‘Experimental’ Status Lifted on Smoky Mountains Elk

Missoula, Mont.–Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have notified the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation that the “experimental” status of the park’s restored elk herd has been officially lifted, clearing the way for permanent management of elk in and around the park.

RMEF is the largest financier of the park’s 10-year elk restoration project, with more than $800,000 in contributions.

Kim Delozier, RMEF conservation program manager, said, “This is important because it’s a formal federal declaration that our elk restoration efforts in the North Carolina section of the park have been deemed a success.”

Prior to joining the RMEF staff, Delozier was the longtime supervisory wildlife biologist in the park. He worked closely with RMEF and others to make reality of a common dream–returning a wild elk herd to the native but long-empty habitat of the Great Smoky Mountains. He says that without the efforts of RMEF, especially its volunteers, wild free-ranging elk would not be in North Carolina today.

Elk were extirpated from the region some 200 years ago.

“Local RMEF members approached me about elk restoration as far back as 1990, so this has been a long process and a tremendous amount of work by many people,” said Delozier. “During my time in the park, we had a number of restoration projects for other species. Some were controversial. Others were relatively quiet. But the elk project was really a people project. This was an effort and animal that everyone wanted to support. The people made it happen. People love to see large wild animals and elk fit that need.”

In an “experimental release,” the first elk were reintroduced into Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2001. Today the herd is healthy at about 140 animals.

Elk have been a popular addition to the park and are associated with significant economic benefits through tourism. Cataloochee Valley, where elk were originally released, now receives approximately twice the visitation than it did prior to elk restoration.

The herd’s experimental status was lifted when National Park Service officials on Oct. 20, 2011, approved a “finding of no significant impact” of the environmental assessment on a proposed plan for managing a permanent herd of elk in the park. Research indicates that the population is sustainable, has minimal impacts on the park’s resources and the human-elk conflicts are manageable.

Going forward, the park’s objective is to maintain a permanent elk population within park boundaries that is self-sustaining and allows only acceptable impacts to park resources.

The park’s elk plan also transitions elk management responsibility outside the park to the appropriate tribal, state or federal agency with jurisdiction over wildlife on lands where elk occur. Delozier said some elk do currently inhabit areas outside of park boundaries. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has started discussions on developing its own elk management plan, which could bring limited elk hunting opportunities to the state in the future.

David Allen, RMEF president and CEO, said, “The possibility of additional elk hunting opportunities for the public in the eastern U.S. is one more reason to celebrate. The more people can connect through hunting with the land, elk, other wildlife and their habitat, the more folks we’ll have on board to help sustain America’s conservation movement.”

Allen added that RMEF has pledged continued support for area conservation agencies involved in elk management or habitat stewardship.

Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - ‘Experimental’ Status Lifted on Smoky Mountains Elk

A Warning To Outdoor Users About Echinococcus, From Worms

by

Tom Remington

This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating.

Read more

Picture This!

With all the great stories, equipment, adventures and people out there I thought it would be great to get some pictures.  If you have any pictures from a hunt, your gear or best of all you geared up that would be great.  If you send in pictures I will post on our site as well as putting some of the best pictures on all our sites.  Things I am looking for, but not limited to.

•    Gear: Clothes, utility tools, ATV’s…
•    Favorite weapons: guns, bows, sticks, stones…
•    Best Duck Blind or Hide…
•    You, family or friends dressed for the hunt…
•    Where you hunt

All I need is a digital picture in any PC compatible format and a description of the picture.  You can make the description as long or short as you would like.  If there is a story behind the picture we would love to hear about it.

Send Pictures to:

Todd Krater
U.S. Hunting Today
Managing Editor
todd@ushuntingtoday.com

Note: If you want a picture posted and do not have a digital copy I would be willing to scan it for you.  Please contact me for details.

US Hunting Today reserves the right to refuse any picture for any reason as well as edit it where appropriate.

NC ALERT: SB 460 Scheduled for Senate Vote July 8

A SAOVA message to sportsmen, pet owners and farmers concerned about protecting their traditions, avocations and livelihoods from anti-hunting, anti-breeding, animal guardianship advocates. Forwarding and cross posting, with attribution, encouraged.
NC ALERT: SB 460 Scheduled for Senate Vote July 8.

In a narrow win, the Senate Finance Committee passed a Committee Substitute of SB 460 on Tuesday, June 30. The bill moves to the Senate Floor for full vote on July 8, 2009.

IT IS URGENT FOR EVERYONE TO CALL SENATORS AND OPPOSE THIS BILL. CALL THE NC GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN RALEIGH AT (919) 733-4111 AND ASK FOR YOUR SENATOR.

Or go to this link to find the full Senate Membership list of phone numbers and email:

http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/reports/room-phone.pl?Chamber=Senate&viewType=normal

http://tinyurl.com/opkolu

* Amendments and revisions to SB 460 ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. Commercial breeder is now
defined as someone who owns 15 or more intact females of breeding age and 30 or more puppies. The bill exempts kennels that operate for the purpose of boarding or training hunting, sporting, herding, show, or working dogs. The language in this exemption does not specifically include an exemption for breeding these dogs.

* Exemptions are NOT A GUARANTEE for future protection. HSUS has proven they will continue to lobby for increasingly restrictive legislation. This is the step or incremental method of gaining power over breeding and owning dogs.

* SB 460 continues to allow for inspections and searches of all private property at any time.

* SB 460 allows for immediate seizure of animals for those who are not in compliance.

* The requirement for annual veterinary certification of suitable health for breeding is very vague. Certification could require anything from routine physical exam to an expensive panel of blood tests and x-rays. There are no standardized, specific laboratory tests or specialized reproductive examination procedures that are suitable for assessing the health status of bitches for breeding.

* No other species has this pre-breeding regulation in place. This provision only serves to make breeding dogs more expensive and more complicated. The decision to breed or not breed a dog should remain at the discretion of the owner and not become a legislative mandate.

* SB 460 is a waste of taxpayers’ money at a time when the State and Department of Agriculture cannot afford costly, ineffective new programs.
GOT RIGHTS? URGE YOUR SENATOR TO VOTE NO TO SB 460.

PLEASE CROSS POST WIDELY.

NC ALERT: COMMERCIAL BREEDER BILL HEARING 6/16/09

SB 460 Commercial Dog Breeders is listed on the Finance Committee Calendar for Tuesday, 6/16. We need EVERYONE to contact Finance Committee members and bill sponsor, Senator Don Davis, and say NO!! to SB 460.

HSUS worked with Sen. Davis to introduce this legislation after dogs were seized from a breeder in Wayne County. For his assistance with the raid, Wayne County animal control director, Justin Scally, was rewarded by HSUS with a job within their organization. Scally will relocate to Gaithersburg MD to oversee a newly created HSUS task force.

HSUS would have our legislators believe that ALL breeders in North Carolina need state supervision and that substandard breeding kennels are rampant throughout our state. This is NOT TRUE. SB460 is not based on facts or need; it is based on emotion and is part of a nationwide campaign by HSUS to pass restrictive legislation on dog breeders. To date HSUS bills have been introduced in 32 states; 18 have died, 9 are still pending, and only 5 passed. This legislative campaign is about CONTROL, not about animal welfare. HSUS has a well documented history of opposing all purposeful breeding of dogs.

** TALKING POINTS **

* Bill supporters claim that small hobby breeders and hunters will not be affected. This is not true. Supporters claim the only reason to have 15 females is for mass producing puppies, i.e. continually breeding each female. Also not true. The bill supporters are activists, NOT dog breeders and have no firsthand knowledge of building and maintaining a breeding program or maintaining a strong hunting pack.

* The bill is so vague it could require anyone who breeds one litter to be licensed.

* Bill supporters will use photos showing the worst possible conditions in an attempt to create a wave of emotion strong enough to carry the bill forward. High emotion makes for bad laws and SB 460 is no exception. SB 460 will punish countless responsible breeders unnecessarily.

* Laws to insure animal welfare and to prevent animal-cruelty are already in place to protect all animals whether it is one dog or one hundred. We DO NOT NEED more laws.

* The potential exists for warrantless searches of a citizen’s home and kennel while inspecting dogs to determine if a license is required.

* A Fiscal Note on SB 460 has been provided by the Fiscal Research Division with input from NC DACS. The Department’s Animal Welfare Section estimates costs to implement a regulatory program are almost a half million dollars going forward with virtually no income. With a state budget shortfall of four billion dollars and government programs being cut, it is the height of irresponsibility to burden NCDA with this initiative.

ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! CALL AND EMAIL SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND OPPOSE SB 460:

Senator David Hoyle (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-5734

E-mail: David.Hoyle@ncleg.net

Senator Daniel Clodfelter (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 715-8331
E-mail: Daniel.Clodfelter@ncleg.net

Senator Clark Jenkins (Co-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 715-3040
E-mail: Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net

Senator Larry Shaw (Vice-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-9349
E-mail: Larry.Shaw@ncleg.net

Senator Fletcher Hartsell, Jr. (Vice-Chairman)
Phone: (919) 733-7223
E-mail: Fletcher.Hartsell@ncleg.net

Senator Charles Albertson
Phone: (919) 733-5705
E-mail: Charlie.Albertson@ncleg.net

Senator Austin Allran
Phone: (919) 733-5876
E-mail: Austin.Allran@ncleg.net

Senator Tom Apodaca
Phone: (919) 733-5745
E-mail: Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

Senator Bob Atwater
Phone: (919) 715-3036
E-mail: Bob.Atwater@ncleg.net

Senator Philip Berger
Phone: (919) 733-5708
E-mail: Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Senator Charlie Dannelly
Phone: (919) 733-5955
E-mail: Charlie.Dannelly@ncleg.net

Senator Eleanor Kinnaird
Phone: (919) 733-5804
E-mail: Ellie.Kinnaird@ncleg.net

Senator Floyd McKissick, Jr.
Phone: (919) 733-4599
E-mail: Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net

Senator Joe Sam Queen
Phone: (919) 733-3460
E-mail: joesam.queen@ncleg.net

Senator David Rouzer
Phone: (919)733-5748
E-mail: David.Rouzer@ncleg.net

Senator R.C. Soles, Jr.
Phone: (919) 733-5963
E-mail: RC.Soles@ncleg.net

Senator Harris Blake
Phone: (919) 733-4809
E-mail: Harris.Blake@ncleg.net

Senator Julia Boseman
Phone: (919) 715-2525
E-mail: Julia.Boseman@ncleg.net

Senator Andrew Brock
Phone: (919) 715-0690
E-mail: Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net

Senator Harry Brown
Phone: (919) 715-3034
E-mail: Harry.Brown@ncleg.net

Senator Don East
Phone: (919) 733-5743
E-mail: Don.East@ncleg.net

Senator Tony Foriest
Phone: (919) 301-1446
E-mail: Tony.Foriest@ncleg.net

Senator Linda Garrou
Phone: (919) 733-5620
E-mail: Linda.Garrou@ncleg.net

Senator Eddie Goodall
Phone: (919) 733-7659
E-mail: Eddie.Goodall@ncleg.net

Senator Steve Goss
Phone: (919) 733-5742
E-mail: Steve.Goss@ncleg.net

Senator Neal Hunt
Phone: (919) 733-5850
E-mail: Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

Senator Martin Nesbitt, Jr.
Phone: (919) 715-3001
E-mail: Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net

Senator Jean Preston
Phone: (919) 733-5706
E-mail: Jean.Preston@ncleg.net

Senator William Purcell
Phone: (919) 733-5953
E-mail: William.Purcell@ncleg.net

Senator Tony Rand
Phone: (919) 733-9892
E-mail: Tony.Rand@ncleg.net

Senator Bob Rucho
Phone: (919) 733-5655
E-mail: Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net

Senator Josh Stein
Phone: (919)715-6400
E-mail: Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

Senator Richard Stevens
Phone: (919) 733-5653
E-mail: Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net

Senator A.B. Swindell
Phone: (919) 715-3030
E-mail: AB.Swindell@ncleg.net

Senator Jerry Tillman
Phone: (919) 733-5870
E-mail: Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net

Senator David Weinstein
Phone: (919) 733-5651
E-mail: David.Weinstein@ncleg.net

North Carolina Action Alert

SB 695 Restraining of dogs introduced by Senator Linda Garrou (D, Forsyth) and Don Vaughn (D, Guilford) is scheduled to be heard in Judiciary I on Tuesday, May 12 room 1027 LB. Judiciary Committee meets from 9 – 11 AM.

BILL SYNOPSIS

SB 695 Restricts tethering to 3 hours in a 24-hour period. Mandates all tethers to be minimum 15-feet. Only exempts dogs while actively hunting or herding if the act of tethering is absolutely necessary. Allows counties, cities to reduce time of permissable tethering. Read more

Commercial Breeder Bill SB460 hearing 4/30

NORTH CAROLINA ACTION ALERT

SB 460 Commercial Dog Breeders introduced by Senator Don Davis (D, Wayne/Pitt/Greene) is scheduled to be heard in the Commerce Committee on Thursday, April 30 at 9:00 AM, room 1027 LB

BILL SYNOPSIS

SB 460 defines as commercial anyone who has custody or control of more than 15 female dogs over the age of four months at any time. The bill establishes standards for care at commercial breeding operations, including requirements which will be written by the NC Department of Agriculture at a later date, for exercise, veterinary care and record keeping. The bill mandates that commercial breeders cannot breed female dogs less than 18 months or more than eight years of age. SB 460 mandates that an adult female dog cannot be bred without an annual certification from a licensed veterinarian that the dog is in suitable health for breeding.

** TALKING POINTS **

* The bills define as commercial anyone maintaining 15 females during the span of 12 months – does not say intact females, does not define what age is considered adult.

* Thousands of North Carolina citizens breed dogs without creating problems and they do not require state inspections. This is reactive legislation to the recent closure of a substandard kennel. The kennel closure and removal of dogs is evidence that current law adequately dealt with the situation.

* The potential exists for warrantless searches of a citizen’s home and kennel while inspecting dogs to determine if license is required.

* SB 460 assumes that an owner of 15 or more dogs is not capable of managing and maintaining their animals in good health without state intervention. It is wrong to use a numerical basis to begin excessive regulation of dog breeders; numbers do not correlate to quality of care. Laws for animal welfare and to prevent animal-cruelty are already in place to protect all animals whether it is one dog or one hundred.

* The requirement for annual veterinary certification of suitable health for breeding is very vague. Certification could require anything from routine physical exam to an expensive panel of blood tests and x-rays. There are no standardized, specific laboratory tests or specialized reproductive examination procedures that are suitable for assessing the health status of bitches for breeding. No other species has this pre-breeding regulation in place. This provision only serves to make breeding dogs more expensive and more complicated. The decision to breed or not breed a dog should remain at the discretion of the owner and not become a legislative mandate.

* Bill supporters claim that small hobby breeders will not be affected. This is not true. Supporters claim the only reason to have 15 females is for mass producing puppies, i.e. continually breeding each female. Also not true. The bill supporters are activists, NOT dog breeders and have no firsthand knowledge of building or maintaining a breeding program. It is quite possible for someone to have 15 females without constantly producing puppies.

* Promoted with the usual anti-puppy mill hype and emotion, the bill focuses on labeling dog breeders, i.e., commercial=puppy mill to justify this over-the-top legislation. The term puppy mill has been promoted by animal rights activists in the same manner as a racial slur to cast a negative picture on the whole industry of breeding dogs; the goal is to eventually make all the words interchangeable, commercial=puppy mill=breeder.

* The cost to dog owners/breeders for construction of commercial grade facilities to meet state requirements will be enormous. It is irresponsible for legislators to force this expense on citizens who are already financially stressed in the current recession.

* There is no hard evidence that substandard kennel conditions are rampant throughout the state. It is pure conjecture for anyone to discuss whether dogs are housed in adequate or substandard conditions. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture estimates 79 kennels are likely to have 15 females; however, this does not automatically correlate to those kennels being substandard and/or in need of state intervention and regulation.

* The Fiscal Note on SB 460 has been provided by the Fiscal Research Division with input from NC DACS. The Department’s Animal Welfare Section estimates costs to implement a regulatory

program are a staggering quarter of a million dollars for this year and increase to almost a half million dollars going forward with virtually no income. With a state budget shortfall in excess of three billion dollars and government programs being cut, it is the height of irresponsibility to burden NCDA with this initiative.

ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! PLEASE CALL AND EMAIL SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE AND OPPOSE SB 460:

Sen. R.C. Soles, Jr. (Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-5963

RC.Soles@ncleg.net

Sen. Floyd McKissick, Jr. (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-4599

Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net

Sen. David Hoyle (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-5734

David.Hoyle@ncleg.net

Sen. Tony Rand (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-9892

Tony.Rand@ncleg.net

Sen. Tom Apodaca

Phone: (919) 733-5745

Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

Sen. Philip Berger

Phone: (919) 733-5708

Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Sen. Doug Berger

Phone: (919) 715-8683

Doug.Berger@ncleg.net

Sen. Harris Blake

Phone: (919) 733-4809

Harris.Blake@ncleg.net

Sen. Julia Boseman

Phone: (919) 715-2525

Julia.Boseman@ncleg.net

Sen. Peter Brunstetter

Phone: (919) 733-7850

Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.net

Sen. Debbie Clary

Phone: (919) 715-3038

Debbie.Clary@ncleg.net

Sen. Katie Dorsett

Phone: (919)715-3042

Katie.Dorsett@ncleg.net

Sen. Tony Foriest

Phone: (919) 301-1446

Tony.Foriest@ncleg.net

Sen. James Forrester

Phone: (919) 715-3050

James.Forrester@ncleg.net

Sen. Linda Garrou

Phone: (919) 733-5620

Linda.Garrou@ncleg.net

Sen. W. Edward Goodall

Phone: (919) 733-7659

Eddie.Goodall@ncleg.net

Sen. Steve Goss

Phone: (919) 733-5742

Steve.Goss@ncleg.net

Sen. Malcolm Graham

Phone: (919) 733-5650

Malcolm.Graham@ncleg.net

Sen. Neal Hunt

Phone: (919) 733-5850

Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

Sen. Jim Jacumin

Phone: (919) 715-7823

Jim.Jacumin@ncleg.net

Sen. Clark Jenkins

Phone: (919) 715-3040

Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net

Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Jr.

Phone: (919) 715-3001

Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net

Sen. William Purcell

Phone: (919) 733-5953

William.Purcell@ncleg.net

Sen. Bob Rucho

Phone: (919) 733-5655

Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net

Sen. Larry Shaw

Phone: (919) 733-9349

Larry.Shaw@ncleg.net

Sen. Josh Stein

Phone: (919)715-6400

Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

Sen. Richard Stevens

Phone: (919) 733-5653

Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net

Sen. Don Vaughan

Phone: (919)733-5856

Don.Vaughan@ncleg.net

Additional talking points and contact information are available on the SAOVA website

http://www.saova.org/northcarolina2.html and North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance [NCRAOA] http://www.ncraoa.com/alertsSB460.html

What Are They Talking About? Predators Have No Effect On Elk Populations!

This can’t be true! If you read or listen to what the lovers of predators have to say, these scavenging, murdering animals we call predators have no real affect on wild ungulate herds, other than what they believe to be selective harvesting of the weak and disabled and making the preyed upon become “more wild”. This is where we would insert the Disney theme song of “When you wish upon a star. Makes no difference who you are.” La, la, la, la…….

Okay, so I’m feeling a bit nasty and cynical this morning. And with that I’m taking a story and making an attempt to spin it into something bigger and more controversial than it really is but I do have a point to make. Read more

EHD Outbreak Widespread And Following Drought

As most hunters are aware, several states are experiencing outbreaks of EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease). To date, states involved are, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey and Montana. In those states, some are experiencing widespread outbreaks while others are sporadic. Either way, it appears that this year’s outbreak is one that could be classified as the most widespread in some years.

J.R. Absher, the Newshound, and I sent a couple emails back and forth this morning about what’s happening with EHD. In one of my emails, I asked J.R. if this was what he would consider a large outbreak from his years of experience in the field. What he told me was that in a previous article he mentioned that he had talked with a friend of his, Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, about this year’s outbreak.

My good friend Doug Markham, information officer for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, dropped me an email over the weekend saying it’s as bad as he’s ever seen it in his 20 years with the agency.

Some especially hard-hit areas of the Volunteer State could lose half their deer to EHD this year, Markham speculated.

One other thing that J.R. mentioned was that it seemed that the EHD outbreak was following a similar path as this summer’s drought. I’ll have to do some investigating to see if I can find out if that is a common occurrence.

In the meantime, we all need to be praying for some frost and freezes to kill this thing off.

Tom Remington

84% Of North Carolinians Approve Of Hunting

There’s a new report out from the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses and the North Carolina State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, that shows that 84% of North Carolina residents approve of hunting – 95% for fishing. That same report says that 83% believe that hunting and fishing are a necessary part of a scientific management program for wildlife.

These figures don’t surprise me any because I have seen similar figures before and have used them in arguments with those who toss in the face of hunters and fishermen that there are more of them than us. In their argument, they are right in that far fewer people buy hunting and fishing licenses than don’t but the bottom line has always been the public support for the activities and this, once again, proves that support is strong.

I believe that this report out of North Carolina is representative of probably every state in the Union.

Read more about this report here.

Tom Remington

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