It’s that time of year once again to recap the year in stories…..that is stories that I believed to be important issues for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts in general. The importance of these events may not be measured in the number of articles written or the extent to which I covered them but more by what I deem to be of primary concern to all outdoors people.
10). Spent Military Brass – It was a short-lived story but one that exemplified the power that exists behind the firearms and ammunition industry in the country – perhaps the last stronghold against the tyrants working to rob us all of our rights.
The U.S. Government sent out a notice that all spent military brass would be destroyed rather than recycled, a move that would have reduced the ability of companies who reload that spent brass, creating a shortage of ammunition to the American people.
For the whole story, start with this link and follow links in the story for updates.
9). Sonia Sotomayor – The appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court holds potential ramifications for all of us. We know that she is a non supporter of Second Amendment rights and has ruled in lower courts that states do not have to abide by federal gun laws, including the Second Amendment.
We may have a chance early in 2010 to see Justice Sotomayor in action as the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, in which the gun ban in that city is being challenged as unconstitutional, much the same way as District of Columbia v. Heller.
For articles pertaining to Justice Sonia Sotomayer, follow this link and scroll through.
8). “To Catch a Wolf” – As many of you know, I spend a great deal of time discussing wolves here at the Black Bear Blog. It’s not so much about some kind of infatuation with the creature as the political ramifications that effect all Americans.
As a bit of a spin off on the sometimes old and tired topic of wolves and other predators and the onset of wolf hunting seasons in Idaho and Montana, I spent a great deal of time reading and researching more of the world wide history of wolves.
This research included not only the struggles people had with wolves throughout history but also the difficulties encountered in trying to hunt and trap these creatures. The stories ranged from unbelievable, to sad due to loss of life.
I thought it only fitting that with wolf hunting seasons scheduled for the first time in 70 or so years in America, that it would be educational to see how wolves were taken care of many years ago.
“To Catch a Wolf” Part I can be read from this link. There you will find links to all five parts.
7). McDonald v. Chicago – While little has been written about McDonald v. City of Chicago, the importance of this future event becomes Chapter II in the interpretation of the Second Amendment. Chapter I of course being District of Columbia v. Heller.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in this case March 2, 2010. Chicago bans guns much the same way that Washington, D.C. did prior to the Heller case. Almost immediately after Heller, a lawsuit was filed challenging the legal right for the City of Chicago to deny its citizens the right to keep and bear arms.
I suspect that this story may make the top ten stories next year. For more on McDonald v. Chicago, follow this link and scroll through the stories.
6). New Jersey Bears – No, this is not a football team. New Jersey hunters and concerned residents have battled the state of New Jersey over the management of its bear population. New Jersey had a bear hunt to help reduce bear numbers and reduce bear/human encounters. When Jon Corzine became governor, he appointed Lisa Jackson to head up his Environmental department. Under Corzine’s direction, she threw away a court-approved bear management plan and banned all bear hunting.
When Barack Obama became president, he appointed the same Lisa Jackson to head the federal environmental department and Governor Corzine was recently defeated in a run for governor and will be leaving office in January.
At this point in time, the citizens of New Jersey can only wonder what will become of the black bears. Fortunately for everyone, bears have slipped away into winter hibernation but come spring, bears will be awakening. How will the new administration handle its bear management?
Follow this link for stories and information on New Jersey bears.
5). Delta Smelt – The delta smelt is what’s wrong with the Endangered Species Act. The ESA was designed to protect an animal or plant species but not at the expense of humans. Water, necessary for growing crops and keeping residents of California employed and fed, has been withheld in order to hopefully protect a tiny fish.
Questions surround whether the efforts being employed are doing anything to protect the smelt while thousands of Californians are out of work and businesses are failing. The withholding of water has caused a man-made drought that now will take years to recover from the damages done.
Read about the delta smelt with this link.
4). Maine’s Deer Problems – The state of Maine has a shortage of whitetail deer in much of the geographic territory of the state. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been quick to blame a couple of bad winters for the problem, but many question whether that’s really it.
Most will admit that loss of habitat and access to hunting grounds has played a role but little attention is directed at a rapidly growing coyote population and the role of other large predators.
Debates are ongoing and actions are lacking but the future of Maine’s whitetail deer remains in the balance. Some have indicated that the vast majority of the northern half of the state can no longer sustain a whitetail deer population and until efforts are made to rebuild wintering deer habitat, it will be decades, if ever, before that happens.
This past year I did a four-part series on Maine’s deer management problem. You can follow this link to Part I. There you will find links to the other parts and also check out the “related articles” links at the bottom of each page.
Other key articles can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.
3). Firearms Freedom Act – It all began in Montana. With the support of the Montana Legislature and the signature of the governor, Montana had passed into law a bill that essentially said that any gun or accessory manufactured in Montana and remained in Montana was not subject to federal firearms regulations.
This brings to the forefront the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution and a reclaiming of state sovereignty. The passage of this bill will be challenged, no doubt, but Montana took extraordinary steps seeking the ear of the court and requesting a ruling on their bill.
With the overreaching new Obama administration, many people fear the tyrannical pressures being put on states to relinquish their state powers and sovereignty. This has set off a domino effect and now there are 29 states that have either passed, introduced or are planning to introduce a clone of Montana’s Firearms Freedom Act.
Follow this link for more information on a movement that could have overwhelming implications on all Americans.
2). Wolves – Wolf Delisting, Wolf Hunt, Wolf Disease – The topic of wolves in America remains big and emotional. The reason I continue to focus my efforts on this is because it’s strong political ramifications effect all of us. It challenges the core of the Endangered Species Act, it highlights the hypocrisy of the environmentalists who make their living by suing the federal government, while stealing away Americans rights, it has revealed corruption at many levels and without proper constraints, treads on the very rights of free Americans.
Lawsuits affected the delisting of the wolf but eventually Idaho and Montana, if only temporary, gained custody of wolf management and implemented wolf hunts for the first time in about 70 years. Idaho still has a hunt going on as I write this. Pending lawsuits threaten to once again shut down the wolf hunts and take the management away from the states, allowing wolf numbers to grow unchecked while the people sit by watching their elk, deer and moose herds disappear, while giving livestock owners major headaches.
And if all this wasn’t enough, testing of wolves has revealed the animals are full of worms and are spreading the diseases feared by some and ignored by others, before reintroduction.
It appears there may never be an end to this debate. In the meantime Wyoming has been shut out of the delisting process because of politics being played. Lawsuits are pending for Wyoming as well.
You can spend weeks reading the seemingly unending articles on wolves by following this link.
1). Climate Change/Climategate – Although not everyone will admit it, Climategate may prove to be the biggest revelation not only to the world of climate science but the entire scientific community.
Global warming and its causes have been a hot button topic for several years now. As a matter of fact, it has been around long enough now that a majority of people have been indoctrinated to believe that climate change is the result of the influence of man living on this planet. This indoctrination took place in such a way that by the time the entire scientific community became involved, convincing “believers” that the science wasn’t settled became a daunting task.
Aided now in that effort was what is now becoming apparent a whistle blower’s release of emails and documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia that showed fraud, conspiracy and cover-up of scientific data.
Whether you buy into the theory that man’s influence on this planet is warming it or not, or whether you want to believe that the information contained in the emails and documents proves or disproves anything, the fact is that it is quite likely to change how science and specifically scientific research, especially that funded by governments and special interest groups, is conducted and perceived.
For more on Climategate and global warming in general, follow this link.
Tom Remington
