This is the way that it should be, sound management along with solid scientific support with no emotional, knee jerk reactions which only will serve special interests.

It’s a fair enough point, Michael, and your skepticism is well received, but no, I’m much less concerned that giving decisions regarding wildlife management, hunting, and fishing back to the F&G Commission than I was with having that power in the hands of the cities and counties.

Sure, there’s always the risk that antis could get a stronger foothold in the F&G Commission and in DFG, but that’s a only a risk. As sportsmen and voters, it is up to us to stay vigilant and vocal should that appear to happen, and for us to step up and take very real action to set it right, both in the State and Federal courts if necessary. But right now, while F&G has made some boneheaded and misguided decisions along the way, they are still providing hunting and fishing opportunities, and there is still the semblance of biological common sense to most of the laws and regulations.

It’s a simple fact that antis and emotion ALREADY hold strong sway over the city and county bureaucrats, and they influence everything from attempted bans on mourning dove hunts to nixing the doe management hunts recommended by the F&G biologists. They’ve blocked DFG and CWA from trying to manage small predators that prey on nesting waterfowl because there’s an uproar about killing those “cute foxes”, and they’ve shut down or attempted to shut down waterfowl hunting areas in several coastal towns (e.g. Marin and Napa counties). The fight to perform management hunts on the non-native species in the Marin Headlands (fallow deer among them) has cost us, the taxpaying, fee-paying sportsmen, a small fortune, with the result that DFG had to practically sneak in sharpshooters to do the work.

All of this is the case because the counties and cities have a say in wildlife management decisions, but that say is almost NEVER based on science. The F&G Commission and DFG have their warts, but as a whole we, as sportsmen, are a whole lot better off with the reins in their hands than in the hands of city councils and county assemblies.

When this happens, then where will the balanced decision making come from?

I will be watching this unfold with much trepidation!…………..

fighting AB1634 for the past 2 years really has taught me a lot!

Michigan passed a similar bill a few years back, and it has worked in our favor when certain townships and such tried to ban bowhunting and our DNR CONSIDERED THE EVIDENCE and overruled them.

It is well worth the effort of contacting your reps in order to put the outdoor decisions of the state back into the right hands.

I don’t think anyone thought it would get to his desk, but since it has, I wouldn’t be surprised if he signs it.

I did notice that one of the amendments excluded trapping from the provisions, though… a major management tool. One step at a time, though, I guess.

http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email

Or, you can call, write or fax:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )