Montana Shooting Sports Association President Submits Comments On Wolf Delisting

Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, has submitted his comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the public comment period required before the Service can proceed with a second attempt to remove the gray wolf from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Below is a copy of those comments. Read more

When One Judge Dictates Wolf Management

I find it very unbelievable that one judge in the United States of America wields enough power to be able to dictate his own “science” in ruling on wolf management. This is the case as I see it. Judge Donald Molloy allowed a temporary injunction that returned the gray wolf to Endangered Species Act protection last July, 2008. He gave two reasons for doing so.

One, he disliked Wyoming’s Wolf Management Plan that had been approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Each of the three states, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana had to have USFWS approved plans before delisting could be considered.) Read more

Don’t Forget Ruby Ridge And Lon Horiuchi

Is it greed or stupidity that would drive a gun company, H-S Precision, to hire as a spokesman Lon Horiuchi, the FBI sniper who shot and killed Vicki Weaver while she was holding her infant daughter?

Gary Marbut, President of Montana Shooting Sports Association, offers his explanation.
*Note* - Marbut indicates that readers arrived at this “explanation” page from an email being circulated. In that email, a picture of Vicki Weaver and her baby have been added to the H-S Precision “Trophy Room Gallery” linked to below. Read more

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving means different things to different people. For us here at Skinny Moose Media and from Tom and Steve Remington, we want to take a few minutes and just thank everyone for being a part of our lives.

All too often we can get caught up in so many bad things going on around us that we forget about how many things we should and can be thankful for. And as such, I am thankful for you and both Steven and I and everyone associated with Skinny Moose Media want to wish you the absolute very best Thanksgiving Day. And may it be the most special day of all.

Tom and Steve Remington

Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Proposal Could Be Costly In Many Ways

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), combined with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Interior (DOI), is proposing to create a new Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of Atlantic salmon that, if allowed, will entail nearly two-thirds of the state of Maine, when combined with the existing DPS.

In November of 2000, the feds created a DPS for Atlantic salmon that involved basically eight rivers of eastern Maine and much of its watershed. Read more

Wildlife Counting. How Important Is It?

In management of wildlife, shouldn’t it be considered imperative to have accurate and reliable population counts? After all, many a lawsuit that involves millions of dollars and just as many people have been decided on data that includes herd counts, especially Endangered Species Act lawsuits.

“I’ve been in the woods for over a month now and I can tell you there are at least 100 does for every buck!” This is a comment I received one day when attempting to communicate with fellow hunters about buck to doe ratios and the management plans Maine has in monitoring and manipulating the whitetail deer populations. Read more

Can We Trust How Wolves Are Being Managed In Montana Or Other States?

If we back up through a regression of what is controlling wolf management, if nothing else we have to scratch our heads. The fate of the gray wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains as well as the Western Great Lakes region lies in the hands of two judges. One judge in Montana (Donald Molloy) says Wyoming’s wolf management plan isn’t good enough to sustain a wolf population. The same judge says we must continue to protect the wolf because he thinks until sub populations of wolves interbreed there is little hope the wolf will survive.

The judge in Washington, D.C. (Paul Friedman) who ruled to place the wolf in the Great Lakes region back under federal protection says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can’t create Distinct Population Segments because there is no definition of what that is. Read more

New White-tailed Deer Density Map Available from QDMA

BOGART, GA. – One of QDMA’s most popular educational posters has been updated – the White-tailed Deer Density poster, first produced in 1999, has been redrawn using new data from the most recent estimates. The 28×40-inch poster features a map with estimated deer densities across the entire range of white-tailed deer in the United States, with information down to the county level. The map was produced in cooperation with every state wildlife agency. Read more

Defenders Of Wildlife et al Attempting To Stall Wolf Delisting Process

Defenders of Wildlife, along with at least 14 other wolf preservation, animal rights and environmental groups, have submitted a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting that the comment period set forth in the latest attempt by USFWS to delist the gray wolf, be extended to 90 days from 30. (Click here for a complete copy of the letter.)

In the letter, Defenders, et al, are requesting an extension of 60 days because they say the USFWS has not made it clear how they propose to address the two recent court rulings that returned the gray wolf to federal protection in the Northern Rockies and Western Great Lakes. They also claim new scientific evidence “further calls into question the underlying biological basis for the northern Rockies proposal”. They fail to specifically point out what that new evidence is. Read more

The Turning Point

Republished by permission from the author.

Editorial Opinion by George Dovel

Ever since I resurrected The Outdoorsman in 2004, my goal has been to provide legislators, resource managers and outdoorsmen with documented facts they can use to help restore sound management of the billion-dollar renewable wildlife resource that existed in Idaho and other western states. Current trends and my conversations with long-time readers have dictated the subject matter of articles that have often been lengthy and difficult to read. Read more

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