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The
NTA Wildlife Conservation Committee
By John Janelli
As professional taxidermists, one of our utmost concerns should be to keep
our clients out in the field hunting and fishing whenever possible. Even
if we only derive a part time income, we can not maintain our industry
without maintaining our rights to utilize the wild resources of our states,
nation and the rest of the world. Not having the exorbitant resources to
engage expensive lobbyists for the NTA, we can do the next best thing.
That is to align ourselves with the organizations who are in fact on the
front lines and in every circle of litigation where our rights as taxidermists
and hunters are threatened. This single urgency alone should convince
any taxidermist to join and support the NTA. It certainly convinced NTA
president Bill Haynes to establish and circulate the finest team of committee
people ever assembled when recently for the first time in history, the
NTA had to procure a state permit in order to give a trophy preparation
seminar at a major retail outlet. The seminar was canceled not due to the
unexpected spoiled specimens, but do to the fact we could not 'import'
any wild life parts to continue with the work at hand. CWD regulations
had begun to take effect on the ways we not only conduct or taxidermy businesses,
but the way we used to educate the public as well.
Through
the incredible efforts of Conservation Committee member John Jackson, the
NTA has the representation we need to voice our concerns to the issues
that threaten our very existence. As you know, Mr. Jackson is the
tireless dynamo behind Conservation Force. By supporting both Conservation
Force and the CWD Alliance financially and through endorsements, we continue
to reap the beneficial rewards of actually having our own lobbyists where
they do the most good. For example, just name the issue or crisis
and Mr. Jackson is either going are returning from making absolutely sure
that our profession has ample representation where it means the most. He
has immeasurably responded to our needs from every corner of the globe.
The CWD Alliance has placed the NTA with literally every other pro-hunting
organization to increase awareness and prioritize the need for education
about this deadly disease.
Carol Rutkowski of NTA's official sponsor, Coppersmith Brokerage Co. is
no one to be at odds with when it comes to defending the rights of world
wide taxidermists. Our livelihood depends on our clients, Carol's livelihood
depends on taxidermists, it's that simple. When Carol sees an opportunity
to stand up for our industry, my phone usually rings with a tentative date
and time to be some place to tell some one what we need and why we need
it. Her energy to exert maximum accomplishments for taxidermists in boundless.
I only hope I can keep up with these two impeccable NTA work horses.
The war chest for all this is the Conservation Fund. Through it, the NTA
converts dollars into ammo to keep our 'soldiers' in action. The single
most important thing we can do is to help make sure the war chest is always
well endowed. Consider the cost of sending one NTA rep into just
one meeting, hearing or session where our future as taxidermists is at
stake. The tab can exceed several thousand dollars. Yet Conservation
Force makes more trips like that each and every month that are enough to
drain the wealthiest of coffers. My commitment to you, the members is,
as chairman of the NTA Conservation Committee is help keep the war chest
as full as possible. To be where ever it is necessary to observe and report
the issues that need our concern. This is the same commitment that the
NTA was founded upon. How ironic that our founder, Charlie Haynes and our
President Bill Haynes, both endorsed the same priorities.
Urgent
Alerts
Polar
Bear Hunting Ban Moves Forward in Congress
The so-called
“Polar Bear Protection Act” was added to an Interior Appropriations Bill
late last night by Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. This bill would
ban the importation of trophies of polar bears legally taken from healthy
populations in Canada. Stand-alone bills H.R. 2327 and S.R. 1406
would do the same thing. Sportsmen’s groups, including SCI, have
sent a letter to Congress urging them to consider the facts and not support
this bill on its emotional appeal. The attached letter and "Myths
vs. Facts" document explain the whole issue in detail.
An
import ban would harm polar bear conservation and management and would
do nothing to reduce the number of polar bears harvested in Canada.
The native communities who own the polar bear "tags" assigned to them by
the Canadian government would simply use the tags for subsistence purposes
if they couldn't sell the tags to American hunters. A ban also would
severely harm the economic well-being of the native communities that must
live with the polar bear on a day-to-day basis, taking away millions of
dollars from their economy, which provides the incentive for polar bear
conservation and research. SCI, the NRA, the Congressional Sportsmen’s
Foundation, and others are fighting this legislation as it makes its way
to the Senate Floor. Calls, letters,
and e-mails to your representatives in Congress to oppose these anti-hunting
bill would help. Find your legislator
at http://www.senate.gov/ or
http://www.house.gov/ . We will
keep you posted.
Hunting
Numbers Drop Again…
According
to the 2006 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey of outdoor recreation,
the number of anglers has dropped 12 percent since 2001 and the hunter
count has fallen off by 4 percent during the same five-year period. Wildlife
watching, however, is up 8 percent. Migratory bird hunters
dropped a whopping 22 percent while small-game stalkers fell by 12 percent.
The number of big-game hunters has remained relatively stable over the
last half decade, falling only 2 percent. “Though the final report won’t
be available until November of this year, the preliminary findings reveal
a downward pattern that worries many sportsmen: over the last 15 years
or so, millions fewer people have been hunting and fishing in a country
with a rapidly expanding population. There are countless reasons for the
trend, chief among them urbanization and changes in America’s rural culture..
Video games and cable television vie for the attention of young kids, and
their parents can’t find the time or gain access as readily to the nation’s
rapidly disappearing hunting fields and fishing holes.” SCI will
alert its members when the final report is released. (Source: USFWS)
…But
Money Spent on Recreation Increases
“Preliminary
data from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated
Recreation shows the importance of wildlife-related recreation to the American
people. Of all Americans age 16 or older, 30 million or 13 percent fished
and spent $41 billion on their activities, 12.5 million or 5 percent hunted
and spent $23 billion, and 71 million or 31 percent observed wildlife and
spent $45 billion. These numbers do not reflect the entire hunting
fishing and outdoor community, but it gives a solid look at the economic
benefits that are generated through proper wildlife conservation and management
annually. Please click on the link below to read the full article.
http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId=3FCF5C3E-9D8A-682C-8154BFD40A3656AF
(Source: USFWS)
PHASA
Advises Early Form Submission
The required
form that allows foreign individuals to enter the RSA with their firearms
is the SAP form 520. Normally it takes anywhere from 2 - 4 hrs to get firearms
checked through customs, but now PHASA is marketing a service of registering
your firearm early that will help to expedite your time spent in South
Africa's airports. This service is available for $110 from the Professional
Hunters Association of South Africa website, www.phasa.co.za
. Click on "General Hunting Information", then "Temporary Importation of
Firearms," and you will see step by step instructions to walk you through
the process of filling out for your SAP 520. Other organizations
in South Africa offer this service as well so as always, check with your
outfitter before leaving for your hunt.
Canada
to Ban Handguns Part II
“Quebec
seeks to ban firearms in schools and on public transit and will require
gun club owners to report suspicious behavior. The measures are part
of new provincial legislation introduced to control firearms and weapons
in the province. The bill will restrict ownership of semi-automatic weapons
to gun club members; force owners of restricted firearms to leave their
weapons at gun clubs; limit the right of the owner to transport guns from
one place to another; require people to apply for gun permits in person
at a police station and pass an aptitude test; require gun club owners
to report any suspicious or unusual behavior detected among members; require
other professionals, such as physicians and teachers to report suspicious
behavior even if it contradicts doctor-patient or any other confidentiality;
and create gun-free zones on public transit, and at day cares, schools
and colleges. Someone who does not comply with this ban will have to pay
a very high fine of as much as $5,000.” (Source: Yahoo! Canada News and
CTV.ca News)
Group
Files Suit Against Wyoming Wells
“A conservation
group has appealed a federal plan to allow the drilling of 2,000 new wells
in the Atlantic Rim area in Wyoming. The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership appealed the Bureau of Land Management decision to increase
development in the area, which is coveted by hunters for its wildlife.
BLM's plan does not include adequate monitoring to ensure that wildlife
is not harmed, according to the group. TRCP is concerned that the Atlantic
Rim will suffer wildlife losses similar to those seen at the nearby Pinedale
gas fields.” SCI will keep you posted. (Source: Outdoor Wire)
Cape
Cod Hunting Plan Out in July
The National
Park Service hopes to make available to the public by the end of July its
Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") on its Hunting Plan for the
Cape Cod National Seashore. One of the major issues of this Hunting
Plan is whether the Park Service, in conjunction with Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
should continue to hold a pheasant hunt within the Seashore. Before
a lawsuit challenging all hunting in the Seashore halted the pheasant hunt
a few years ago, Massachusetts had held the hunt for about 60 years.
The Park Service preliminarily proposed phasing out the hunt over 15 years
in favor of native bird hunting. SCI filed substantive comments supporting
the reinstatement of the pheasant hunt for as long as hunter and Commonwealth
interest remained. The Park Service likely will take public comment
on the FEIS, then issue a final decision sometime 30 days after publication
of the FEIS. Interested members should be prepared to comment on
the FEIS.
Please
take the time to visit
The
Taxidermist Emergency Relief Fund Site
Mounts
and taxidermy items for sale on
www.taxidermistrelieffund.com
Join
the NTA now!
Call,
write, or e-mail Cindy at NTA Headquarters
NTA
Headquarters
108
Branch Drive
Slidell,
LA 70461
Phone
1-866-662-9054
E-mail:
ntahq@aol.com
Fax:
985-641-9463
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Copyright
© 2001-2008 National Taxidermists Association
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