$1.3 Million for Utah?s Wildlife

[OutdoorWriter]

From UDWR 4/19 press release:


Groups Raise $1.3 Million for Utah?s Wildlife

Conservation permit program provides the funding

Salt Lake City -- Utah?s wildlife received a $1.3 million gift recently. The gift came courtesy of Utah?s conservation permit program. Here?s how the program works:

? The Division of Wildlife Resources allocates a small number of
big game, black bear, cougar and turkey hunting permits to conservation organizations in Utah.

? The groups auction the permits at their yearly banquets.

? After auctioning the permits, at least 90 percent of the money
the groups raise must be used on DWR-approved projects that benefit Utah?s wildlife.

$1.3 million

Seven groups received conservation permits in 2011: Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, the Mule Deer Foundation, the Wild Sheep Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Utah Bowman?s Association.

On April 11, representatives from the seven groups met with DWR biologists to decide which projects the money would be used to fund. A total of 66 projects received more than $1.3 million in funding.

Mike Canning, Habitat Section chief for the DWR, says allowing these groups to auction the permits is a windfall for Utah?s wildlife.
?The amount of money that ends up going into on-the-ground work to help wildlife across Utah is astounding,? he says.

Canning gives some examples of how conservation permit funds are used:

? Much of the money the conservation permit program generates each
year funds habitat projects that are part of Utah?s Watershed Restoration Initiative.

The initiative started in 2005. Since it began, more than $76 million has been used to restore more than 778,000 acres of wildlife habitat across the state.

The conservation permit program provided more than $5.4 million of the
$76 million.

?Our goal is to restore at least 100,000 acres a year so we're providing Utah?s wildlife with the food, cover and other habitat items the wildlife need,? Canning says.

? To transplant bighorn sheep.

? To survey Utah?s elk herds from the air.

? To conduct research projects, such as determining why the growth
of Utah?s moose population has slowed in recent years.

? To build more water collection devices called ?guzzlers.?
Guzzlers provide additional water to wildlife species in some of Utah?s driest areas.

? To learn more about the best ways to construct wildlife-crossing
structures. These structures are vital in helping deer and other wildlife safely cross some of Utah?s most heavily traveled roads.


TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

 

[Tikka]

OH....NO it can't be true!!!!!

Just ask Zimnocchio SFW can't give money back, Zim's got all the answers all...............the way back east in the rice fields.

 

[MulePacker]

"Groups Raise $1.3 Million for Utah?s Wildlife"

"Conservation permit program provides the funding"

Please understand and seperate that this money was not donated to the DWR by the conservation groups!!! This is money they were paid 10% to "raise".

Think about it this way. The neighborhhod kid knocks on your door and offers you a box of chocolates for $15.00 as a fund raiser for the school. Does the kid donate $15.00 to the school? No he helped raise a small percentage for the school while the lions share went back to the manufacturer for cost related to producing the product. This is Utah's conservation permit system. The conservation group knocks, somone buys and they send the proceeds less a commision to the manufacturer. The conservation group did not donate any of the 90% to the DWR, they sold a product the DWR/State manufatures and retured 90% of the amount to the DWR/State. The "Conservation Permit" provided the funding not the "Conservation Organization". If the "Conservation Organization" wants to provide funding to the DWR then give them money from guns, artwork, baked good sales whatever but don't act like being a broker and returning 90% of the money is donating 1.3 million. Otherwise I would have to believe my investment and retirement advisors are providing for my retirement rather than I am earning it and providing them a fee to manage it.

By the way I am an avid supporter of Conservation Groups both in principle and purpose. I just get tired of the misconceptions and misinformation that abound when it comes to the conservation permit program. It is not nor ever was a justification for conservation groups contrary to some great marketing.

 

[stillhunterman]

Yep, good point MulePacker. Personally, I don't much care for the program, but many do.


www.unitedwildlifecooperative.org

 

[OutdoorWriter]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-12 AT 05:23PM (MST)[p]>>Groups Raise $1.3 Million for Utah?s Wildlife"

"Conservation permit program provides the funding"

Please understand and seperate that this money was not donated to the DWR by the conservation groups!!! This is money they were paid 10% to "raise".<<

Unless someone has a reading comprehension program, the release says NOTHING about the groups donating the money. It's clear in the quote above: the "Conservation permit program provides the funding" and that is done by the groups raising $$XXXX via the permits.


TONY MANDILE

How To Hunt Coues Deer

 

[txhunter58]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-12 AT 05:32PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-12 AT 05:32?PM (MST)

So that means that only $1.44 million total dollars was raised from the sale of the "small number" of tags sold? Sounds good, but any checks and balances that can be verified that this is the amount raised?

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)

 

[stillhunterman]

Again, yep, I understand that. I still think MP makes a valid point. I've heard an aweful lot of guys/gals say just what MP was pointing out. BTW, thanks for post, good to know what's been raised this last year.


www.unitedwildlifecooperative.org

 

[Outdoors]

Well alrighty then. Utah should extract another 500 primo tags since is such a "great" way to fund projects. In no time those deer herds will be healthy and 1000s of tags will be placed into to the draw, right? Tags sold to the rich is done for the animals, folks, so has to be as American as apple pie.

 

[MulePacker]

Tony,

I apologize if you felt I was countering your message I was not. I was responding to Tikka's post and the understanding of many Utah sportsman about the program. This is not money that is given by the groups!


And yes there seems to be a problem with reading comprehension with many of Utah's Wildlife policies!

 

[MTQuivers]

Thanks for the post Tony. Great info. Confirms what ALL KNOWLEDGEABLE sportsman know and that is that these conservation permits have done some serious good. SFW and the other groups are not perfect but there is no denying they have done some great things for wildlife.

Anyone who says otherwise is denying the truth

Jason Yates
http://www.BasinArcheryShop.com
5% OFF to all MonsterMuleys.com Members!
Discount code = monstermuleys

 

[PleaseDear]

Before the Koolaid crowd and the Reality crowd get to overwhelming with their 'thoughts' of what Tony felt the need to post?

How about we all adhere to this request from Brian.

"Founder (3129 posts)
Apr-18-12, 10:38 AM (MST)
"PLEASE READ ......... "
I have had a few complaints lately that many of the heated threads turn into name calling, etc. Please people, take it easy! Don't take the debate so seriously and if you can't help it, then please bite your tongue when you want to make comments like that.
Going forward, the moderators and I will be making a greater effort to delete those messages and remove the users who continually post that crap.
I know that with many of these top topics, some are very passionate about them and sometimes make comments that are nothing more than rude and in the end make them look stupid. Please take a deep breathe and post nothing at all if you haven't anything worth a crap to say.

And for all others, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, use that ALERT link below every post on this site if you see something that shouldn't be on this site. It's very difficult for myself and the moderators to read every post, so we really need you guys to help us out and let us know when you see a post that is just some jerk being a jerk. We can get those posts removed and those users booted easily if we know about them. We just need your help.

You all can also use the ALERT to let me know if a thread needs to be moved to another forum. It's very easy. Click on ALERT, make a quick comment why the post or thread should be move or deleted, and hit submit. It'll make it a better place.

Thank you all!!!

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com"



Robb

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-12 AT 07:34PM (MST)[p]"This is not money that is given by the groups!" Mulepacker

You are exactly right. These sportsman groups are simply the facilitators that get paid 10% to do a job that you or I can't do, and the DWR doesn't want to do. It's not "given by the groups". It's given by sportsman that care enough about wildlife to pay astronomical amounts of money for an animal that the DWR values at $2000-$5000 dollars. Can you imagine if poachers were charged the same amount for a trophy tag on the unit they were caught poaching on? Now that would diminish the want to take an animal out of season!

And . . . I had to laugh at your example with the school fund raisers Mulepacker! I know exactly the ones you're referring too. As parents, we came together and got that changed. We no longer participate in the fundraisers that the kids don't reep the vast majority of the funds.

Disclaimer: I am a koolaid drinker to a point. I support some conservation tags just for the simple fact that I, and a lot of my fellow sportsman, can't afford to support those kinds of habitat projects out of our pockets. That being said, I think we have way too many conservation tags and I do believe there needs to be more accountability for funds raised.



It's always an adventure!!!

 

[BattleBorn]

It's nice to see a diverse group of organizations involved in the conservation permit program. Hopefully the approved projects this money funds makes a difference. It's a shame the convention permits aren't handled in the same manner.

 

[Hawkeye]

Lots of people fail to understand the difference between conservation permits and convention permits. I agree that some valuable projects are completed with the 90% of the funds generated from conservation permits. My primary complaint is that there are simply too many of these permits. Utah has 300+ conservation permits--more than all of the other western states combined.

If these permits truly resulted in increased and improved hunting opportunities than Utah would be the "Serengeti of the West," as advertised by some of these conservation groups. Unfortunately, our deer herd is in the tank and I don't think our other species are fairing any better here than in neighboring states. I don't believe that we as sportsmen are realizing enough of a return on our investment 300+ premium tags. Why not cut the number of these tags back to 10-20 like most other western states? The value of the permits would increase and these groups could still fund many valuable projects. Utah has set aside too many conservation permits. Bigger is not always better.

With regard to convention permits, on the other hand, I believe that the statute should be amended to impose a requirement that most, if not all, of the proceeds from these permits be used for approved coonservation projects. Given that one of the express pruposes for these permits is to "generate revenues for wildlife conservation," it is travesty that there is no such requirement.

Hawkeye

Browning A-Bolt 300 Win Mag
Winchester Apex .50 Cal
Mathews Drenalin LD

 

[woodruffhunter]

I hope everything is OK with TOPGUN.

 

[nontypical]

+1,Hawkeye.

 

[sagebrush]

+1 Hawkeye.

How about some legislation that prevents individuals from profitting from the sale of big game tags? True conservation organizations are filled with unpaid volunteers that give of their time, energy and even their wealth to support the conservation efforts. The unsung heroes of wildlife management. Some people have tapped into this segment of society to take advantage of the money that is generated for their own personal benefit.

The profiteers use the same model as a couple of other businesses. Take a good cause where a lot of hardworking, honest volunteers are making a difference, like the care and feeding of orphans. Thousands of volunteers give of their time and money to help children all over the world without the expectation of financial reward. Who can turn down the teary face of an emaciated orphan pleading for food? Along comes the profiteer, sees a good thing and starts his racket. The naive and unsuspecting donate and the profiteer funds just enough to appear legitimate and pockets the rest. Or another of my favorite scams, churches. Church A asks the membership to pay tithes, give other offerings and fund special programs. No one in the church is paid, they are all volunteers with no expectation of financial gain. They are interested in performing the Lord's work. All of the proceeds go toward the advancement of the church, helping widows and orphans, disaster relief and feeding the poor. Church B is run by a profiteer. He provides a place for his parishioners to worship collects the same monies, but that's where the similarities end. He pays a franchise fee to the national organization and keeps the rest to pay for his big house on the hill.

In my opinion, the guys that make money off the backs of starving orphans, posing as a man of God, or posing as a conservationist are all the same. They took something good and worthwhile and perverted it for their own benefit.

What started out as a worthwhile program for wildlife conservation, as Tony pointed out, has now been perverted. Sportsmen and G&F organizations in other states see $76 million being raised and think of all the good that money could do. What they fail to recognize is the risk of the profiteers waiting in the wings to sieze their chance. Sportsmen throughout the west need to be vigilant, demand accountability, and refuse to be lulled by the "at least they do some good" mentality. We can make a difference and see the money gets into the right hands.

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-12 AT 02:13PM (MST)[p]
+1 Hawkeye

For woodruffhunter---I'm just fine, thank you!!!

+100 for sagebrush---That was an excellent post that really equated some other prime examples of what we're talking about and how good things can turn bad, all the while with the "grass root" people getting scammed and not realizing it because they are strictly looking at the good "they" are doing!

 

[billythekid]

topgun and others,

how do you suspect wildlife conservation can be funded w/o the sale of these tags? really, do you believe that your grass roots organization efforts can match these tag sales revenues in the long run? sounds like rick santorum..... we all know what that netted him, nothing..

please expand on your "grass roots" ideas.

 

[sagebrush]

Most recent annual numbers:

Ducks Unlimited $167,300,000
Quail Unlimited $23,307,704
Trout Unlimited $10,674,795
RMEF $6,617,859 membership dues, + $9,325,914 cash donations

Most sportsmen are willing to donate of their wealth for worthy causes. They are also willing to donate of their time and energy. Unfortunately, these same qualities are the ones on which the unscrupulous prey.

None of the above numbers required the sale of one single tag. There are others means to raise funds rather than undermining the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.

 

[TOPGUN]

BTK---I hope you took a look at those big numbers sagebrush posted and read his comments. In addition to that, I would suggest that you look at the other states. They don't have hundreds of tags for sale like you're stating is necessary to get the job done!

 

[fishon]

Jim

You are incorrect in saying that "We cannot generate the money off these tag that the groups can". I proved that wrong when I left one group and went to another. The group I left as well as RMEF and UFNAWS and NWTF all stood in the board meeting and said MDF should not get these tags because they dont have a proven track record of marketing the tags.

Well I seemed to fair fairly well with MDF didn't I? I can assure you these tags will sell for what they sale for REGARDLESS if a group has them or if the DWR had them or if they gave them all to me or you to sell them independently.

So the 1.3 million is nothing special because of the groups. The groups are simply a facilitator for a GREAT WELFARE program.

I am not against the conservation permit program. Now it has become a bit to many permits but the accounting of it I believe is good. The only issue I have with it is the money spent on land from the program and then putting the deed or title in a conservation's groups name. That is the unethical and unmoral part in my opinion.

I will even go so far as saying if the tags are truly about raising the most money for Utah's wildlife I know a way to raise more than these groups are raising. So don't drink to much kool aid Jim, things are not always as they appear.

Tony Abbott
The next buck to have a fawn will be the
1st.

 

[TOPGUN]

I think the big problem here is that the press release started out by saying: "Utah?s wildlife received a $1.3 million gift recently." The use of the word "gift" really stretches what is actually happening with where the money actually came from and who is actually giving that 90% in profits back to the state IMHO! The organization is actually only "holding" money and "returning" what is actually not even their money.

 

[wyowill]

Do these numbers represent their annual revenues, contributions to habitat projects, during that year or what? Just curious to know what the numbers mean. Thanks.

 

[TOPGUN]

wyowill---What numbers are you talking because the only numbers addressed in this thread are the Conservation tags that have the 90% return stipulation attached to whatever organization sells them?

In the press release it states:
The initiative started in 2005. Since it began, more than $76 million has been used to restore more than 778,000 acres of wildlife habitat across the state.
The conservation permit program provided more than $5.4 million of the $76 million.

***This thread has nothing to do with any other money the organization generates and which all the controversy is about on this and many other hunting sites!