January 20, 2025 • 27 mins
This week Cal talks about Merns quail, grizzly management, Utah Lawsuit update, state legislation, and so much more.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Klah. Here's
cal what is the national bird of the United States?
If you said bald eagle before Christmas Eve twenty twenty four,
you'd have been wrong. Prior to that date, we didn't
have a national bird. But thanks to Senators Amy klobash,
(00:33):
are Mark, Wayne Mullen, Cynthia Loomis, and Tina Smith, this
obvious oversight has been corrected. These four senators sponsored a
bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden that
officially declares the bald eagle to be America's national bird.
The bald eagle was adopted as the coat of arms
for the United States Great Seal in seventeen eighty two
(00:55):
and has been the unofficial national bird of the United
States ever seen. You might wonder why Congress is spending
its time making things official, but these symbolic designations do
have a conservation purpose. When states or local governments make
a bird, tree, or plant an official symbol, it generates
interest and attention, which can in turn generate resources for conservation.
(01:19):
For example, after the bald eagle became the national bird.
A South Carolina newspaper published an article with the headline
quote Biden declares bald eagles US national bird. The raptors
are still imperiled in South Carolina. That article and the
public awareness it generated about how eagles are still imperiled
wouldn't have been published if Congress hadn't passed this bill.
(01:42):
So the next time you see a bald eagle soaring
across a blue sky, or perching a tree, or you know,
if you're up in Alaska sitting on a dumpster, gaze
upon its majesty with pride as you contemplate the strength, courage,
and conservation success it represents as our newly minted national
bird and possibly the number one carry an eater in
(02:03):
your heart. This week we've got public lands, grizzer bears, legislation,
and so much more. But first I'm going to tell
you about my week, and my week has been a
whirlwind as per usual. First, big thanks to the Arizona
Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers for hosting the North
(02:24):
American Board of BHA for the annual retreat. Everything was awesome,
killer country, great weather, awesome people, new species, they got
to meet, all you folks who are volunteering tirelessly and
kicking butt while you're doing so. Great discussions, great energy.
Love to see it happen, and keep it up. We
(02:45):
appreciate you. As for the new species down there in Arizona,
we got to hunt for part of the day Manazuma
or Merns Quail Merns being the naturalist that identified the
species and natural This guy will make you blush. Merns
was a New Yorker who got a medical degree and
joined the Army in the late eighteen hundreds. He was
(03:08):
stationed a bunch of places, but traveled to far flung
locales like Guam, which you can imagine in the turn
of the century was a bit of a trip. Eventually,
he was appointed medical Officer to the International Boundary Commission,
that boundary being between Mexico and the United States. In
nineteen oh seven, he published Mammals of the Mexican Boundary
(03:29):
of the United States. In nineteen oh nine, he retired
from the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Then
Theodore Roosevelt invited Merns to accompany the Smithsonian Roosevelt African
Expedition as a naturalist, which heck of a tip of
the hat there. He was doing that from nineteen eleven
to nineteen twelve. He scientifically described the Tita thrush, the
(03:50):
Appo sunbird, the boren cisticola, the Chewahwan grasshopper mouse, the
rufous headed Taylor bird, among others. Eventually, he died in Washington,
d C. At the ripe old age of sixty sixty
years old. That's a lot by sixty. That's offty old merns.
And now for the quail part. What's interesting about this
(04:13):
little comparatively non vocal bugger, the merns quail, is that
they use their long talons to dig and eat tubers.
They got big feet. And when I say dig, we
found holes like six to eight inches deep in some areas.
And this is like dry, hard, rocky soil, and sixty
eight inches may not seem like a lot to summy,
but when you're sixty eight inches tall like the merns quail,
(04:36):
that's a big hole. The birds I took home are
plucked and sitting in a gentle brine before I lightly
roast them. I'll let you know how that goes. Incredible
camouflage on the merns quail, it is just wild, wild,
how they blend in to that grass and of course
you know dry, dusty, hard scent conditions for the dogs. Yeah,
(04:59):
it is a wonder that you can find those things.
Probably wouldn't do it without a dog. What else, As
previously talked about, states are in session, go to the
askcalpage at the mediat dot com to find out which ones.
Randall Williams and I hustled up to Helena, which of
course is Montana's capital, to listen in and offer testimony.
(05:20):
Last week. We got particularly interested in HB one thirty nine,
which is a bill that was put together to address
the idea that mule deer rut hunting in our state
could be closed at some point. I testified against that one,
as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has the ability to
season set with public input already, And if you listen
(05:42):
to this podcast, I just prefer regulation over legislation. Fishing
game agencies need to be as nimble as possible. I
got to tip the hat to Representative Hinkle, who you know,
put a lot of work into that thing. The vote
is coming up like immediately after this podcast gets record,
so I'll have to update you next week on how
that goes. But guys, Head's not in the wrong place.
(06:06):
I just think the state's already got this one covered.
We just don't need a law for it. Let me
know what you think, and more importantly, please write in
and let me know what is going on in your state.
Many of you already did, so let's get to it.
Going right over to the public land desk, here's some
(06:26):
positive news to start your week. The Supreme Court has
declined to hear a lawsuit brought by the state of
Utah that would have forced the federal government to dispose
of tens of millions of acres of public land. We
covered this story on several episodes, but we did a
deep dive recently. In episode three point thirty two. Utah
was asking the Supreme Court to force the Bureau of
(06:47):
Land Management to dispose of so called unappropriated land. This
would mean that in Utah alone, the BLM would have
to sell a whopping eighteen and a half million acres,
and it's not clear whether that land would fall to
state or private control or just need to be as
it says in the lawsuit disposed of as in sould, Utah,
(07:09):
along with several other Western states, were asking the Supreme
Court to let them skip all the lower federal courts
and go straight to the top. But in a decision
release just last week, the justices said not so fast.
They didn't comment on the merits of the case or
explain their reasoning. They simply refused to take the case.
This is great news for public land advocates, but the
(07:29):
fight is far from over. Utah and its allies can
refile their case with the lower federal court and try
to work their way back up to the Supreme Court,
or they can try to work with the incoming Trump
administration to hand over a federal public land. In a
joint statement released last week, Utah said, the incoming Trump
administration shares quote our commitments to the principle of multiple
(07:51):
use for these federal lands and is committed to working
with us to improve land management. You got to pay
attention to the words here, folks. This is not about
land management. This is about the sale of land. Management
is just like a red herring argument that has nothing
to do with the case. On top of that, the
(08:11):
Trump administration has said on multiple occasions that they aren't
interested in selling the unbelievable real estate we co own.
It's just too darn valuable. We've won the first battle,
but we need to stay vigilant. As always, we'll keep
you in the loop. Moving on to the grizzer bear desk.
(08:32):
Last week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a
new rule that would dramatically change how grizzly bears are
managed in the United States. The proposal comes in response
to several lawsuits by Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, whose governors
were asking that the species be removed from the Endangered
Species list. Led by Director Martha Williams, the Fish and
Wildlife Service denied these requests. Instead, the Service wants to
(08:55):
get rid of the six population segments it had previously
used to manage the bears, and will now aim to
recover grizzlies within one giant segment that encompasses all of
Washington State, as well as most of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
If all that sounds like much ado about nothing, let
me explain why this decision is raising the blood pressures
(09:15):
of everyone, from the Center of Biological Diversity to our
own governor here in Montana, Greg gen Forte. As we've
covered several times on this podcast, grizzly bears are broken
up into six distinct population segments Northern Cascades in Washington,
Selkirk and Cabinet Yak in northern Idaho and Montana, Northern
Continental Divide Ecosystem in the northwest Montana, bitter At in Idaho,
(09:38):
and Greater Yellowstone in southern Montana and northwest Wyoming a
little bit of Schmidga Idaho there too. There are currently
a bunch of bears between seven hundred and one thousand
in both the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide. That's
according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. There are about
sixty bears in the Cabinet Yak and about forty bears
in Selkirk, but the other recovery areas don't contain any
(10:00):
breeding populations, again, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
For the last decade or so, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
have been pushing for the bears to be removed from
the Endangered Species list in Yellowstone and the Northern Continental Divide.
They argue that the populations here are strong and growing,
some would say too strong at this point, and there's
no reason that they should still be listed as endangered.
(10:23):
Taking them off the ESA. In these two recovery zones
would allow the states to manage the species as they
do every other non endangered species in their jurisdictions. However,
if the Fish and Wildlife Service succeeds in eliminating these
population zones and begins managing all grizzlies in the lower
forty eight under the same umbrella, you can kiss that
argument goodbye. Now. Instead of two populations looking strong and
(10:47):
healthy while the other four still need protection, the map
looks practically empty. The new single population segment extends well
beyond where grizzly bears currently live, and the agency doesn't
offer a population goal for when and this giant new
population boundary counts as recovered. In fact, they argue that
the strength of the populations in Yellowstone and the Northern
(11:08):
Continental Divide are in fact a reason not to delist
the bears, They say quote. The Service also recognizes that
recovery of small and extirpated populations relies on contributions from
highly resilient populations. Maintaining all recovery zones together in one
distinct population segment will increase the speed of recovery in
(11:30):
remaining ecosystems and the overall viability of grizzly bears, increasing
the likelihood of successfully delisting the entire DPS that's distinct
population segment by addressing the species recovery needs as a whole.
In other words, since bears can't read maps, we need large,
healthy populations in some areas so those bears can travel
(11:52):
to the other recovery zones and repopulate them. We can't
delist those strong populations because we need as many bears
in the lower forty eight as possible. The response to
this announcement has been about what you'd expect. The Center
for Biological Diversity praised the rule, with legal director Andrea
Zuccardi saying she's relieved that bears and other recovery zones
(12:13):
will have a quote real chance at long term recovery
instead of being gunned down and mounted on trophy walls.
On the other side of the ledger, the Western Landowners
Alliance accused the Fish and Wildlife Service of moving the goalposts.
The reality is that grizzly bears are increasing in population
and expanding in range, well beyond original recovery targets, said
(12:34):
Leslie Allison, the nonprofit CEO. People who live and work
in recovery areas continue to experience increasing conflicts, safety concerns,
and disproportionate economic costs. To be fair, the Service does
acknowledge in their press release that grizzly bear expansion is
challenging for local communities and working lands Because of this.
The new rule also adds greater flexibility and responsiveness on
(12:57):
private lands and areas where grizzly bear pops populations are
impacting private landowners and livestock producers. We will have more
information in future weeks about what exactly that looks like,
but it sounds like the Service is open to removing
problem bears more quickly. As of this recording. Most of
the hunting orgs have yet to weigh in on this issue,
but the Sportsman's Alliance sounded off in a blog post
(13:20):
a day after the rule was proposed, and it's safe
to say they're not happy. Michael Jean, the group's litigation council,
said the rule shows that the Endangered Species Act is
quote broken. He continued, we have multiple populations of different
species that have surpassed their recovery goals and are thriving.
If they cannot be delisted according to the Service because
(13:40):
they have not fully recovered in other areas. We'll stay
on this story as it moves forward, but in the
meantime you have work to do. That's right you. This
is a proposed rule, nothing has been finalized, and the
Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public to weigh in.
There will be public meetings in Montana, Idaho, in Wyoming,
(14:01):
and concerned citizens can also post a comment online. A
sixty day public comment period will be open from January
fifteen through March seventeen, and we'll post a link to
that comment page over at the meat eater dot com
forward slash col Just a reminder, just because we're not
hunting them doesn't mean people aren't shooting them. You can
(14:21):
use whatever like I guess, acronym, synonym, always get those
things mixed up anyway, fancy words for saying agencies are
killing bears when they come into conflict, but you know
that's what they're doing. It would just be great if
hunters had the ability to take a few bears if
you want to see a really cool episode. And I'm
(14:44):
definitely not tooting my own horn, but would be great
to talk about the merits and virtues and the awesome
work that biologists large carnivore biologists are doing on behalf
of grizzly bears. You should check out an old YouTube
episode about five years old now on the meteater dot
com Idaho Grizzlies, where we work with some incredibly dedicated
(15:07):
Idaho fishing game staff to capture and release grizzlies as
part of the longest running population grizzly bear study in
the world. Awesome, awesome stuff. Moving on to the re
wilding desk, someone who has been releasing Links into the
(15:28):
Scottish Highlands and what appears to be an ill advised
attempt to reintroduce the species to that area. Two pair
of the wildcats were released last week and while both
were quickly captured by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland,
the incident has sparked concern about rogue rewilders releasing wild
animals on the landscape. You guys did a great job
(15:49):
keeping me in the loop on this. On January nine,
listeners Ian J and Bob T sent me articles about
the first pair of Links being spotted in the car
Gorms National Park in northern Scotland. Members of the public
were encouraged to avoid the area as police investigated, and
it didn't take long for them to learn about a
second pair of cats that had been released in the
same area. Links are native to Scotland, but they disappeared
(16:13):
from the island between five hundred and a thousand years ago.
Some preservationist groups have called for the cats to be
reintroduced in the area, but from what I can tell,
there isn't much appetite for that among the general Scottish public.
One of those preservationist groups, the Mammal Society, told the
BBC that while it understands the frustration that might have
led to these illegal releases, it condemned the actions as
(16:35):
irresponsible and not the answer. Police are still investigating where
exactly the cats came from. It's also possible these were
pets that someone decided they didn't want, but it seems
like the consensus is that they were released to rewild
the area. Rewilding is a concept we've touched on a
few times. It's basically what it sounds like. Advocates seek
(16:56):
to restore landscapes to a wilder state by reintroducing ex
stirpaid species and limiting the influence of humans on the landscape.
While they're responsible and interesting, projects done in the name
of rewilding. The movement can also take on an anti
human tinge. Some would argue that we should restore natural
ecosystems no matter the human cost, and you can see
(17:17):
how that mindset might compel someone to release links in
a national park. Please say that even though the cats
are safe and sound in the Edinburgh Zoo, they're still
on the lookout for those responsible for the release. For
something super fun for you Scottish listeners. I know I
didn't pronounce this stuff right, so if you want to
write in with a little sound bite and pronounce your
(17:38):
national park, that would be super all right. No, there's
no tech talk for Monico's beckman. I know you're coming
out of biwally up there, but I'm glad to have
you doing your skate fastiles and a weap against the holding. Okay,
what moving on to the legislative desk. State legislatures are
(17:59):
reconvening in capitals across the nation and we're here to
tell you about all the bills and policy that will
impact hunters, anglers, conservationists and other public land users. A
few quick notes before we dive into our first big
legislation desk of the year. First, you can find every
call to action or as we say around the office,
cal to action, as my producer wants me to say
(18:21):
over at the meeteater dot com forward slash col. If
you're driving, holding a toddler, or can't reach a pen
for some other reason, you can find a quick recap
of every item on the legislative desk at the meeteater
dot com forward slash cal again the meeteater dot com
forward slash cal. Second, we rely heavily on you, our listeners,
(18:43):
to tell us what you're seeing in your states. We
do our best, but we can't keep track of what's
happening in all fifty. So if you see a bill
or policy that's concerning, exciting, just darn interesting, let me
know about it by writing in to ask Cel that's
ask cal at the meaeater dot com. With those business
items out of the way, let's dig in down. In Florida,
(19:07):
the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is officially seeking public
input on reopening a black bear hunt. The Sunshine State
ran a regulated hunt from nineteen thirty six to nineteen
ninety four, but they closed it in nineteen ninety five
to help recover the dwindling bear population. As those recovery
efforts succeeded and bear numbers rose, officials opened a limited
(19:27):
hunt in twenty fifteen, but ironically enough, that hunt went
so well that the public backlash forced the Commission to
close it almost as soon as it opened. Floridians felt
that too many bears were killed too quickly, and the
state hasn't seen a hunt since that year. Fortunately, the
Commission has voice support for a hunt for the last
few years, and now they've taken the first official steps.
(19:49):
They've asked the biologists with the Commission to put a
hunt plan together, which they say what could be ready
as soon as May of this year. If you live
in Florida and would like the chance to chase the bear,
now is the time to get involved. You can bet
that the anti hunting crowd will be out in full
force to pressure the Commission to leave the hunt closed.
We need to be out in even fuller force. That's
(20:11):
a word, right. That means attending the commission meetings and
sending in as many calls and emails as you can.
We'll post links at the media dot com forward slash
you know what cal to the meeting schedule and a
page where you can contact all the commissioners at once.
Here's a hint. They start with my FWC dot com.
Moving over to Oklahoma, the state senator has proposed a
(20:35):
bill that would lower the annual bag limit for whitetail
bucks from two to one. Current regulation allows hunters to
take two antler deer per year, but SB three three eight,
authored by Senator Grant Green, would limit hunters to a
single buck per year. As of this recording, Senator Green
hasn't provided much public explanation for why he wants to
(20:56):
see this change. I assume he's worried about the whitetail
population and he thinks lowering the bag limit will keep
more bucks on the landscape or help bucks grow bigger antlers.
But Tyler Terrio, a listener and lifelong Oklahoma hunter, calls
that thinking a fallacy. The hunters who shoot young immature
deer will continue to do so regardless of bag limits
(21:19):
and restrictions. He wrote in his email calling our attention
to this bill. Whatever the motivation for SB three thirty eight,
I'd say these decisions are better made by the biologists
in the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Senator Green might
have real data informing this idea, or he might be
doing a favor for his cousin's nephew who hasn't seen
(21:39):
enough big bucks on his forty acre farm and thinks
the bag limit should be lower. Whatever you think, send
an email to your Oklahoma state senators. Today. Up in Wyoming,
the legislature will once again consider a bill that would
make corner crossing legal in the state. Rep. Carly Provenza
recently filed House nine, which decriminalizes entering the airspace of
(22:03):
a private landowner if the person is traveling from one
block of public land to another at the point where
the blocks meet. It's important we codify that the people
of Wyoming have the right to access their public lands.
Representative Provenza told Wilo File I couldn't agree more, but
we'll see if this bill has better luck in the
Cowboy State than previous versions. Even though a federal court
(22:25):
has ruled in favor of corner crossing, the issue is
still somewhat up in the air. It is legal right now,
and it would be great if Western state legislatures would
step in and clarify this issue, But there is still
tons of pressure from landowners who currently enjoy exclusive access
to public parcels. And this isn't all landowners that about
(22:47):
public property gang. This is just a select view that
are trying to keep the public out of public land.
So if you live in Wyoming, get on the horn
with your state rep and tell them to vote in
favor of House Bill ninety nine. In Colorado, the legislature
will consider a bill that would ban a huge percentage
(23:08):
of semi automatic firearms in the state. SB two to
five DASH zero zero three would make it illegal to manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell,
or purchase semi automatic rifles or shotguns with a detachable magazine,
or gas operated semi automatic handguns with a detachable magazine.
Many other states have banned so called assault weapons, but
the sponsors of this bill claim to be taking a
(23:30):
new approach. Rather than trying to describe AR fifteen's, AK
forty sevens and other rifles in law and then ban them,
this bill is larger in scope. It targets any rifle
or shotgun that is semi automatic and accepts any size
detachable magazine, as well as any handgun that is gas
operated and accepts a detachable magazine. That would ban virtually
(23:52):
every AR style rifle or handgun. Since they all accept
detachable magasine most are gas operated, Colorados who currently own
these firearms would have to transferre it out of state,
sell it to a gun dealer, or pass it down
to an air The bill does include some exceptions. If
the rifle is chambered in twenty two col or smaller,
it won't be banned. If the rifle or shotgun has
(24:13):
a fixed magazine of less than fifteen rounds, it's also safe.
The bill also makes an exception for recoil operated handguns,
which would include pretty much every other modern handgun on
the market. Dozens of Colorado representatives and senators have sponsored
this bill. They say it's aimed at preventing gun related violence.
One of those sponsors, state Senator Tom Sullivan, says he
(24:34):
was also motivated to introduce the bill to enforce the
state's magazine ban. Colorado passed a bill in twenty thirteen
that ban the sale of magazines that hold more than
fifteen rounds, but Sullivan says these illegal mags are still
too accessible. He believes this bill, which bans the sale
of firearms capable of using those illegal magazines, will do
what the older lack couldn't. A SB two to five
(24:55):
zero zero three was introduced last week and has been
assigned to the State Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
I'd weigh in on this one. There's definitely like some
hunting applications here that get smoked in all this verbiage,
and man, it's regulating law abiding citizens in order to,
you know, I guess, somehow attempt to keep guns out
(25:17):
of the hands of bad people. Two more quick ones
for you, listener. Nicholas Hart sent me a bill being
considered in Kentucky that would remove the hunter education requirement
for anyone over the age of eighteen years old. It
also removes the live fire range day requirements for law enforcement,
current military personnel, and military veterans. It was introduced by
(25:37):
State Senator Gary Boswell, who you may remember as the
legislator who wanted to legalize killing Cooper's and red tailed hawks.
He's back now with another brilliant idea. Nicholas rightly points
out in his email that Hunter's ed has been credited
with dramatically reducing hunting accidents and states from coast to coast.
With the large number of adult onset hunters these days,
(25:58):
it seems especially irresponsible well, to remove the requirement for
hunters in Kentucky or anywhere else. Yeah, irresponsible. Finally, the
good folks over at the National Deer Association have made
me aware of a proposal in Indiana that would allow
landowners to release into the wild captive bread white tailed
(26:19):
deer that are supposedly resistant to chronic wasting disease. We've
covered this a ton already. It's just crazy talk. Oklahoma
passed the same kind of bill last year, and we
covered it extensively in a conversation with the NDA's Kip
Adams in episode two seventy three. We're not going to
get into all the specifics right now because I'm told
the bill's language hasn't been finalized, but we'll be bringing
(26:41):
you more details in the coming weeks. And I wanted
to get in on the radar of Indiana deer hunters
so you can be ready to stop this bad bill
in its tracks. That's all I've got for you this week.
So much more coming down the pipe. We're going to
add more episodes if necessary. I'm sure it will be
so right in keep us accountable, just like we need
(27:03):
to keep our lawmakers accountable. Thank you so much. It's
gonna take effort and time, but I know you'll do it.
I'll help as much as I can too. Thanks again.
Remember to write into a sk C a L that's
ASCALT themedia dot com. Tell us what's going on in
your neck of the woods. We appreciate it. Talk to
you next week.
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Klah. Here's
cal what is the national bird of the United States?
If you said bald eagle before Christmas Eve twenty twenty four,
you'd have been wrong. Prior to that date, we didn't
have a national bird. But thanks to Senators Amy klobash,
(00:33):
are Mark, Wayne Mullen, Cynthia Loomis, and Tina Smith, this
obvious oversight has been corrected. These four senators sponsored a
bill passed by Congress and signed by President Biden that
officially declares the bald eagle to be America's national bird.
The bald eagle was adopted as the coat of arms
for the United States Great Seal in seventeen eighty two
(00:55):
and has been the unofficial national bird of the United
States ever seen. You might wonder why Congress is spending
its time making things official, but these symbolic designations do
have a conservation purpose. When states or local governments make
a bird, tree, or plant an official symbol, it generates
interest and attention, which can in turn generate resources for conservation.
(01:19):
For example, after the bald eagle became the national bird.
A South Carolina newspaper published an article with the headline
quote Biden declares bald eagles US national bird. The raptors
are still imperiled in South Carolina. That article and the
public awareness it generated about how eagles are still imperiled
wouldn't have been published if Congress hadn't passed this bill.
(01:42):
So the next time you see a bald eagle soaring
across a blue sky, or perching a tree, or you know,
if you're up in Alaska sitting on a dumpster, gaze
upon its majesty with pride as you contemplate the strength, courage,
and conservation success it represents as our newly minted national
bird and possibly the number one carry an eater in
(02:03):
your heart. This week we've got public lands, grizzer bears, legislation,
and so much more. But first I'm going to tell
you about my week, and my week has been a
whirlwind as per usual. First, big thanks to the Arizona
Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers for hosting the North
(02:24):
American Board of BHA for the annual retreat. Everything was awesome,
killer country, great weather, awesome people, new species, they got
to meet, all you folks who are volunteering tirelessly and
kicking butt while you're doing so. Great discussions, great energy.
Love to see it happen, and keep it up. We
(02:45):
appreciate you. As for the new species down there in Arizona,
we got to hunt for part of the day Manazuma
or Merns Quail Merns being the naturalist that identified the
species and natural This guy will make you blush. Merns
was a New Yorker who got a medical degree and
joined the Army in the late eighteen hundreds. He was
(03:08):
stationed a bunch of places, but traveled to far flung
locales like Guam, which you can imagine in the turn
of the century was a bit of a trip. Eventually,
he was appointed medical Officer to the International Boundary Commission,
that boundary being between Mexico and the United States. In
nineteen oh seven, he published Mammals of the Mexican Boundary
(03:29):
of the United States. In nineteen oh nine, he retired
from the Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Then
Theodore Roosevelt invited Merns to accompany the Smithsonian Roosevelt African
Expedition as a naturalist, which heck of a tip of
the hat there. He was doing that from nineteen eleven
to nineteen twelve. He scientifically described the Tita thrush, the
(03:50):
Appo sunbird, the boren cisticola, the Chewahwan grasshopper mouse, the
rufous headed Taylor bird, among others. Eventually, he died in Washington,
d C. At the ripe old age of sixty sixty
years old. That's a lot by sixty. That's offty old merns.
And now for the quail part. What's interesting about this
(04:13):
little comparatively non vocal bugger, the merns quail, is that
they use their long talons to dig and eat tubers.
They got big feet. And when I say dig, we
found holes like six to eight inches deep in some areas.
And this is like dry, hard, rocky soil, and sixty
eight inches may not seem like a lot to summy,
but when you're sixty eight inches tall like the merns quail,
(04:36):
that's a big hole. The birds I took home are
plucked and sitting in a gentle brine before I lightly
roast them. I'll let you know how that goes. Incredible
camouflage on the merns quail, it is just wild, wild,
how they blend in to that grass and of course
you know dry, dusty, hard scent conditions for the dogs. Yeah,
(04:59):
it is a wonder that you can find those things.
Probably wouldn't do it without a dog. What else, As
previously talked about, states are in session, go to the
askcalpage at the mediat dot com to find out which ones.
Randall Williams and I hustled up to Helena, which of
course is Montana's capital, to listen in and offer testimony.
(05:20):
Last week. We got particularly interested in HB one thirty nine,
which is a bill that was put together to address
the idea that mule deer rut hunting in our state
could be closed at some point. I testified against that one,
as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has the ability to
season set with public input already, And if you listen
(05:42):
to this podcast, I just prefer regulation over legislation. Fishing
game agencies need to be as nimble as possible. I
got to tip the hat to Representative Hinkle, who you know,
put a lot of work into that thing. The vote
is coming up like immediately after this podcast gets record,
so I'll have to update you next week on how
that goes. But guys, Head's not in the wrong place.
(06:06):
I just think the state's already got this one covered.
We just don't need a law for it. Let me
know what you think, and more importantly, please write in
and let me know what is going on in your state.
Many of you already did, so let's get to it.
Going right over to the public land desk, here's some
(06:26):
positive news to start your week. The Supreme Court has
declined to hear a lawsuit brought by the state of
Utah that would have forced the federal government to dispose
of tens of millions of acres of public land. We
covered this story on several episodes, but we did a
deep dive recently. In episode three point thirty two. Utah
was asking the Supreme Court to force the Bureau of
(06:47):
Land Management to dispose of so called unappropriated land. This
would mean that in Utah alone, the BLM would have
to sell a whopping eighteen and a half million acres,
and it's not clear whether that land would fall to
state or private control or just need to be as
it says in the lawsuit disposed of as in sould, Utah,
(07:09):
along with several other Western states, were asking the Supreme
Court to let them skip all the lower federal courts
and go straight to the top. But in a decision
release just last week, the justices said not so fast.
They didn't comment on the merits of the case or
explain their reasoning. They simply refused to take the case.
This is great news for public land advocates, but the
(07:29):
fight is far from over. Utah and its allies can
refile their case with the lower federal court and try
to work their way back up to the Supreme Court,
or they can try to work with the incoming Trump
administration to hand over a federal public land. In a
joint statement released last week, Utah said, the incoming Trump
administration shares quote our commitments to the principle of multiple
(07:51):
use for these federal lands and is committed to working
with us to improve land management. You got to pay
attention to the words here, folks. This is not about
land management. This is about the sale of land. Management
is just like a red herring argument that has nothing
to do with the case. On top of that, the
(08:11):
Trump administration has said on multiple occasions that they aren't
interested in selling the unbelievable real estate we co own.
It's just too darn valuable. We've won the first battle,
but we need to stay vigilant. As always, we'll keep
you in the loop. Moving on to the grizzer bear desk.
(08:32):
Last week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a
new rule that would dramatically change how grizzly bears are
managed in the United States. The proposal comes in response
to several lawsuits by Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, whose governors
were asking that the species be removed from the Endangered
Species list. Led by Director Martha Williams, the Fish and
Wildlife Service denied these requests. Instead, the Service wants to
(08:55):
get rid of the six population segments it had previously
used to manage the bears, and will now aim to
recover grizzlies within one giant segment that encompasses all of
Washington State, as well as most of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
If all that sounds like much ado about nothing, let
me explain why this decision is raising the blood pressures
(09:15):
of everyone, from the Center of Biological Diversity to our
own governor here in Montana, Greg gen Forte. As we've
covered several times on this podcast, grizzly bears are broken
up into six distinct population segments Northern Cascades in Washington,
Selkirk and Cabinet Yak in northern Idaho and Montana, Northern
Continental Divide Ecosystem in the northwest Montana, bitter At in Idaho,
(09:38):
and Greater Yellowstone in southern Montana and northwest Wyoming a
little bit of Schmidga Idaho there too. There are currently
a bunch of bears between seven hundred and one thousand
in both the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide. That's
according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. There are about
sixty bears in the Cabinet Yak and about forty bears
in Selkirk, but the other recovery areas don't contain any
(10:00):
breeding populations, again, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
For the last decade or so, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
have been pushing for the bears to be removed from
the Endangered Species list in Yellowstone and the Northern Continental Divide.
They argue that the populations here are strong and growing,
some would say too strong at this point, and there's
no reason that they should still be listed as endangered.
(10:23):
Taking them off the ESA. In these two recovery zones
would allow the states to manage the species as they
do every other non endangered species in their jurisdictions. However,
if the Fish and Wildlife Service succeeds in eliminating these
population zones and begins managing all grizzlies in the lower
forty eight under the same umbrella, you can kiss that
argument goodbye. Now. Instead of two populations looking strong and
(10:47):
healthy while the other four still need protection, the map
looks practically empty. The new single population segment extends well
beyond where grizzly bears currently live, and the agency doesn't
offer a population goal for when and this giant new
population boundary counts as recovered. In fact, they argue that
the strength of the populations in Yellowstone and the Northern
(11:08):
Continental Divide are in fact a reason not to delist
the bears, They say quote. The Service also recognizes that
recovery of small and extirpated populations relies on contributions from
highly resilient populations. Maintaining all recovery zones together in one
distinct population segment will increase the speed of recovery in
(11:30):
remaining ecosystems and the overall viability of grizzly bears, increasing
the likelihood of successfully delisting the entire DPS that's distinct
population segment by addressing the species recovery needs as a whole.
In other words, since bears can't read maps, we need large,
healthy populations in some areas so those bears can travel
(11:52):
to the other recovery zones and repopulate them. We can't
delist those strong populations because we need as many bears
in the lower forty eight as possible. The response to
this announcement has been about what you'd expect. The Center
for Biological Diversity praised the rule, with legal director Andrea
Zuccardi saying she's relieved that bears and other recovery zones
(12:13):
will have a quote real chance at long term recovery
instead of being gunned down and mounted on trophy walls.
On the other side of the ledger, the Western Landowners
Alliance accused the Fish and Wildlife Service of moving the goalposts.
The reality is that grizzly bears are increasing in population
and expanding in range, well beyond original recovery targets, said
(12:34):
Leslie Allison, the nonprofit CEO. People who live and work
in recovery areas continue to experience increasing conflicts, safety concerns,
and disproportionate economic costs. To be fair, the Service does
acknowledge in their press release that grizzly bear expansion is
challenging for local communities and working lands Because of this.
The new rule also adds greater flexibility and responsiveness on
(12:57):
private lands and areas where grizzly bear pops populations are
impacting private landowners and livestock producers. We will have more
information in future weeks about what exactly that looks like,
but it sounds like the Service is open to removing
problem bears more quickly. As of this recording. Most of
the hunting orgs have yet to weigh in on this issue,
but the Sportsman's Alliance sounded off in a blog post
(13:20):
a day after the rule was proposed, and it's safe
to say they're not happy. Michael Jean, the group's litigation council,
said the rule shows that the Endangered Species Act is
quote broken. He continued, we have multiple populations of different
species that have surpassed their recovery goals and are thriving.
If they cannot be delisted according to the Service because
(13:40):
they have not fully recovered in other areas. We'll stay
on this story as it moves forward, but in the
meantime you have work to do. That's right you. This
is a proposed rule, nothing has been finalized, and the
Fish and Wildlife Service is asking the public to weigh in.
There will be public meetings in Montana, Idaho, in Wyoming,
(14:01):
and concerned citizens can also post a comment online. A
sixty day public comment period will be open from January
fifteen through March seventeen, and we'll post a link to
that comment page over at the meat eater dot com
forward slash col Just a reminder, just because we're not
hunting them doesn't mean people aren't shooting them. You can
(14:21):
use whatever like I guess, acronym, synonym, always get those
things mixed up anyway, fancy words for saying agencies are
killing bears when they come into conflict, but you know
that's what they're doing. It would just be great if
hunters had the ability to take a few bears if
you want to see a really cool episode. And I'm
(14:44):
definitely not tooting my own horn, but would be great
to talk about the merits and virtues and the awesome
work that biologists large carnivore biologists are doing on behalf
of grizzly bears. You should check out an old YouTube
episode about five years old now on the meteater dot
com Idaho Grizzlies, where we work with some incredibly dedicated
(15:07):
Idaho fishing game staff to capture and release grizzlies as
part of the longest running population grizzly bear study in
the world. Awesome, awesome stuff. Moving on to the re
wilding desk, someone who has been releasing Links into the
(15:28):
Scottish Highlands and what appears to be an ill advised
attempt to reintroduce the species to that area. Two pair
of the wildcats were released last week and while both
were quickly captured by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland,
the incident has sparked concern about rogue rewilders releasing wild
animals on the landscape. You guys did a great job
(15:49):
keeping me in the loop on this. On January nine,
listeners Ian J and Bob T sent me articles about
the first pair of Links being spotted in the car
Gorms National Park in northern Scotland. Members of the public
were encouraged to avoid the area as police investigated, and
it didn't take long for them to learn about a
second pair of cats that had been released in the
same area. Links are native to Scotland, but they disappeared
(16:13):
from the island between five hundred and a thousand years ago.
Some preservationist groups have called for the cats to be
reintroduced in the area, but from what I can tell,
there isn't much appetite for that among the general Scottish public.
One of those preservationist groups, the Mammal Society, told the
BBC that while it understands the frustration that might have
led to these illegal releases, it condemned the actions as
(16:35):
irresponsible and not the answer. Police are still investigating where
exactly the cats came from. It's also possible these were
pets that someone decided they didn't want, but it seems
like the consensus is that they were released to rewild
the area. Rewilding is a concept we've touched on a
few times. It's basically what it sounds like. Advocates seek
(16:56):
to restore landscapes to a wilder state by reintroducing ex
stirpaid species and limiting the influence of humans on the landscape.
While they're responsible and interesting, projects done in the name
of rewilding. The movement can also take on an anti
human tinge. Some would argue that we should restore natural
ecosystems no matter the human cost, and you can see
(17:17):
how that mindset might compel someone to release links in
a national park. Please say that even though the cats
are safe and sound in the Edinburgh Zoo, they're still
on the lookout for those responsible for the release. For
something super fun for you Scottish listeners. I know I
didn't pronounce this stuff right, so if you want to
write in with a little sound bite and pronounce your
(17:38):
national park, that would be super all right. No, there's
no tech talk for Monico's beckman. I know you're coming
out of biwally up there, but I'm glad to have
you doing your skate fastiles and a weap against the holding. Okay,
what moving on to the legislative desk. State legislatures are
(17:59):
reconvening in capitals across the nation and we're here to
tell you about all the bills and policy that will
impact hunters, anglers, conservationists and other public land users. A
few quick notes before we dive into our first big
legislation desk of the year. First, you can find every
call to action or as we say around the office,
cal to action, as my producer wants me to say
(18:21):
over at the meeteater dot com forward slash col. If
you're driving, holding a toddler, or can't reach a pen
for some other reason, you can find a quick recap
of every item on the legislative desk at the meeteater
dot com forward slash cal again the meeteater dot com
forward slash cal. Second, we rely heavily on you, our listeners,
(18:43):
to tell us what you're seeing in your states. We
do our best, but we can't keep track of what's
happening in all fifty. So if you see a bill
or policy that's concerning, exciting, just darn interesting, let me
know about it by writing in to ask Cel that's
ask cal at the meaeater dot com. With those business
items out of the way, let's dig in down. In Florida,
(19:07):
the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is officially seeking public
input on reopening a black bear hunt. The Sunshine State
ran a regulated hunt from nineteen thirty six to nineteen
ninety four, but they closed it in nineteen ninety five
to help recover the dwindling bear population. As those recovery
efforts succeeded and bear numbers rose, officials opened a limited
(19:27):
hunt in twenty fifteen, but ironically enough, that hunt went
so well that the public backlash forced the Commission to
close it almost as soon as it opened. Floridians felt
that too many bears were killed too quickly, and the
state hasn't seen a hunt since that year. Fortunately, the
Commission has voice support for a hunt for the last
few years, and now they've taken the first official steps.
(19:49):
They've asked the biologists with the Commission to put a
hunt plan together, which they say what could be ready
as soon as May of this year. If you live
in Florida and would like the chance to chase the bear,
now is the time to get involved. You can bet
that the anti hunting crowd will be out in full
force to pressure the Commission to leave the hunt closed.
We need to be out in even fuller force. That's
(20:11):
a word, right. That means attending the commission meetings and
sending in as many calls and emails as you can.
We'll post links at the media dot com forward slash
you know what cal to the meeting schedule and a
page where you can contact all the commissioners at once.
Here's a hint. They start with my FWC dot com.
Moving over to Oklahoma, the state senator has proposed a
(20:35):
bill that would lower the annual bag limit for whitetail
bucks from two to one. Current regulation allows hunters to
take two antler deer per year, but SB three three eight,
authored by Senator Grant Green, would limit hunters to a
single buck per year. As of this recording, Senator Green
hasn't provided much public explanation for why he wants to
(20:56):
see this change. I assume he's worried about the whitetail
population and he thinks lowering the bag limit will keep
more bucks on the landscape or help bucks grow bigger antlers.
But Tyler Terrio, a listener and lifelong Oklahoma hunter, calls
that thinking a fallacy. The hunters who shoot young immature
deer will continue to do so regardless of bag limits
(21:19):
and restrictions. He wrote in his email calling our attention
to this bill. Whatever the motivation for SB three thirty eight,
I'd say these decisions are better made by the biologists
in the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Senator Green might
have real data informing this idea, or he might be
doing a favor for his cousin's nephew who hasn't seen
(21:39):
enough big bucks on his forty acre farm and thinks
the bag limit should be lower. Whatever you think, send
an email to your Oklahoma state senators. Today. Up in Wyoming,
the legislature will once again consider a bill that would
make corner crossing legal in the state. Rep. Carly Provenza
recently filed House nine, which decriminalizes entering the airspace of
(22:03):
a private landowner if the person is traveling from one
block of public land to another at the point where
the blocks meet. It's important we codify that the people
of Wyoming have the right to access their public lands.
Representative Provenza told Wilo File I couldn't agree more, but
we'll see if this bill has better luck in the
Cowboy State than previous versions. Even though a federal court
(22:25):
has ruled in favor of corner crossing, the issue is
still somewhat up in the air. It is legal right now,
and it would be great if Western state legislatures would
step in and clarify this issue, But there is still
tons of pressure from landowners who currently enjoy exclusive access
to public parcels. And this isn't all landowners that about
(22:47):
public property gang. This is just a select view that
are trying to keep the public out of public land.
So if you live in Wyoming, get on the horn
with your state rep and tell them to vote in
favor of House Bill ninety nine. In Colorado, the legislature
will consider a bill that would ban a huge percentage
(23:08):
of semi automatic firearms in the state. SB two to
five DASH zero zero three would make it illegal to manufacture, distribute, transfer, sell,
or purchase semi automatic rifles or shotguns with a detachable magazine,
or gas operated semi automatic handguns with a detachable magazine.
Many other states have banned so called assault weapons, but
the sponsors of this bill claim to be taking a
(23:30):
new approach. Rather than trying to describe AR fifteen's, AK
forty sevens and other rifles in law and then ban them,
this bill is larger in scope. It targets any rifle
or shotgun that is semi automatic and accepts any size
detachable magazine, as well as any handgun that is gas
operated and accepts a detachable magazine. That would ban virtually
(23:52):
every AR style rifle or handgun. Since they all accept
detachable magasine most are gas operated, Colorados who currently own
these firearms would have to transferre it out of state,
sell it to a gun dealer, or pass it down
to an air The bill does include some exceptions. If
the rifle is chambered in twenty two col or smaller,
it won't be banned. If the rifle or shotgun has
(24:13):
a fixed magazine of less than fifteen rounds, it's also safe.
The bill also makes an exception for recoil operated handguns,
which would include pretty much every other modern handgun on
the market. Dozens of Colorado representatives and senators have sponsored
this bill. They say it's aimed at preventing gun related violence.
One of those sponsors, state Senator Tom Sullivan, says he
(24:34):
was also motivated to introduce the bill to enforce the
state's magazine ban. Colorado passed a bill in twenty thirteen
that ban the sale of magazines that hold more than
fifteen rounds, but Sullivan says these illegal mags are still
too accessible. He believes this bill, which bans the sale
of firearms capable of using those illegal magazines, will do
what the older lack couldn't. A SB two to five
(24:55):
zero zero three was introduced last week and has been
assigned to the State Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
I'd weigh in on this one. There's definitely like some
hunting applications here that get smoked in all this verbiage,
and man, it's regulating law abiding citizens in order to,
you know, I guess, somehow attempt to keep guns out
(25:17):
of the hands of bad people. Two more quick ones
for you, listener. Nicholas Hart sent me a bill being
considered in Kentucky that would remove the hunter education requirement
for anyone over the age of eighteen years old. It
also removes the live fire range day requirements for law enforcement,
current military personnel, and military veterans. It was introduced by
(25:37):
State Senator Gary Boswell, who you may remember as the
legislator who wanted to legalize killing Cooper's and red tailed hawks.
He's back now with another brilliant idea. Nicholas rightly points
out in his email that Hunter's ed has been credited
with dramatically reducing hunting accidents and states from coast to coast.
With the large number of adult onset hunters these days,
(25:58):
it seems especially irresponsible well, to remove the requirement for
hunters in Kentucky or anywhere else. Yeah, irresponsible. Finally, the
good folks over at the National Deer Association have made
me aware of a proposal in Indiana that would allow
landowners to release into the wild captive bread white tailed
(26:19):
deer that are supposedly resistant to chronic wasting disease. We've
covered this a ton already. It's just crazy talk. Oklahoma
passed the same kind of bill last year, and we
covered it extensively in a conversation with the NDA's Kip
Adams in episode two seventy three. We're not going to
get into all the specifics right now because I'm told
the bill's language hasn't been finalized, but we'll be bringing
(26:41):
you more details in the coming weeks. And I wanted
to get in on the radar of Indiana deer hunters
so you can be ready to stop this bad bill
in its tracks. That's all I've got for you this week.
So much more coming down the pipe. We're going to
add more episodes if necessary. I'm sure it will be
so right in keep us accountable, just like we need
(27:03):
to keep our lawmakers accountable. Thank you so much. It's
gonna take effort and time, but I know you'll do it.
I'll help as much as I can too. Thanks again.
Remember to write into a sk C a L that's
ASCALT themedia dot com. Tell us what's going on in
your neck of the woods. We appreciate it. Talk to
you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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