JuLY 01, 2011 "In The Crosshairs"
July 01, 2011
PA
Board Of Game Commissioners Asks State To Remove Ban On Sunday
Hunting
“On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners passed
a resolution calling on state legislators to remove a ban on Sunday
hunting. The ban is one of the state’s last remaining “blue laws”
that were passed in the 1700s. Pennsylvania Game Commission will
present the resolution to the House Game and Fisheries Committee,
which has been holding public hearings on this issue. The resolution
notes the decline in hunting participation in Pennsylvania, along
with the potential economic benefits to rural areas and businesses.”
(Source: PennLive.com) http://bit.ly/ka9BIN.
SCIF Partners With
International Conservation Caucus Foundation
Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) is honored to
announce their new partnership with the International Conservation
Caucus Foundation (ICCF). SCIF has joined the ICCF as a member of
the prestigious ICCF Conservation Council.
“SCIF is extremely excited to join as a leading partner with a
foundation so completely dedicated to conservation like the ICCF,”
said SCIF President Joseph Hosmer. “SCIF is proud to represent the
sustainable-use community on the Conservation Council. With ICCF’s
emphasis on market-based solutions to our global conservation
challenges, we believe that we are natural partners to promote the
sustained-use and management of natural resources.” (Source: SCI
Press Release) http://bit.ly/j5pWlB.
Wouldn't your child love to catch his or her first fish? Even if
they aren't new to angling, the kids will enjoy fishing in a Foxhall
pond that has been specially-stocked just for them! The EPIC Outdoor
Game Fair promises to be the largest event of its kind focused on
outdoor activities for the entire family. Fishing, shooting,
archery, equestrian events, birding, and more! Join SCIF on Facebook
to stay up to date on all the latest news about the E.P.I.C Game
Fair. http://www.facebook.com/EPICOutdoorGameFair.
Parties Plan High-Level
Wolf Talks In WY
“Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service director nominee Daniel Ashe will visit Wyoming next week to
work toward a deal on delisting Wyoming wolves. Wyoming has been
fighting Fish and Wildlife for years to accept the state's wolf
management plan and remove the state's roughly 300 wolves from the
federal endangered species list.” (Source: trib.com)
http://bit.ly/kOVl2k
Court Deals Blow To SCI’s Effort To Reinstate Beneficial Polar Bear
Imports
Yesterday, a U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. rejected
SCI’s legal efforts to reverse the unwarranted listing of the polar
bear throughout the world. Because of that listing, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service ended imports to the U.S., eliminating the
beneficial sustainable use conservation of the polar bear in Canada
by U.S. hunters. Several parties, including SCI and the State
of Alaska, sued to undo the listing. After years of
hard-fought litigation by the parties, the Court upheld every aspect
of the FWS’s decision. On the positive side, the Court also
rejected the Center for Biological Diversity’s claims that the polar
bear should have been listed as endangered (SCI helped defend
against CBD’s claim). SCI will analyze its appeal options.
SCI is also still pursuing separate litigation trying to reverse the
import ban itself. The Court gave no indication of when it
might rule on this separate challenge.
July
2011 Quarterly Newsletter In 3-D
The Humanitarian Services
July 2011 Quarterly Newsletter in 3-D is
now available. Please
click here or cut and paste the
following link into your browser
http://bit.ly/jDWyYv to read wonderful stories about numerous
projects undertaken recently by our chapters and by individual
members in the realm of the Disabled Hunter, SafariCare/SafariWish,
Sensory Safari and Sportsmen Against Hunger programs.
Public Comments Pour In
On MT Proposed Wolf Hunt
“Public opinion on gray wolves remains sharply split as Montana and
Idaho wildlife officials prepare to resume hunts for the predators
after Congress removed their endangered species protections. More
than 450 people submitted comments on the Montana proposal in recent
weeks. There were an estimated 566 wolves in Montana at the end of
2010. Once this year's pups are factored in, wildlife officials say
the fall hunt will reduce the number by 25 percent to approximately
425 wolves.” (Source: ravallirepublic.com)
http://bit.ly/lYWrui
Safari Club filed comments in support of the hunt and recommended
that Montana use data obtained from the hunters to demonstrate how
hunting increases social tolerance of predator species.
NY’s New Plan For
Deer Hunting
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
has proposed a five-year deer management plan. The plan notes six
primary goals, including promoting and enhancing deer hunting as an
important recreational activity, tradition, and population
management tool.” (Source:
http://1.usa.gov/lXQNrc)
Zimbabwe: Trophy
Hunting, Crocodile Farming Help Rural Poor Adapt
“The mostly dry Chiredzi district in southeastern Zimbabwe will
grow drier as rainfall becomes increasingly uncertain, but trophy
hunting and rearing crocodiles for their meat and skins can become
major money earners to help rural households overcome poverty while
adapting to climate change.” (Source: irinnews.org) http://bit.ly/m7N2xp
Canada:
June-July Newsletter -- Bulletin de juin-juillet
Please click here to view the
exciting 7th Edition (June-July) of your 3D Online SCI-Canada
Newsletter, Venator Borealis. http://bit.ly/mnTL4R.
Victory for Valley Forge National Historical Park Deer
Management
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling in favor of
the National Park Service’s deer cull in Valley Forge National
Historical Park. The court rejected Friends of Animals’ claims
that the NPS should have increased the historical park’s coyote
population instead of utilizing sharpshooters to reduce the
overpopulation of deer. SCI participated as amicus in support of the
deer cull in both the district court and the appellate court
proceedings. SCI has consistently supported culls on National
Park Service lands to reduce wildlife populations, including, where
feasible, the use of hunters as agents to assist in the cull.
Introductions or enhancement of predator populations are not
realistic solutions to wildlife population problems. Predators
do not respect park boundaries and are often indiscriminate in terms
of prey. The National Park Service is finally recognizing the
role that hunters can play in wildlife management and SCI has been
and will continue to be at the forefront of the campaign to promote
hunting and hunters in wildlife management and conservation on all
types of federal land.