2lumpy
Long Time Member
- Messages
- 8,485
For the record. I've been at war with the Utah DWR, for one reason or another, since 1978 when the DWR attempted to discontinue the mule deer muzzleloader season, in perpetuity. I've fought them in their Board Meetings, their Committee Meetings, their Legislative Meetings, their Federal Meetings, their Public Meeting, their Private Meetings, in their backrooms, in their front rooms, in their bathrooms and their hallways. If anyone has been a harsher critic, I don't know who it would have been.
Now that doesn't by any means suggest that I've been the most successful or that I've won many of the wars. Yes, I've won some skirmishes, for the short term, but very few long term victories.
Director Karpowitz has been in either the backroom or the front room at nearly every one of these fights, either leading the DWR or running the machinery behind those holding the front lines. He has been subject to at least these Directors from the past, Phelps, Day, Provant, Valentine, and Kimball, a half dozen Governors and countless appointed Board Members. He has held ground against thousands of anti-hunting individuals, some of the most powerful ant-hunting, anti-gun, anti-access State, National and International organization in the World. Organizations with larger budgets by far, than any budget the Utah DWR can dream of, with the best hired attorneys these anti?s budgets can buy. He?s held the line against both Republican and Democratic Federally appointed Directors of the Department of the Interior and their anti-wildlife/hunting agendas, regardless of their political persuasion. This, along with daily interruptions from pesky and annoying time sucking local hunters like you and I.
Yes, I know, that's his job. I know, he asked for the job. He gets the check. So he gets the heat, I get it.
During Director Karpowitz career, wildlife, with one exception, has enjoyed exponential species growth and exponential hunting tags and hunting opportunity. How, in the big picture of our hunting lifestyle can that reality garner the kind of criticism and vitriol that his current efforts to fight for and defend the infrastructure and system the DWR and Utah has employed to generate these gains.
My over-arching complaint over these decades of back and forth with Director Karpowitz and the directors before and I suspect after him, have been and will mostly likely continue to be, the decline of the mule deer herd.
Consider for a moment, the hunting opportunity, in Utah, if Director Karopwitz had not grown the populations of elk, sheep, goat, bison, turkey, etc. where would Utah hunting opportunity be today? Whatever number of mule deer you might think we had or didn't have 35 years ago in Utah, or whatever number you believe we have today, is irrelevant in this discussion. What is irrelevant is this reality: at one time Utah had over 200,000 annual deer hunters. We now have less than deer 100,000 hunters. During the same time frame, we have filled the loss of opportunity to hunt deer with an exponential increase in opportunity to hunt other species. The increased opportunity of these other species can, in every instance be directly tied to Director Karpowitiz influence, both as a field biologist or a Department Administrator. If there is any individual, employed within Utah State government, at any leave that has done more to protect, preserve and promote the North American Wildlife Conservation Model I defy you to identify who it would be. To suggest, infer, and/or charge otherwise is either na?ve, misguides, misinformed, or alternatively (may I suggest, veiled) motivated.
Knowing what I know, based on 35 years of battles and person observation, Jim Karpowitz will stay, retire, or cut bait, on his schedule, on his time table and when he and his family decide it's time, and not on your or my schedule. As it should be!
To Director Karpowitz: Thank you for your many years off dedicated service to Utah?s hunting lifestyle. You and I have had our battles, I respect you. I know why you do what you do. While we have differed on mule deer management, I have always admired you and given you credit and always will credit you with growing, preserving and wildlife and hunting opportunity. Yes, public hunting opportunity. Stuck in a world where Utah citizens absolutely refuse and will continue to refuse the funding of the DWR out of general State tax funds, stuck in a world where we continue to have large families supported by single parent incomes, where raising the cost of hunting tags to the general public is both burdensome on family budgets and in conflict with a majority of our citizens who will not tolerate increased government assessed fees or taxes, you sir, have done a magnificent job. I hope you will never ever come to believe that you have not honored, to the highest degree, the honored principals and intent of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model.
Unfortunately most Utah hunters wouldn't know Jim Karpowitz and the great work he has done if they road an elevator to the top floor with him, what a travesty.
With Warmest Regards
DeLoss Chrstensen
Glenwood,Utah
Now that doesn't by any means suggest that I've been the most successful or that I've won many of the wars. Yes, I've won some skirmishes, for the short term, but very few long term victories.
Director Karpowitz has been in either the backroom or the front room at nearly every one of these fights, either leading the DWR or running the machinery behind those holding the front lines. He has been subject to at least these Directors from the past, Phelps, Day, Provant, Valentine, and Kimball, a half dozen Governors and countless appointed Board Members. He has held ground against thousands of anti-hunting individuals, some of the most powerful ant-hunting, anti-gun, anti-access State, National and International organization in the World. Organizations with larger budgets by far, than any budget the Utah DWR can dream of, with the best hired attorneys these anti?s budgets can buy. He?s held the line against both Republican and Democratic Federally appointed Directors of the Department of the Interior and their anti-wildlife/hunting agendas, regardless of their political persuasion. This, along with daily interruptions from pesky and annoying time sucking local hunters like you and I.
Yes, I know, that's his job. I know, he asked for the job. He gets the check. So he gets the heat, I get it.
During Director Karpowitz career, wildlife, with one exception, has enjoyed exponential species growth and exponential hunting tags and hunting opportunity. How, in the big picture of our hunting lifestyle can that reality garner the kind of criticism and vitriol that his current efforts to fight for and defend the infrastructure and system the DWR and Utah has employed to generate these gains.
My over-arching complaint over these decades of back and forth with Director Karpowitz and the directors before and I suspect after him, have been and will mostly likely continue to be, the decline of the mule deer herd.
Consider for a moment, the hunting opportunity, in Utah, if Director Karopwitz had not grown the populations of elk, sheep, goat, bison, turkey, etc. where would Utah hunting opportunity be today? Whatever number of mule deer you might think we had or didn't have 35 years ago in Utah, or whatever number you believe we have today, is irrelevant in this discussion. What is irrelevant is this reality: at one time Utah had over 200,000 annual deer hunters. We now have less than deer 100,000 hunters. During the same time frame, we have filled the loss of opportunity to hunt deer with an exponential increase in opportunity to hunt other species. The increased opportunity of these other species can, in every instance be directly tied to Director Karpowitiz influence, both as a field biologist or a Department Administrator. If there is any individual, employed within Utah State government, at any leave that has done more to protect, preserve and promote the North American Wildlife Conservation Model I defy you to identify who it would be. To suggest, infer, and/or charge otherwise is either na?ve, misguides, misinformed, or alternatively (may I suggest, veiled) motivated.
Knowing what I know, based on 35 years of battles and person observation, Jim Karpowitz will stay, retire, or cut bait, on his schedule, on his time table and when he and his family decide it's time, and not on your or my schedule. As it should be!
To Director Karpowitz: Thank you for your many years off dedicated service to Utah?s hunting lifestyle. You and I have had our battles, I respect you. I know why you do what you do. While we have differed on mule deer management, I have always admired you and given you credit and always will credit you with growing, preserving and wildlife and hunting opportunity. Yes, public hunting opportunity. Stuck in a world where Utah citizens absolutely refuse and will continue to refuse the funding of the DWR out of general State tax funds, stuck in a world where we continue to have large families supported by single parent incomes, where raising the cost of hunting tags to the general public is both burdensome on family budgets and in conflict with a majority of our citizens who will not tolerate increased government assessed fees or taxes, you sir, have done a magnificent job. I hope you will never ever come to believe that you have not honored, to the highest degree, the honored principals and intent of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model.
Unfortunately most Utah hunters wouldn't know Jim Karpowitz and the great work he has done if they road an elevator to the top floor with him, what a travesty.
With Warmest Regards
DeLoss Chrstensen
Glenwood,Utah
