to see that end.
Current law follows the open fields doctrine, which should sound
familiar to regular listeners of this show. The open fields
doctrine allows law enforcement to search someone's property outside that
property owner's curtilage, which is the area immediately surrounding the home.
(09:52):
The Supreme Court has ruled these searches do not violate
the Fourth Amendment. Game Wardens also have a special need
to enter private property, since wildlife is owned by the public,
not the landowner. Michigan House Bill for zero seven three
would change that. In the Minton State. It would require
game wardens to obtain a warrant to enter private property
in all but two cases, if the game wardens believe
(10:13):
delaying a search would result in the destruction of evidence
or an individual will be endangered, or if they are
in hot pursuit of a criminal. This bill is currently
before the Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism. Over in Illinois,
House Bill eighteen seventy three would be an enormous win
for access, specifically water access in the Land of Lincoln.
(10:35):
This bill would make it so that any segment of
a lake, river, or stream that is capable of supporting
use by commercial or recreational watercraft for a substantial part
of the year will be open to public access and use.
These public uses include boating, tubing, fishing, swimming, and waiting.
Many other states have similar laws on the books, but
Illinois isn't one of them. If you live in Illinois
(10:56):
or like to fish there, give your state legislators a call.
Thanks to Colton Boomgarden for sending this one in a bill.
In Oklahoma, it would allow the Department of Wildlife and
Conservation to issue five mounta lion tags per year via raffle.
Is currently illegal to hunt mounta lions in the state,
though residents can kill them if they are damaging property
(11:17):
or livestock. A hunting season might sound like a good idea,
but it's unclear right now whether these five permit holders
would have any cats to hunt. There have been only
eighty one confirmed mountain lion sightings in the Sooner state
since two thousand and two, which, for those counting, is
only about three and a half sightings on average per year.
The Department of Wildlife conservations say that these sightings are
(11:37):
of loan individuals and there is no evidence of a
viable breeding population. I'm not sure what's motivating this bill,
but it's enjoyed plenty of support. Senate Bill one zero
seven to three past the Senate by a wide margin
and has not yet been assigned to a House committee.
The Washington State Department of Fishing Wildlife just adopted a
(11:58):
new set of rules that outlaw hunting over bait for elk, deer,
and moose. Current rags allow hunters to use bait as
long as the amount of bait accessible to wildlife does
not exceed ten gallons and is more than two hundred
yards from another known bait site. But these new rules
outlaw baiting entirely, including the use of scent lures. In
an announcement, the department said that the new rules are
(12:20):
necessary to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease. CWD
was first detected in eastern Washington eight months ago, but
the baiting ban applies statewide, the department said quote even
though CWD has only currently been detected in eastern Washington,
the state wide bands prevent undetected diseased outbreaks from spreading
between populations. Research has proven that CWD spreads more quickly
(12:43):
when animals congregate together, which is what the baiting ban
is designed to mitigate. Along with the baiting ban, the
agency has also adopted new restrictions on moving carcasses, and
hunters will be required to get their deer, elk, and
moose tested for CWD if they're harvested in the eastern
region of the state. Scanning through the public comments on
this proposal, it looks like Washingtonians are split. There are
(13:04):
plenty of non hunters who support the rule and criticize
anyone who uses bait to hunt. There are also some
hunters who voice support and said some versions of I
don't need debate to kill an animal, but some also
oppose the rule. I read a comment from someone who
claimed to be a disabled VET saying that baiting allows
him to hunt even though he isn't able to hike
through the woods. Others wondered why the band needs to
(13:25):
be statewide when CWD has only been detected in small areas. Still,
others voice suspicion that this rule is just another way
Washington State Wildlife officials are trying to limit hunting. But
whatever you think about a baiting ban, it's too late
to change it. The new restrictions will take effect April
twenty fourth. Last one for you. A few weeks ago,
(13:48):
I told you about a new bill passed by the
Utah legislature that would increase non resident hunting license fees
by as much as one hundred percent. It's true that
the tables included in the budget bill did not call
for those kinds of increases, but the Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources is saying not so fast. In an email
sent to members of the media, the agency claims that
non resident fees are not actually being increased by that much.
(14:10):
For example, non resident three hundred and sixty five day
phishing licenses will increase from ninety four dollars to one
hundred and twenty dollars for adults, and combination licenses will
go from one to fifty to one ninety for adults.
That's good news for non resident hunters, but some of
the increases will be more significant. The agency admitted that
non resident buck deer permits for general season hunts will
(14:33):
increase from four hundred and eighteen dollars to five hundred
ninety nine dollars and limited entry permits will increase from
six hundred and seventy dollars to one thousand, seventy dollars.
Non resident bowl elk permits for general season hunts will
increase from six hundred and thirteen dollars to eight hundred
and forty nine dollars, and limited entry permits will increase
from one thousand fifty to one thousand, nine hundred and
(14:56):
fifty the Department of Wildlife Resources. He's also highlighted another
bill the legislature passed to put further restrictions on hunting guides.
What stuck out to me is the creation of a
new guide category called a spotter. A spotter will have
to be licensed and pay a fee to the Department
of Wildlife Resources, and includes anyone who is quote compensated
(15:17):
by a guide or outfitter to locate or monitor the
location of protected wildlife on public land. For those of
you who don't know, for high dollar tags big old narley, mule, deer,
el sheep, certainly, it has become quite common to have
a moderate to large force of people who are not
(15:39):
guiding the hunter out in the woods, mountains, fields, spotting
for specific trophy class animals. Yeah, I have my own opinions.
I would love it if folks who have more experience
with this would write in askcl at the Meat Eater
dot com. I'd love to get you on the show
to talk this through. So this bill also limits how
(16:03):
many spotters you can have in the field, and I
think that's very telling of what the public thinks of
this practice. Moving on to the Canine crime Desk, I
recently received an email from listener Paul McCallister about a
sad story of a couple of hound dogs here in Montana.
A houndsman in the Paradise Valley recently lost two of
(16:24):
his walker hounds, Boone and Boone was eleven years old
and Bandit was nine. They were last seen on a
trailhead all the way back in January. Their owner posted
on social media asking for the public's help finding them,
and tons of people got involved, including lost pet groups
from across the country. Then two months later, the owners
received a call about a walker hound's body that was
(16:45):
found in a nearby river. The dog turned out to
be Bandit, and his owner was shocked to discover that
he had a gunshot wound. Looks like someone shot the
dog and threw him in the river. He assumes that
Boone met the same fate, but that dog has not
yet been found. Now they're trying to find the person
who did this. For you, local folks. The dogs went
missing on Old Yellowstone Trail Road at the Sphinx Creek
trailhead south of tom Minor. Anyone with information should call
(17:09):
Park County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Taylor. Four six two two
two four one seven two. Let's see if we can
figure out who's responsible. Won't bring those dogs back, but
at least the family can get a little closure. Moving
on to the confirmation desk, the US Senate held confirmation
hearings last week for President Trump's pick to lead the
(17:31):
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brian Nesvick. Took questions from
senators and tried to convince them that he's the man
to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service as its nineteenth director.
Neswick has worked for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
for the last thirty years. He served as a Regional
Wildlife Supervisor in chief Game Warden, and was elevated to
lead the agency in twenty nineteen. In his statement to
(17:51):
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public works. He characterized
himself as an experienced leader who would fit right in
among the eight thousand wildlife professionals who served US Fish
and Wildlife Service.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I know how to put tire chains on a four
wheel drive pickup in a snowstorm, how to classify deer
from a helicopter, and how to patrol some of America's
most remote and wild country from a horse.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
And I know how to lead.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Every day, I will lead the employees of the Fish
and Wildlife Service. I know firsthand the dedication of these
incredible people to their profession and their country. If confirmed,
I will execute my charge decisively and work every day
to provide the men and women of the Service with
the leadership that they deserve and the American people expect.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Nesbeck also highlighted some of his proudest accomplishments at the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department, one of which was his
work with endangered species.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I'm proud of my work on big game migration corridors,
protecting my state from the scourge of invasive species, and
working with the public and talented wildlife managers to recover
species listed under the ESSA.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
One of Nesvik's most headlined grabbing comments came in relation
to Trump's America First agenda. Rather than characterizing that agenda
as at odds with protecting wildlife and habitat, he sees
those things as working hand in hand.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
President Trump's America First Agenda includes building a government that
better serves the citizens of our country, and there are
immediate and transformational opportunities to demonstrate that, improving the service's
interactions with the public, simplifying regulations, accelerating permitting with technology,
and relying more on education, voluntary compliance, and verification.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Whether Nesvick can be an effective defender of wildlife and
ecosystems in an administration bent on cutting costs seems to
depend on who you ask. The Center for Biological Diversity
says Nesvick has a quote extreme record on wildlife issues.
They slam him for not coming down hard enough on
a man who illegally captured a wolf in twenty twenty
four and showed it off at a local bar. They
(19:46):
see Nesvick's nomination as an attack on Wolve's, grizzlies and
other endangered species, and they use his membership in the
Wyoming stock Rowers' Association as evidence for this. The other hand,
Nesvik is seeing support not just from groups aligned with
the Trump agenda. The National autobund Society praised Neswick as
an experienced leader who has shown his dedication to wildlife conservation.
(20:08):
Mike Lahey of the National Wildlife Federation said his organization
quote looks forward to working with Neswick to support and
fund the professionals at the US Fish and Wildlife Service
and the National Wildlife Refuge System as they continue to
pursue a science based, collaborative approach to recovering imperiled species.
Thanks in part to this broad basis support, Politico's E
and E News reports that Neswick's nomination is a foregone conclusion.
(20:32):
As you might already know depending on when you listen
to this episode, he'll likely earn support from both Republicans
and Democrats, and I hope he'll earn that trust as
a defender of wildlife and public lands. We'd love to
get him on the podcast, so if anyone out there
can connect me, let's line it up. Moving on to
the gear desk, we often think of complicated honey gear
(20:55):
as a modern problem. If we could only get back
to the way our ancestors did it, we'd go out
in the field with nothing more than a spear and
a loincloth man. Those were the days. Well, a new
study from Texas has thrown some cold water on that
romantic notion. They're in Big Ben National Park archaeologists have
unearthed what they believe could be the oldest intact full
weapon system in North America. Rather than just a few
(21:16):
stone points, this site turned up an entire hunting kit,
which they estimate is about six thousand years old. What
kind of gear was this prehistoric prong horn hunter toting
around the team of researchers found four dart knock ends
that fit against an ancient spear throwing device known as
an addleaddle. They found a straight flying boomerang, six stone
tipped for shafts to connect napped stone points to the addleaddle,
(21:39):
four hardwood four shafts possibly used to deliver poison, and
a partial at laddle. They also found human feces and
a folded, tanned prong horned hide with hair still intact.
Whoever went into that cave folded that hide and put
it on a rock and nobody touched it for six
thousand years, which is insane. I don't know why the
(22:00):
researchers think this represents a complete hunting kit. If hunters
six millennia ago or anything like hunters today, they were
never really satisfied with what they had. They were always
looking for ways to get something a little better, whether
that meant upgrading their tools or weapons, or getting rid
of that stuff that wasn't really necessary. But whatever the
case may be, it's cool to think of that prehistoric
human sitting in that cave taking stock of his gear
(22:23):
and dreaming about the next prong horn hide to add
to his collection. Fun fact for you, you longtime listeners,
know this fossilized feces is a copper light. I'm getting
too over this shit to the news fat. Moving on
to the North Carolina elk desk. For the first time
(22:44):
in modern history, North Carolinians might get a chance to
go out and legally harvest an elk. House Built three
eighty two would allow the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission
to establish an elk hunting season and issue two permets
by raffle and auction for the twenty twenty six hunting season.
In March twenty five, House Bill three eighty two was
reported favorably by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Committee and
(23:06):
is now headed to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
They're only able to consider an elk season thanks to
decades of hard work by wildlife officials and volunteers alike.
After being totally extirpated from North Carolina, the state Wildlife
Resource Commission estimates that they are around two hundred and
fifty elk roaming in a few southern Appalachian counties. This
is enough to sustain a small hunt, which would increase
(23:27):
the visibility and funding for continued conservation efforts. This, by
the way, is one of the reasons these small hunts
are called Even for small populations of game animals, the
hunts generate tons of attention, which in turn generates more
money to keep growing these populations. Anyway, that work will
continue reintroduction efforts that began over twenty years ago. That's
(23:49):
when the National Park Service reintroduced elk from Canada to
the Great Smoky Mountains, and the experiment was deemed a
success in two thousand and eight. This bill passes, North
Carolina will join Tennessee, which raffled nineteen elk hunting permits
this year, in Virginia, which raffled five. That's all I
got for you, this week, remember to write in to
ask cl that's Ascal at the meteater dot com and
(24:12):
let me know what's going on your neck of the woods.
You know we appreciate it. More importantly, get familiar with
your elected officials and their staff right in email, call
say what's happening. You can always give them the old
compliment sandwich. Love what you're doing here. You really need
to work on this. And by the way, thanks for
doing this. I owe a couple of phone calls to
(24:33):
Steve Danes and Ryan Zinky here in Montana for being
on the record not in support of public land sales.
Gotta get that done, all right. That's all I got
for you. Thank you so much and we'll talk to
you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
Popular Podcasts
40s and Free Agents: NFL Draft Season
Daniel Jeremiah of Move the Sticks and Gregg Rosenthal of NFL Daily join forces to break down every team's needs this offseason.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.