October 20, 2025 • 29 mins
This week, Cal covers a tragic bear attack in Arkansas, the latest on what's happening in Washington, D.C., and a crazy philosopher who thinks we should give people Alpha-Gal syndrome on purpose.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Col's Week in Review with Ryan col Kalahan. Here's Cal,
a philosophy professor at Western Michigan University, recently published a
paper advocating for the intentional spread of tics that cause
alpha gal syndrome abbreviated AGS, the ailment that makes it
(00:34):
impossible for its hosts to eat red meat aka my
worst nightmare. I'll quote from the abstract of the article
to summarize the argument. Quote, if eating meat is morally impermissible,
then efforts to prevent the spread of tickborn ags are
also morally impermissible. Unquote. The study then draws out the
(00:56):
pieces of this argument, concluding quote, Promoting the proliferation of
tickborn ags is morally obligatory. That's right, You listening to
the sound of my voice, have a moral obligation to
get outside right now. Find lone star ticks or black
leg ticks or both, breed them in your basement, sneak
(01:16):
around your neighborhood, distribute them to your meat eating friends, neighbors, acquaintances,
and of course, infect yourself to prevent meat eating. Alpha
gal syndrome spreads when a tick deposits a very specific
alpha gall carbohydrate into the bloodstream of the host. The
host immune system attacks that carb and creates an out
(01:37):
of control reaction than anytime that same carbohydrate enters the
body in the future through eating red meat, the same
reaction overtakes the host, resulting in rashes, vomiting diarrhea, breathing problems,
and even anaphylactic shock. After that, even an elk backstrap
sizzling from the pan is going to look pretty horrible.
(01:58):
Before you rush to get inflamed over this article, it's
worth talking about the author, Parker Crutchfield. At first glance,
it might seem that he's a fanatic about the moral
problems of factory farming, or the climate effects of eating meat,
or just killing any animals. But if you look at
some of his other papers, it seems that he might
be using a logical argument technique called reductio ad absertum,
(02:22):
where you take in an argument so far that it
breaks to pieces. We've all been there, so by that logic,
you would also not breathe there. One of those types
of people. Would vegans take their moral clarity so far
that they would weaponize tics. Other Crutchfield papers argue for
a pain lottery to determine distribution of opioids, or for
(02:46):
creating so called posthumans who have better morals than we do.
If you have a few minutes, look up this guy's papers.
They're worth a read, and some aren't quite fit for
a family podcast. As enlightening as some cleverly argued thought
experiments might be, Alpha gal is scary as heck. And
keep in mind that I am an advocate for reading
(03:06):
and listening to the arguments of those I do not
agree with for educational and entertainment purposes. I might still
go douse my outdoor clothes in another round of tick
repellent just to be safe. But at the same time,
I don't think any animal rights groups are going to
take this one to the furthest conclusion. This week we've
got the Feds, bears, and much more. But first I'm
(03:29):
going to tell you about my week and my week. Man,
it's been something. We left out Old Bosangelus on September
twenty eight and returned during the wee hours of October eleventh,
and a lot happened during that time. The Alaska Peninsula
treated us very well. All said and done, our flights
all the way down into camp were windless, blue sky
(03:49):
rarities in that part of the world. The southwest side
of the peninsula averages two hundred inches of precip a year,
and the fall storm season picks up in October. Plus
it's just a hard expensive place to get to big
planes to smaller and smaller planes. To put that into context,
that's like one hundred and sixty seats to ten seats
(04:11):
to two seats, wind fog, relatively few spots to land,
relatively fewer spots to land with resources like mechanics and
fuel and food, and again it's all just super expensive.
Brown Bear in Alaska is a guided game. We went
with Hidden Alaska, which is run by Tony Martini. He
(04:33):
and a guide named Cash, who operates Vast Alaska, another
great outfit of good repute, help each other out down
there in the land of extreme logistics. You need to
have faith in the operation and operators that you go
with in any circumstance. Trips down here to the Alaska Peninsula.
For peninsula brown Bears are huge commitments time wise and
(04:55):
finance wise, so you got to go with people that
you can trust. Customer service is a huge part of
this gig, even though it's rarely called customer service in
the guide industry. Imagine a job in a remote part
of the world where the human density per square mile
is point zero six, and your job is to meet
(05:17):
a human who has come from anywhere other than there
that spends most of their time, where the human population
density is more than likely far above the national average
of ninety humans per square mile, and more than likely
this particular person isn't used to the fact that a
eight hundred pounds bear standing well over the tallest of
(05:40):
NBA players, or much more with a cantankerous reputation, can
pop out of head and chest high wet salmon berry
alder and willows and flush like a rough grouse, ideally
away from you, but possibly not like a rough grouse
because it realizes that it's not used to being surprised,
(06:00):
and it's got big teeth and two inch claws sticking
out of its pause. These people aren't used to being
in the wet for weeks on end. They're not used
to feeling out of control, and your job as a
guide is to build an immediate bond of trust, partnership, friendship,
while imparting a feeling of control and safety and assuredness,
(06:22):
even though you're in a part of the world that
offers very little of those mental comforts. However, both the
client and the guide have signed up willingly to be
in this position. Additionally, the guide is relied upon for
proper instruction that can range from basic safety strategy shot
placement all the way to how to take a poop
(06:43):
in the woods and how to eat freeze dried food.
It's a strange gig. No matter how skilled you are
in the woods. If you can't make friends with someone
real quick, all your woodsmanship may be for nothing. We
had an absolutely fantastic time, fantastic experience. As I said,
the weather was actually pretty darn good to us for
(07:04):
that part of the world. Didn't have to live under
a tart too much when it was rain and real hard.
It didn't come with high winds, so you can be
pretty darn comfortable with the right stuff. I even was
so bold as to test out some new lightweight rain
gear on this hunt, and they worked. I mean they
(07:25):
were great. They were just so light it made me
a little nervous as to prolonged use. A month of
doing that, I would probably call it sheep hunting gear,
not brown bear gear, but no complaints. Worked real well,
and yeah, we just saw amazing stuff. Nobody quite understands
(07:46):
the similarities between prairie dogs and Alaskan brown bears. I
saw more bears standing up on their hind legs than
I ever have before. Those animals want to get a
look above the brush, just like you do. Really fantastic
part of the world, permanent ice fields up above, US
ocean down below, some great bird action. Didn't quite have
(08:09):
my Merlin app updated like I should have, but you know,
still learned a little bit. And our guides down there,
Kyle and Brandon aka Brando, we're awesome folks and we
got along great and you got to talk a lot
of stories when you're under those typs for ten days,
(08:29):
so really fantastic time. There's so much to talk about
that I can't do it all in one shot, so
we can get some of the more exciting stuff like
going out antelope punting here pretty quick after we get
through the news on the next episode. Great trip. Happy
to have done it, would love to go do it again,
and highly recommend those outfits. Hit in Alaska, Tony Marchini
(08:54):
and Cash over there at vast Alaska. Moving on to
the Washington d C desk. The Feds were busy while
I was away, and I'm sorry to say they haven't
been spending their time in ways that benefit hunters, anglers,
public land users, or really anyone who values clean air
and water. First up, the Trump administration recently announced a
(09:15):
series of potential lifelines for the coal industry, including opening
thirteen point three million additional acres of public land in
the West for coal mining, rolling back wastewater pollution regulations,
and pledging six hundred and twenty five million dollars of
government money to rehab aging coal fired electricity plants. The
public land on the block is pretty diverse, with some
(09:38):
sensitive and not so sensitive areas, so head over to
the BLM website and take a look at the maps
and parcel descriptions posted there. A lot of this is
so called split a state land, where the Feds own
the coal under the ground, but private citizens own the
land on the surface. Some is close to existing mineral
development operations, but significant chunks are important wildlife habitat and
(10:03):
migration areas, including native grasslands and mixed prairie in eastern
Montana and sagebrush areas in Wyoming. So this part of
the initiative is a pretty mixed bag. Less ambiguous is
delaying and eliminating water pollution regulations. That does make things
more affordable for energy companies, of course, but waste from
(10:24):
coal mines often contaminates groundwater with arsenic lead and other
toxic chemicals. I'd say keeping that stuff from coming out
our faucets and flowing down our trout streams is a
pretty good idea. Not to mention, the coal that we're
talking about here in Montana is not what you would
call grade A stuff. It's not the same as what
they were pulling out of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Burns
(10:47):
a little dirtier, not as efficient, and that surface action
is not going to do any favors for our pronghorn
mule deer in Greater Sage Grouse. As for the funds
to fix existing coal plants, six hundred and twenty five
million dollars is a lot of taxpayer money, but unfortunately
it doesn't go very far with the amount of repair
(11:08):
these aging power plants need. For example, replacing one worn
out component and a coal plants boiler can cost twenty
five million dollars. In fact, in most cases, converting a
coal plant to burn natural gas is cheaper than maintaining
it to continue burning coal. All of these recent measures
are designed to help an industry that has shrunk considerably
(11:29):
in the past few decades. Proponents oftent tout coal as
reliable and affordable, but often it fails short there too.
For example, the Cumberland Coal Plant in northwest Tennessee supplies
power to one point four million homes, but its fifty
two year old infrastructure has become more and more vulnerable
to hot weather. During a heat wave in June of
(11:49):
this year, one of its units went down, causing service
outages and reductions right when people needed their ac the
most burning coal also produces haze, and another prong in
this the pro Coal effort is the EPA's proposal to
roll back the Regional Hayes Rule or RHR, originally instituted
as part of the Clean Air Act in nineteen seventy seven.
(12:12):
Under the RHR, air clarity is measured at one hundred
and fifty six protected parks and wilderness areas across the country,
and every ten years, states developed plans to improve clarity
by reducing pollutants in these areas. This one has been
an absolute slam dunk for improving air quality and the
experience of being in wild places in the US. Go
(12:34):
online to the EPA website while it's still there and
take a look at before and after photos for parks
and wilderness areas over the last twenty five years. The
improvements are stunning. For example, the visibility distance in Yosemite
National Park was around eighty miles in two thousand and
improved to one hundred miles by twenty fifteen. The improvement
(12:55):
in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is even more dramatic,
going from just twenty five miles of visibility to sixty.
The EPA is now holding a public comment period on
rolling back the Hayes rule, so we'll post the link
to that on the cal to Action web page. Get
over there and oppose this one if you've ever stopped
on a trail, taken a deep breath, and thought not
(13:17):
having asthma's great. Generally, the demand for coal in the
US is declining and will likely continue to do so
after a temporary bump from these measures, and a lot
of this recent effort is largely about trolling the libs
the greenies. If we want to make real progress on
meeting data center energy demand, as coal proponents often talk about,
(13:38):
and we could actually do so pretty quickly. Analysis from
the energy group Rewiring America recently showed that all the
projected increase in energy consumption by data centers could be
met by having developers and tech companies pay for switching
nearby homes from inefficient electric resistance heating to heat pumps
and equip those homes with solar panels and home battery storage,
(14:00):
which also comes at an environmental cost as well. Maybe
we should put some no how on that interesting problem
instead of increasing haze in the air and ursnake in
the water. While the Trump administration has been working to
prop up the coal industry, our old pal Mike Lee
has come forward with another hot new idea from someone
(14:22):
who doesn't know about the outside the out of doors.
What is public land? I wouldn't go to this guy
to talk about it. This time, he's pushing a bill
that would give the federal government carte blanche authority to
build roads and buildings on all federal land within one
hundred miles of the northern and southern borders, even if
that federal land has been designated as a wilderness area.
(14:45):
We're going to circle back to this point, okay, because
due to several bills starting with Bush all the way
through the last Trump administration, most of this is already
provided for. So this is like an office of the redundancy,
bureaucratic piling up of paperwork office redundancy, not anything new.
(15:06):
Carte blanche would be the thing to focus on. The
change here is being able to do this with less oversight,
not the way it's pitched, which is just being able
to do this. So Lee's bill, border Lands Conservation Act,
is being pushed by Lee as a border security measure.
(15:28):
Lee laments how illegal immigrants leave trash on public land
on their way into our country, and he wants to
give border officials more tools to combat this issue. But
in typical Mic Lee fashion, he tries to rewrite federal
land management policy on his way to solving a relatively
minor problem. In this case, his bill would rewrite the
Wilderness Act to give the Department of Homeland Security the
(15:49):
right to build tactical infrastructure in wilderness areas. This includes
observation points, remote video surveillance systems, motion sensors, vehicle barriers, fences, roads,
and bridges. It would also allow the use of motorized
vehicles in these sensitive areas, which is currently a big nona. Now,
you might argue that border security is worth disturbing some
(16:11):
of our nation's wilderness areas. That's a defensible position many
Americans share. But Senator Lee's bill is obviously not about
border security, and there are two reasons why that is. First,
his bill includes the northern border, which hasn't historically been
a place illegal immigrants cross over. Respective to our southern border.
It does have its problems, just not the same degree.
(16:34):
What's more, Glacier National Park, Montana's Bob Marsh Wilderness Complex,
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are all within one hundred
miles of the northern border. Americans enjoy recreating in these areas,
specifically because they don't run into any roads, cars, or
other motorized vehicles. Under Lee's bill, that could very well change. Secondly,
(16:55):
as far as illegal crossings, we're already on the right track.
The latest data from US Customs and Border Protections show
that there were only nine thousand, seven hundred and forty
encounters with illegal immigrants in August of twenty twenty five,
which is the latest data available. In August of twenty
twenty four, that number was more than ten times more
(17:16):
one hundred and seven thousand. Whatever this administration is doing,
it's already working. We don't need to jeopardize our wilderness
further than we already have to solve a problem that
is largely provided for with appropriate checks and balances. Again,
there's been a number of provisions passed in the name
of border security over the last three administrations that already
(17:39):
provide for much of what Lee is talking about. His
bill just removes the appropriate oversight to do these things.
Last one for you, and I'm sorry to say it's
also bad news. President Trump announced that despite strong opposition
from sportsmen and conservation groups, it's moving forward with the
(17:59):
Ambler Roomade project. I've talked about this many times before.
The Ambler Road is a two hundred and eleven mile
road that would cut through the Alaskan wilderness south of
the Brooks Range and connect potential mining sites to the
Dalton Highway. It's been stalled for years due to environmental
and subsistence concerns, and the BLM issued a decision in
twenty twenty four that deemed the project too risky, But
(18:20):
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act allows the President
to overrule the BLM's decision if a road quote does
not occupy, use, or traverse any area within the National
Wilderness Preservation System. The administration claims that because the Ambler
Road is not within this system, the President can unilaterally
overrule the BLM's decision, which is exactly what he did.
(18:41):
He directed all relevant federal agencies to issue the permits
needed to build the road, and Interior Secretary Doug Bergham
said construction could begin as early as this spring. Because
this decision did not go through the normal process, there
is no official way for the public to comment, but
he can still contact your elected officials and voice your
disapproval of the president's actions. If they refuse to act, well,
(19:05):
we can let them know at the next election. It's
also worth throwing a few bucks towards the conservation groups
that I'm sure will be involved in legal action. I
would think TRCP would be a great one to start with.
Conservation Lands Foundation Alaska BHA. Just for my overlapping time
in Alaska, you know the Alaska folks that I was
(19:27):
hanging out with were adamant about two things. Alaska doesn't
exist without oil and gas as we know it. Like,
if you think things are expensive up there now, they're
only going to get more expensive if that oil and
gas economy, as well as the existing infrastructure, were to
go away. The other thing in regards to Ambler Road
(19:47):
is the species around the Brooks Range, most notably like
sheep and caribou, are already having a really tough time.
This hall road is not going to be open to
the public. It's going on cross public land. It will
affect public resources far outside of the stated scope, which
is maybe some rare earth minerals, maybe some copper, some gold,
(20:11):
things that may make some folks some money that will
immediately leave the state and the general public will not
be able to access that road on public land. Moving
on to the bear hunting desk. Earlier this month, hunters
in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas killed a bear likely
responsible for fatally mauling a sixty year old camper at
(20:33):
the Sam's Throne Recreation Area in Newton County a few
days before. Our own Klay Newcombe was closely involved with
the attack investigation as well as the hunt for the bear,
and he provided exclusive further detail about these unprecedented events.
On October second, the body of the Springfield, Missouri man
was discovered outside his campsite with extensive injuries, including bite
marks on his forearms and face, consistent with defending against
(20:56):
a bear attack. The man's family had contacted the Newton
County Sheriff's Department after losing contact with him two days earlier.
The deputies dispatched to the scene discovered evidence of a
protracted struggle, as well as drag marks one hundred and
ninety four feet into the woods. The state medical examiner
later determined that the man's cause of death was animal mauling.
(21:18):
Dogs were released to pursue the bear almost immediately, but
with the trail more than two days old, dogs weren't
able to pick up the scent. After the sheriff secured
the area, authorities with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
then set up several baited, bucket and tube traps in
hopes of catching the bear, as well as game cameras
to monitor the scene. The victim had taken photos of
a juvenile male bear in his camp and sent them
(21:39):
to his family earlier in the week, and so officials
knew what kind of animal to watch for. The bite
and scratch marks on his body were also consistent with
a yearly bear. On Sunday, October five, the first bear
who returned to the scene and appeared on the AGFC
cameras matched that description, but wouldn't approach any of the traps.
On call, hunters scrambled to the camp, round and release
(22:00):
their dogs once more, and this time the hounds were
able to locate the trail immediately. Clay said Newton County
Sheriff Glenn Wheeler, as well as Stacy Clark and Spencer
Daniels of the AGFC, deserve a ton of credit for
how they handled this complex and demanding situation. But the
true heroes here are the competent houndsmen and dogs who
trailed this bear. With so many acorns on the ground
(22:22):
this season, the bear had no incentive to come into
the bait in these traps. Without expertly trained dogs to
go out and find him, that bear would still be
out there without a doubt. Within ninety minutes of the
dogs setting out after this bear, they had him treed.
Simply outstanding work outside of this unique case authorized by
the AGFC. Pursuing bears with dogs is illegal in Arkansas.
(22:43):
The local hound hunters involved in this chase exclusively go
after hogs within the state, but they also legally hunt
bears out of state, including New Mexico and Virginia, where
they honed their skills that were deployed in Arkansas. After
the hunters killed the treed bear, his carcass was carried
out of the woods. It's in a body bag. The
bear will undergo a full neckkruptcy to discover any brain
(23:04):
abnormalities that may have influenced his behavior. Sheriff Wheeler also
added quote, I feel extremely confident this is the bear
we have photographs of from the scene of the attack.
To be one hundred percent certain, we will have to
wait on possible DNA matches, but all indications are that
this is the bear responsible for the fatal attack. This
is a relief to me in the community and I
(23:24):
thank God for this outcome. This was a dangerous bear.
This incident happened just a month after a strikingly similar
attack in Franklin County, Arkansas, just fifty miles northeast of
Sam's Thrown campground. On September three, seventy year old Vernon
Patten was spreading gravel on a roadside when he was
attacked by another juvenile bear and suffered mortal injuries. Black
(23:45):
Bear attacks are exceedingly rare in general, but for two
people to be killed by juvenile bears so close together
is like lightning striking the same penny twice in a row.
But as genuinely rare as the attacks are, they're also
a sign that we're entering a new ear in black
bear management, Clay said, quote the comeback of the black
bear since its extirpation in the East had been phenomenally successful,
(24:09):
which is a cause for real celebration. At the same time,
with more people than ever recreating in the outdoors, this
tragedy should refresh our respect for the bear. If a
bear comes close and doesn't seem afraid of you, holler, shout,
get in your car and leave. As a rule, black
bears aren't aggressive, but they have all the tools to
turn deadly, so don't get too comfortable. Moving on to
(24:33):
the mail bag, we have an email and a voicemail
to cover today. First up, a listener from Florida called
in to sound the alarm about a concerning public land issue.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So up here in northeast Florida, the Flagler County has
just announced that they're going to fill in a protected
wetland to put up six hundred and sixty fifty five
and up homes, so they cannot hide behind the affordable
housing to take away what was a nice public land area,
(25:04):
not very big, but still important to the fragile ecosystem
up here in northeast Florida.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
This caller didn't leave his name, but whoever you are,
thanks for calling in. This is exactly the kind of
thing we need to hear about, not the senior living
development on a wetland, but the attention to what's going
on in your neck of the woods. I wasn't able
to find much information about this issue, So if you
live in Flagler County, get involved. Maybe there's a way
to stop this development. Maybe there isn't, but maybe there's
(25:32):
another solution. I guarantee it will move forward unless someone
speaks up. If you have a question, comment, insult, or
concern you'd like to throw my way, give me a
call four oh six two two zero six four four
one four oh six two two zero six.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Four four one.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I'd love to hear from you. Next, another listener sent
me a great email I wanted to tackle. He included
his name, but I won't read it on air for
reasons that will be clear in a minute. For now,
we'll Jim. Jim wrote in and said, quote, my dad's
the kind of guy that doesn't much care about game laws,
and he brought me up hunting. He'll shoot over his
(26:09):
state limit on bucks and tag the deer. In another state,
He'll wander over property lines, and he'll for sure shoot
a deer way after shooting light. I came down to
do some early season white tail hunting with my dad,
and he worked hard to find me a spot, so
hard that he found me a spot one hundred yards
into the neighbor's back forty and he definitely knew it.
(26:30):
He walked me in there tonight, and the moment I
stopped hearing footsteps, I walked the hundred yards back into
his least ground and wandered around until I just ended
up sitting down here in the dark and never getting
in a tree. All that to say, I want to
hunt with my dad, but stuff like this keeps happening.
Hard to find a guy to ask what to do,
(26:51):
because that guy ought to be old Pops himself. How
would you handle it well? Jim calling you head on?
You just got to handle it head on, Say Dad,
my time with you is important. I love it, I
want to do it more, but I do not enjoy
(27:12):
it when it's illegal. I don't care what you do
with your own time. I prefer it was legal, but
that's your business. I guess. When it involves me and
I'm specifically taking my time to hang out with you,
it's got to be legal all the way through, or
else it just isn't fun. I care way more about
that than getting that buck or duck or whatever. That's
(27:35):
the way i'd start. The response can be a couple
of things. You know, we're dealing with fragile mail egos here.
You may encounter some snarky little blowback things here, and
that's fine, right, be like, yeah, make fun of me, Dad,
I get it, but this is what I am doing
from here on out. Hopefully you encounter just total acceptance,
(27:57):
and if not, you just got to say, Dad, we
can't hang out during hunting season because I can't know
what you're doing. If I know what you're doing, my
moral obligations are to turn you in give us a
holler back let us know what your thoughts. Are happy
to connect outside of the show, but we definitely want
to see if we can't provide some closure for the
(28:19):
Old Cow's Week in review universe here. So that's all
I got for you this week. Thank you so much
for listening. Remember to write in ask c a L.
That's asked Cal at the Meat Eater dot com or
call four oh six two two zero six four four one.
Love to hear from you. Snort, and I got a
date with some birds and we're gonna start trying to
(28:40):
punch some pronghorn tags. Get that tasty meat in the
old cooler right next to the old grizzly bear ham
that's in there too. Thanks again, Doctor. Next week
From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This
is Col's Week in Review with Ryan col Kalahan. Here's Cal,
a philosophy professor at Western Michigan University, recently published a
paper advocating for the intentional spread of tics that cause
alpha gal syndrome abbreviated AGS, the ailment that makes it
(00:34):
impossible for its hosts to eat red meat aka my
worst nightmare. I'll quote from the abstract of the article
to summarize the argument. Quote, if eating meat is morally impermissible,
then efforts to prevent the spread of tickborn ags are
also morally impermissible. Unquote. The study then draws out the
(00:56):
pieces of this argument, concluding quote, Promoting the proliferation of
tickborn ags is morally obligatory. That's right, You listening to
the sound of my voice, have a moral obligation to
get outside right now. Find lone star ticks or black
leg ticks or both, breed them in your basement, sneak
(01:16):
around your neighborhood, distribute them to your meat eating friends, neighbors, acquaintances,
and of course, infect yourself to prevent meat eating. Alpha
gal syndrome spreads when a tick deposits a very specific
alpha gall carbohydrate into the bloodstream of the host. The
host immune system attacks that carb and creates an out
(01:37):
of control reaction than anytime that same carbohydrate enters the
body in the future through eating red meat, the same
reaction overtakes the host, resulting in rashes, vomiting diarrhea, breathing problems,
and even anaphylactic shock. After that, even an elk backstrap
sizzling from the pan is going to look pretty horrible.
(01:58):
Before you rush to get inflamed over this article, it's
worth talking about the author, Parker Crutchfield. At first glance,
it might seem that he's a fanatic about the moral
problems of factory farming, or the climate effects of eating meat,
or just killing any animals. But if you look at
some of his other papers, it seems that he might
be using a logical argument technique called reductio ad absertum,
(02:22):
where you take in an argument so far that it
breaks to pieces. We've all been there, so by that logic,
you would also not breathe there. One of those types
of people. Would vegans take their moral clarity so far
that they would weaponize tics. Other Crutchfield papers argue for
a pain lottery to determine distribution of opioids, or for
(02:46):
creating so called posthumans who have better morals than we do.
If you have a few minutes, look up this guy's papers.
They're worth a read, and some aren't quite fit for
a family podcast. As enlightening as some cleverly argued thought
experiments might be, Alpha gal is scary as heck. And
keep in mind that I am an advocate for reading
(03:06):
and listening to the arguments of those I do not
agree with for educational and entertainment purposes. I might still
go douse my outdoor clothes in another round of tick
repellent just to be safe. But at the same time,
I don't think any animal rights groups are going to
take this one to the furthest conclusion. This week we've
got the Feds, bears, and much more. But first I'm
(03:29):
going to tell you about my week and my week. Man,
it's been something. We left out Old Bosangelus on September
twenty eight and returned during the wee hours of October eleventh,
and a lot happened during that time. The Alaska Peninsula
treated us very well. All said and done, our flights
all the way down into camp were windless, blue sky
(03:49):
rarities in that part of the world. The southwest side
of the peninsula averages two hundred inches of precip a year,
and the fall storm season picks up in October. Plus
it's just a hard expensive place to get to big
planes to smaller and smaller planes. To put that into context,
that's like one hundred and sixty seats to ten seats
(04:11):
to two seats, wind fog, relatively few spots to land,
relatively fewer spots to land with resources like mechanics and
fuel and food, and again it's all just super expensive.
Brown Bear in Alaska is a guided game. We went
with Hidden Alaska, which is run by Tony Martini. He
(04:33):
and a guide named Cash, who operates Vast Alaska, another
great outfit of good repute, help each other out down
there in the land of extreme logistics. You need to
have faith in the operation and operators that you go
with in any circumstance. Trips down here to the Alaska Peninsula.
For peninsula brown Bears are huge commitments time wise and
(04:55):
finance wise, so you got to go with people that
you can trust. Customer service is a huge part of
this gig, even though it's rarely called customer service in
the guide industry. Imagine a job in a remote part
of the world where the human density per square mile
is point zero six, and your job is to meet
(05:17):
a human who has come from anywhere other than there
that spends most of their time, where the human population
density is more than likely far above the national average
of ninety humans per square mile, and more than likely
this particular person isn't used to the fact that a
eight hundred pounds bear standing well over the tallest of
(05:40):
NBA players, or much more with a cantankerous reputation, can
pop out of head and chest high wet salmon berry
alder and willows and flush like a rough grouse, ideally
away from you, but possibly not like a rough grouse
because it realizes that it's not used to being surprised,
(06:00):
and it's got big teeth and two inch claws sticking
out of its pause. These people aren't used to being
in the wet for weeks on end. They're not used
to feeling out of control, and your job as a
guide is to build an immediate bond of trust, partnership, friendship,
while imparting a feeling of control and safety and assuredness,
(06:22):
even though you're in a part of the world that
offers very little of those mental comforts. However, both the
client and the guide have signed up willingly to be
in this position. Additionally, the guide is relied upon for
proper instruction that can range from basic safety strategy shot
placement all the way to how to take a poop
(06:43):
in the woods and how to eat freeze dried food.
It's a strange gig. No matter how skilled you are
in the woods. If you can't make friends with someone
real quick, all your woodsmanship may be for nothing. We
had an absolutely fantastic time, fantastic experience. As I said,
the weather was actually pretty darn good to us for
(07:04):
that part of the world. Didn't have to live under
a tart too much when it was rain and real hard.
It didn't come with high winds, so you can be
pretty darn comfortable with the right stuff. I even was
so bold as to test out some new lightweight rain
gear on this hunt, and they worked. I mean they
(07:25):
were great. They were just so light it made me
a little nervous as to prolonged use. A month of
doing that, I would probably call it sheep hunting gear,
not brown bear gear, but no complaints. Worked real well,
and yeah, we just saw amazing stuff. Nobody quite understands
(07:46):
the similarities between prairie dogs and Alaskan brown bears. I
saw more bears standing up on their hind legs than
I ever have before. Those animals want to get a
look above the brush, just like you do. Really fantastic
part of the world, permanent ice fields up above, US
ocean down below, some great bird action. Didn't quite have
(08:09):
my Merlin app updated like I should have, but you know,
still learned a little bit. And our guides down there,
Kyle and Brandon aka Brando, we're awesome folks and we
got along great and you got to talk a lot
of stories when you're under those typs for ten days,
(08:29):
so really fantastic time. There's so much to talk about
that I can't do it all in one shot, so
we can get some of the more exciting stuff like
going out antelope punting here pretty quick after we get
through the news on the next episode. Great trip. Happy
to have done it, would love to go do it again,
and highly recommend those outfits. Hit in Alaska, Tony Marchini
(08:54):
and Cash over there at vast Alaska. Moving on to
the Washington d C desk. The Feds were busy while
I was away, and I'm sorry to say they haven't
been spending their time in ways that benefit hunters, anglers,
public land users, or really anyone who values clean air
and water. First up, the Trump administration recently announced a
(09:15):
series of potential lifelines for the coal industry, including opening
thirteen point three million additional acres of public land in
the West for coal mining, rolling back wastewater pollution regulations,
and pledging six hundred and twenty five million dollars of
government money to rehab aging coal fired electricity plants. The
public land on the block is pretty diverse, with some
(09:38):
sensitive and not so sensitive areas, so head over to
the BLM website and take a look at the maps
and parcel descriptions posted there. A lot of this is
so called split a state land, where the Feds own
the coal under the ground, but private citizens own the
land on the surface. Some is close to existing mineral
development operations, but significant chunks are important wildlife habitat and
(10:03):
migration areas, including native grasslands and mixed prairie in eastern
Montana and sagebrush areas in Wyoming. So this part of
the initiative is a pretty mixed bag. Less ambiguous is
delaying and eliminating water pollution regulations. That does make things
more affordable for energy companies, of course, but waste from
(10:24):
coal mines often contaminates groundwater with arsenic lead and other
toxic chemicals. I'd say keeping that stuff from coming out
our faucets and flowing down our trout streams is a
pretty good idea. Not to mention, the coal that we're
talking about here in Montana is not what you would
call grade A stuff. It's not the same as what
they were pulling out of West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Burns
(10:47):
a little dirtier, not as efficient, and that surface action
is not going to do any favors for our pronghorn
mule deer in Greater Sage Grouse. As for the funds
to fix existing coal plants, six hundred and twenty five
million dollars is a lot of taxpayer money, but unfortunately
it doesn't go very far with the amount of repair
(11:08):
these aging power plants need. For example, replacing one worn
out component and a coal plants boiler can cost twenty
five million dollars. In fact, in most cases, converting a
coal plant to burn natural gas is cheaper than maintaining
it to continue burning coal. All of these recent measures
are designed to help an industry that has shrunk considerably
(11:29):
in the past few decades. Proponents oftent tout coal as
reliable and affordable, but often it fails short there too.
For example, the Cumberland Coal Plant in northwest Tennessee supplies
power to one point four million homes, but its fifty
two year old infrastructure has become more and more vulnerable
to hot weather. During a heat wave in June of
(11:49):
this year, one of its units went down, causing service
outages and reductions right when people needed their ac the
most burning coal also produces haze, and another prong in
this the pro Coal effort is the EPA's proposal to
roll back the Regional Hayes Rule or RHR, originally instituted
as part of the Clean Air Act in nineteen seventy seven.
(12:12):
Under the RHR, air clarity is measured at one hundred
and fifty six protected parks and wilderness areas across the country,
and every ten years, states developed plans to improve clarity
by reducing pollutants in these areas. This one has been
an absolute slam dunk for improving air quality and the
experience of being in wild places in the US. Go
(12:34):
online to the EPA website while it's still there and
take a look at before and after photos for parks
and wilderness areas over the last twenty five years. The
improvements are stunning. For example, the visibility distance in Yosemite
National Park was around eighty miles in two thousand and
improved to one hundred miles by twenty fifteen. The improvement
(12:55):
in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is even more dramatic,
going from just twenty five miles of visibility to sixty.
The EPA is now holding a public comment period on
rolling back the Hayes rule, so we'll post the link
to that on the cal to Action web page. Get
over there and oppose this one if you've ever stopped
on a trail, taken a deep breath, and thought not
(13:17):
having asthma's great. Generally, the demand for coal in the
US is declining and will likely continue to do so
after a temporary bump from these measures, and a lot
of this recent effort is largely about trolling the libs
the greenies. If we want to make real progress on
meeting data center energy demand, as coal proponents often talk about,
(13:38):
and we could actually do so pretty quickly. Analysis from
the energy group Rewiring America recently showed that all the
projected increase in energy consumption by data centers could be
met by having developers and tech companies pay for switching
nearby homes from inefficient electric resistance heating to heat pumps
and equip those homes with solar panels and home battery storage,
(14:00):
which also comes at an environmental cost as well. Maybe
we should put some no how on that interesting problem
instead of increasing haze in the air and ursnake in
the water. While the Trump administration has been working to
prop up the coal industry, our old pal Mike Lee
has come forward with another hot new idea from someone
(14:22):
who doesn't know about the outside the out of doors.
What is public land? I wouldn't go to this guy
to talk about it. This time, he's pushing a bill
that would give the federal government carte blanche authority to
build roads and buildings on all federal land within one
hundred miles of the northern and southern borders, even if
that federal land has been designated as a wilderness area.
(14:45):
We're going to circle back to this point, okay, because
due to several bills starting with Bush all the way
through the last Trump administration, most of this is already
provided for. So this is like an office of the redundancy,
bureaucratic piling up of paperwork office redundancy, not anything new.
(15:06):
Carte blanche would be the thing to focus on. The
change here is being able to do this with less oversight,
not the way it's pitched, which is just being able
to do this. So Lee's bill, border Lands Conservation Act,
is being pushed by Lee as a border security measure.
(15:28):
Lee laments how illegal immigrants leave trash on public land
on their way into our country, and he wants to
give border officials more tools to combat this issue. But
in typical Mic Lee fashion, he tries to rewrite federal
land management policy on his way to solving a relatively
minor problem. In this case, his bill would rewrite the
Wilderness Act to give the Department of Homeland Security the
(15:49):
right to build tactical infrastructure in wilderness areas. This includes
observation points, remote video surveillance systems, motion sensors, vehicle barriers, fences, roads,
and bridges. It would also allow the use of motorized
vehicles in these sensitive areas, which is currently a big nona. Now,
you might argue that border security is worth disturbing some
(16:11):
of our nation's wilderness areas. That's a defensible position many
Americans share. But Senator Lee's bill is obviously not about
border security, and there are two reasons why that is. First,
his bill includes the northern border, which hasn't historically been
a place illegal immigrants cross over. Respective to our southern border.
It does have its problems, just not the same degree.
(16:34):
What's more, Glacier National Park, Montana's Bob Marsh Wilderness Complex,
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are all within one hundred
miles of the northern border. Americans enjoy recreating in these areas,
specifically because they don't run into any roads, cars, or
other motorized vehicles. Under Lee's bill, that could very well change. Secondly,
(16:55):
as far as illegal crossings, we're already on the right track.
The latest data from US Customs and Border Protections show
that there were only nine thousand, seven hundred and forty
encounters with illegal immigrants in August of twenty twenty five,
which is the latest data available. In August of twenty
twenty four, that number was more than ten times more
(17:16):
one hundred and seven thousand. Whatever this administration is doing,
it's already working. We don't need to jeopardize our wilderness
further than we already have to solve a problem that
is largely provided for with appropriate checks and balances. Again,
there's been a number of provisions passed in the name
of border security over the last three administrations that already
(17:39):
provide for much of what Lee is talking about. His
bill just removes the appropriate oversight to do these things.
Last one for you, and I'm sorry to say it's
also bad news. President Trump announced that despite strong opposition
from sportsmen and conservation groups, it's moving forward with the
(17:59):
Ambler Roomade project. I've talked about this many times before.
The Ambler Road is a two hundred and eleven mile
road that would cut through the Alaskan wilderness south of
the Brooks Range and connect potential mining sites to the
Dalton Highway. It's been stalled for years due to environmental
and subsistence concerns, and the BLM issued a decision in
twenty twenty four that deemed the project too risky, But
(18:20):
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act allows the President
to overrule the BLM's decision if a road quote does
not occupy, use, or traverse any area within the National
Wilderness Preservation System. The administration claims that because the Ambler
Road is not within this system, the President can unilaterally
overrule the BLM's decision, which is exactly what he did.
(18:41):
He directed all relevant federal agencies to issue the permits
needed to build the road, and Interior Secretary Doug Bergham
said construction could begin as early as this spring. Because
this decision did not go through the normal process, there
is no official way for the public to comment, but
he can still contact your elected officials and voice your
disapproval of the president's actions. If they refuse to act, well,
(19:05):
we can let them know at the next election. It's
also worth throwing a few bucks towards the conservation groups
that I'm sure will be involved in legal action. I
would think TRCP would be a great one to start with.
Conservation Lands Foundation Alaska BHA. Just for my overlapping time
in Alaska, you know the Alaska folks that I was
(19:27):
hanging out with were adamant about two things. Alaska doesn't
exist without oil and gas as we know it. Like,
if you think things are expensive up there now, they're
only going to get more expensive if that oil and
gas economy, as well as the existing infrastructure, were to
go away. The other thing in regards to Ambler Road
(19:47):
is the species around the Brooks Range, most notably like
sheep and caribou, are already having a really tough time.
This hall road is not going to be open to
the public. It's going on cross public land. It will
affect public resources far outside of the stated scope, which
is maybe some rare earth minerals, maybe some copper, some gold,
(20:11):
things that may make some folks some money that will
immediately leave the state and the general public will not
be able to access that road on public land. Moving
on to the bear hunting desk. Earlier this month, hunters
in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas killed a bear likely
responsible for fatally mauling a sixty year old camper at
(20:33):
the Sam's Throne Recreation Area in Newton County a few
days before. Our own Klay Newcombe was closely involved with
the attack investigation as well as the hunt for the bear,
and he provided exclusive further detail about these unprecedented events.
On October second, the body of the Springfield, Missouri man
was discovered outside his campsite with extensive injuries, including bite
marks on his forearms and face, consistent with defending against
(20:56):
a bear attack. The man's family had contacted the Newton
County Sheriff's Department after losing contact with him two days earlier.
The deputies dispatched to the scene discovered evidence of a
protracted struggle, as well as drag marks one hundred and
ninety four feet into the woods. The state medical examiner
later determined that the man's cause of death was animal mauling.
(21:18):
Dogs were released to pursue the bear almost immediately, but
with the trail more than two days old, dogs weren't
able to pick up the scent. After the sheriff secured
the area, authorities with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
then set up several baited, bucket and tube traps in
hopes of catching the bear, as well as game cameras
to monitor the scene. The victim had taken photos of
a juvenile male bear in his camp and sent them
(21:39):
to his family earlier in the week, and so officials
knew what kind of animal to watch for. The bite
and scratch marks on his body were also consistent with
a yearly bear. On Sunday, October five, the first bear
who returned to the scene and appeared on the AGFC
cameras matched that description, but wouldn't approach any of the traps.
On call, hunters scrambled to the camp, round and release
(22:00):
their dogs once more, and this time the hounds were
able to locate the trail immediately. Clay said Newton County
Sheriff Glenn Wheeler, as well as Stacy Clark and Spencer
Daniels of the AGFC, deserve a ton of credit for
how they handled this complex and demanding situation. But the
true heroes here are the competent houndsmen and dogs who
trailed this bear. With so many acorns on the ground
(22:22):
this season, the bear had no incentive to come into
the bait in these traps. Without expertly trained dogs to
go out and find him, that bear would still be
out there without a doubt. Within ninety minutes of the
dogs setting out after this bear, they had him treed.
Simply outstanding work outside of this unique case authorized by
the AGFC. Pursuing bears with dogs is illegal in Arkansas.
(22:43):
The local hound hunters involved in this chase exclusively go
after hogs within the state, but they also legally hunt
bears out of state, including New Mexico and Virginia, where
they honed their skills that were deployed in Arkansas. After
the hunters killed the treed bear, his carcass was carried
out of the woods. It's in a body bag. The
bear will undergo a full neckkruptcy to discover any brain
(23:04):
abnormalities that may have influenced his behavior. Sheriff Wheeler also
added quote, I feel extremely confident this is the bear
we have photographs of from the scene of the attack.
To be one hundred percent certain, we will have to
wait on possible DNA matches, but all indications are that
this is the bear responsible for the fatal attack. This
is a relief to me in the community and I
(23:24):
thank God for this outcome. This was a dangerous bear.
This incident happened just a month after a strikingly similar
attack in Franklin County, Arkansas, just fifty miles northeast of
Sam's Thrown campground. On September three, seventy year old Vernon
Patten was spreading gravel on a roadside when he was
attacked by another juvenile bear and suffered mortal injuries. Black
(23:45):
Bear attacks are exceedingly rare in general, but for two
people to be killed by juvenile bears so close together
is like lightning striking the same penny twice in a row.
But as genuinely rare as the attacks are, they're also
a sign that we're entering a new ear in black
bear management, Clay said, quote the comeback of the black
bear since its extirpation in the East had been phenomenally successful,
(24:09):
which is a cause for real celebration. At the same time,
with more people than ever recreating in the outdoors, this
tragedy should refresh our respect for the bear. If a
bear comes close and doesn't seem afraid of you, holler, shout,
get in your car and leave. As a rule, black
bears aren't aggressive, but they have all the tools to
turn deadly, so don't get too comfortable. Moving on to
(24:33):
the mail bag, we have an email and a voicemail
to cover today. First up, a listener from Florida called
in to sound the alarm about a concerning public land issue.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
So up here in northeast Florida, the Flagler County has
just announced that they're going to fill in a protected
wetland to put up six hundred and sixty fifty five
and up homes, so they cannot hide behind the affordable
housing to take away what was a nice public land area,
(25:04):
not very big, but still important to the fragile ecosystem
up here in northeast Florida.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
This caller didn't leave his name, but whoever you are,
thanks for calling in. This is exactly the kind of
thing we need to hear about, not the senior living
development on a wetland, but the attention to what's going
on in your neck of the woods. I wasn't able
to find much information about this issue, So if you
live in Flagler County, get involved. Maybe there's a way
to stop this development. Maybe there isn't, but maybe there's
(25:32):
another solution. I guarantee it will move forward unless someone
speaks up. If you have a question, comment, insult, or
concern you'd like to throw my way, give me a
call four oh six two two zero six four four
one four oh six two two zero six.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Four four one.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
I'd love to hear from you. Next, another listener sent
me a great email I wanted to tackle. He included
his name, but I won't read it on air for
reasons that will be clear in a minute. For now,
we'll Jim. Jim wrote in and said, quote, my dad's
the kind of guy that doesn't much care about game laws,
and he brought me up hunting. He'll shoot over his
(26:09):
state limit on bucks and tag the deer. In another state,
He'll wander over property lines, and he'll for sure shoot
a deer way after shooting light. I came down to
do some early season white tail hunting with my dad,
and he worked hard to find me a spot, so
hard that he found me a spot one hundred yards
into the neighbor's back forty and he definitely knew it.
(26:30):
He walked me in there tonight, and the moment I
stopped hearing footsteps, I walked the hundred yards back into
his least ground and wandered around until I just ended
up sitting down here in the dark and never getting
in a tree. All that to say, I want to
hunt with my dad, but stuff like this keeps happening.
Hard to find a guy to ask what to do,
(26:51):
because that guy ought to be old Pops himself. How
would you handle it well? Jim calling you head on?
You just got to handle it head on, Say Dad,
my time with you is important. I love it, I
want to do it more, but I do not enjoy
(27:12):
it when it's illegal. I don't care what you do
with your own time. I prefer it was legal, but
that's your business. I guess. When it involves me and
I'm specifically taking my time to hang out with you,
it's got to be legal all the way through, or
else it just isn't fun. I care way more about
that than getting that buck or duck or whatever. That's
(27:35):
the way i'd start. The response can be a couple
of things. You know, we're dealing with fragile mail egos here.
You may encounter some snarky little blowback things here, and
that's fine, right, be like, yeah, make fun of me, Dad,
I get it, but this is what I am doing
from here on out. Hopefully you encounter just total acceptance,
(27:57):
and if not, you just got to say, Dad, we
can't hang out during hunting season because I can't know
what you're doing. If I know what you're doing, my
moral obligations are to turn you in give us a
holler back let us know what your thoughts. Are happy
to connect outside of the show, but we definitely want
to see if we can't provide some closure for the
(28:19):
Old Cow's Week in review universe here. So that's all
I got for you this week. Thank you so much
for listening. Remember to write in ask c a L.
That's asked Cal at the Meat Eater dot com or
call four oh six two two zero six four four one.
Love to hear from you. Snort, and I got a
date with some birds and we're gonna start trying to
(28:40):
punch some pronghorn tags. Get that tasty meat in the
old cooler right next to the old grizzly bear ham
that's in there too. Thanks again, Doctor. Next week
Host
Cal Callaghan
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