Ken Clegg - is the "professionally" trained biologist - helps manage Deseret Land and Livestock and many, many other private ranches and he is one who is adamant about the age class. He directly challanged the DWR biologists in a professional manner, and he will be at the RAC and BOARD meetings from what i understand.
I have not been afraid to challagne biologists either, over time, there have been several incindences where they have flat been WRONG, and sportsmen have been RIGHT. Just to name one, some folks said there were only 5 lions between American Fork and Hobble Creek - along the face. I told them there were five lions on one kill where teh bighorns were released and i was told i was wrong. Couldn't be, they all have GPS in their brains and never tresppass on another lions territory - taht is what they were taught in shcool.
So, the wildlfie Board did a little experiement and 80 - let me repeat EIGHTY lions were killed along that little face of the mountain in an 18 month period.
There are many great biologists, they work hard, they do great thigns. But there are also many who have sold sportsmen down the river if you will - just look at what the wolves have done, and they were to grow at 5% and just eat teh sick and the weak. FActs are they grew at 25%, inspite of hundreds of wolves being killed, and they have decimated many herds to teh point hunting elk on some units is no longer a desirable experience. And then when hunters quit buying elk tags, the game and fish folks tell us we just are looking in the wrong places !
I have been wrong as well, and when we are, we admit it and move to fix the situation.
Ken Clegg further more says a better way to manage is harvest rate, but the DWR convinced the committee that HArvast rate was to hard to implement, so the next best thing is averaage age.
AVerage age isn't perfect, and as a Chemical engineer i can surely go into the finer points of finite element analysis and can break an "average" down into 1,000 pieces and differentiate all the subtletees. However, time om MM does not allow for this, but would be glad to discuss at the meetings, and unless you have studied math at the collegiate level, it would take 4 years of training to understand anyway.
Incidentally, yesterday, i gave the HOUR powerpoint presentation to about 50 employees at Browing and then took ALL the QUESTIONS. Then, some die hards stayed and we talked in some detail for about another hour of habitat conservation, predator management, average age.
about 16 years ago, a guy used to criticise my writings, pointing out the mistakes in RED. His sportsmen group has done NOTHING, NOTHING for conservation, increaseing herds, fixing habitats, etc. in 16 years. Hey, but the got the grammar exactly correct !
So while the critics are pounding away, SFW and yours truly just locked down $500,000 to protect the wests rapidly decreasing elk herds and is planning a counter offensive with Harvard trained lawyers against the Anti-hunting groups who are killing us sportsmen. These groups have 100 times our budgets and have fleets of attorneys and lobbyists that make 5 times what i do. These guys are no smarter - we kicked the ARSE in Prop. 5 Constitutional ammendment. This $500,000 grand will anchor a $5 to $10 million effort over the next few montths to save the wests elk herds and moose herds, which in many areas are about gone. The Lolo herd counts just came out and it should scare the heck out of every sportsmen to see what wolves can do in a SHORT TIME.
They however at least have "members" who are intelligent and don't spend their time trying to character assasinate those who are leading their cause to victory.
Several of the Browning employees - after the two hour meeting signed up and our members of SFW now, now that they took the time to really understand what, how and why SFW does what it does.
The powerpoint is as they say, "a Picture is worth a 1,000 words" and they don't lie
So, i look forward to these meetings, which i have now asked Hawkeye to schedule of April 6 and 7. there were just to many conflicts on March 25 and 26.
I already know 20% won't agree no matter what "proof" we give them, thats fine, they can do their thing and we will do ours to quote a little M G.
I will not comment on the Antelope ISland story - MIke Styler is a GREAT man, the most avid sportsmen to be in the DNR Directors job, explains the AI story, then the posters still hammers me and him.
Founder, SFW has done 100 things correct, won some major battles for YOU and all ELK and DEER hunters. Yet, with all the bitterness and hatred, you ask me to solve yet one more problem ?
NOpe, go find someone else to try, and then i will sit back and throw stones at their efforts.
I am staying focused like a lazer beam to win the wolf war, if we don't this year, it will be to late.
So, i got $500,000 for that effort today, how much are you all going to add in ?
