Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now Here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
A family of three was found dead at a remote
Colorado campsite last month, after relatives say the trio was
trying to live off the grid. Forty two year old
Rebecca Vance, her fourteen year old son, and her forty
one year old sister, Christina Vance, were found partially mummified
in the Gunnison National Forest after a hikers stumbled across
their tent in early July. Officials believe they'd likely been
(00:44):
camping since July of last year and may have died
during the winter. Their relatives say they had grown distrustful
of the media and the modern world during the COVID
nineteen pandemic, and they were hoping to escape the dangers
of modern society. But they reportedly had very little outdoor experience,
and they found another set of dangers in the woods.
Travala Jara, the sister of the two women, told The
(01:07):
Washington Posts they were relying on YouTube videos and online
research to survive by themselves. They rejected offers to use
an RV and a generator and instead tried to build
a lean to shelter. They were surviving on canned food, soup,
and other prepackaged items, but they were unable to complete
an insulated shelter by winter. The local corner thinks they
(01:27):
may have died due to starvation or extreme cold, but
an official cause of death hasn't been announced. Jarra says
her sisters refused to tell her where they'd be, so
when she didn't hear from them for several months, she
wasn't able to find them. If you're going out into
the woods, even if it's to live off the grid
and away from society, it may be a good idea
(01:47):
to let at least someone know where you'll be. It
could be the thing that saves your life when your
off grid life doesn't pan out. This week, we've got
the crime desk legislation getting the let out and I
don't mean Zeppelin. But first I'm going to tell you
about my week. In my week, you know, it was packed,
(02:07):
as per usual. One of the most interesting and important
things to happen was an order to deny a stay
requested by the plaintiff, Iron Bar Holdings in the Wyoming
Corner Crossing case. That case, of course, has already been
judged once, but if you recall, Iron Bar Holdings has
filed an appeal, that appeal process will hopefully happen sometime
(02:29):
this year. The Tenth Circuit Court meets again in September.
A stay of opinion is a request that can be
made which essentially puts the original ruling on hold. In
this instance, the stay was requested to be in place
until the case could be reheard in the appeals court.
Just as Skovdaal in his judgment to deny the request
for a stay of opinion, lays out the reasons one
(02:51):
could be granted a stay and then goes through each
of those reasons and explains why he chose to deny
the request. We're going to dig into this a whole
lot deeper, as it is really interesting, but the takeaway
that everyone should keep in mind is literally written into
the end of the judge's order quote the actions of
a few can ruin the opportunities for many, meaning that
(03:15):
had the Missouri Corner Crossers behaved in any way other
than respectful law biting and courteous, the stay of judgment
could have been granted, and the outlook on corner crossing
a lot more dubious than it is right now. Hunting
season is coming right up our tree. Antelope is down
near here. In Montana, fall bear seasons rapidly approach. Early
(03:37):
wilderness hunts, even depredation private land elk hunts start within
a few days of listening to this podcast. Remember that
everyone is excited for seasons and opportunities to start. Be patient,
be polite, and if you are in Wyoming and you
do intend to corner cross, be darn sure to know
where you are. Know that rudeness for behavior or any
(04:01):
intent other than moving from public ground to public ground
could derail a more straightforward future with non confrontational public
access to public land for all of us. Please take
a minute to read the order to deny the stay.
We'll have it up at the meat eater dot com
forward slash col There's some really great lines in there,
(04:24):
if I do say so myself, And if you're in
or near Wyoming and want to be more informed, TRCP
and Wyoming BHA are hosting a series of listening sessions
around the state. Next couple are conveniently located in breweries.
If you know a landowner that could be interested in
telling their side of the story how corner crossing has
(04:44):
affected them or could possibly affect them, please let them
know and get them over to Evanston, Wyoming. Sudds Brothers
Brewing six pm. August eighth, Rock Springs, Wyoming, Square State
Brewing six pm August ninth, Blacktooth Brewing six pm, Casper, Wyoming,
August tenth. I will be on the road to Buffalo,
(05:05):
Wyoming for the nearest session to me just as soon
as I get done talking to you, and for the
last bit of housekeeping before we move on. As many
of you are aware, I am on the International Board
for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Our longtime leader, President and CEO,
Lantani of BHA, has stepped down after ten plus years
at the Helm Land was able to accomplish in just
(05:28):
five short years what most people said could not be done,
grow a grassroots, member driven organization from just a handful
of people to over fifty thousand members strong. BHA participates
in stewardship projects, access projects, habitat restoration, but possibly what
we're the best known for is advocacy on behalf of
(05:49):
our wild places, our hunting and angling rights and access
to wild places. We're one of the very few organizations
out there that will take anyone who is interested and
give you the tools to be the best possible advocate
for the things you love and your family loves to
go out and do on the weekends or during those
precious weeks of paid VAKA. If you are interested in applying,
(06:13):
go to Backcountry hunters dot org, forward slash Careers and
here's a fun fact for you. If you choose to
pursue this and get the job, I would then get
to be one of your bosses. Doesn't that sound like fun?
Are we having fun yet? Moving on to the crime desk,
(06:35):
seven men were charged in Illinois last week for killing
more than twenty wild turkeys with AR fifteen rifles equipped
with thermal optics and suppressors. A twenty eight year old
ironically named hunter Baxter and his thirty eight year old buddy,
Dustin Goldsmith, face the worst of the charges, including several felonies.
Their five hunting buddies were also charged with misdemeanors in
(06:56):
connection to this poaching operation, and between the seven of them,
they face a wopping sixty three charges. If these yahos
were using thermal optics to hunt turkeys, that means they
were probably shooting them out of trees at night while
the birds slept. As I've said many times on this podcast,
I really don't have anything wrong with shooting the bird
out of a tree, if you know, if that's your
(07:16):
means of getting meat in a limited time frame. However,
shooting probably solid core amo cheap two two three stuff
into the air is not a good thing, would be
very dangerous in fact. Jumping over to California, the National
Park Service is investigating the mysterious death of five burrows
(07:37):
in Death Valley National Park. The wild donkeys had all
been shot in the lower wild Rose area of the park,
and officials aren't sure who did it or why. Like
wild horses or mustangs, burrows are not native to North America.
They were brought in by Spaniards in the fifteen hundreds,
and they can damage sensitive ecosystems and compete for food
with native animals like bighorn sheep. Despite these downside the
(08:00):
US Congress passed a law in nineteen seventy one designating
wild horses and burrows as quote living symbols of the
historic and pioneer spirit of the West. Federal agencies are
now in the difficult position of having to protect these
invasive animals while also keeping them from destroying native habitat.
This is not to say anyone is justified in gunning
(08:20):
down wild donkeys in a national park, but it is
true that burrows, despite what you may have heard from
at least one famous green ogre, are not entirely harmless.
We could see I late swapping manless stars, and in
the morning.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I'm making waffles.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Speaking of mysteries, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is
searching for the person who killed six elk last week
and left them to waste. The carcasses of one bowl,
three cows, and two calves were found in Boyd County,
in the northern part of the state. Elk's season does
not start until August first, and there was no attempt
to salvage any part of the animals. A two thousand
(08:56):
dollars reward is being offered for information that leads to
an arrest, and tips can be submitted anonymously by calling
one eight hundred seven four two seven six two seven.
Thanks to listener Jonathan greedy for sending us that story.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to indict to
Alaska men for their role in running an illegal bear
guiding service that offered clients prostitutes and the chance to
(09:19):
profit from selling bear gallbladders. That's right, prostitutes and gall bladders.
Buckle up, folks. Investigators say that John Lang, who went
by the English name Harry, advertised his supposed guiding services
on a Chinese language app called Little Red Book. His
clients were mostly other Chinese nationals who would travel to
Alaska for the chance to kill brown bear. This scheme
(09:39):
caught the attention of Homeland Security, and they sent agents
to contact Lang and pretend to be clients. Lang charged
them each thirty thousand for the hunt, and he immediately
used some of that money to buy himself a Mercedes SUV.
He got the undercover agent's bear tags by pretending that
another man, Alaska resident Brian Falon, was the brother in
law of the two agents. He set up the agents
(10:01):
in a hunting blind for four days, during which time
they unsurprisingly saw no bears. But he did offer to
secure prostitutes for the two agents and said he'd sell
them a bear gallbladder for five thousand. Bear gallbladders have
been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
There's a big market for them in Asia, and we've
referenced them before here on the show. Anyway, long story short,
(10:23):
both Lang and Phelan have been arrested in June, and
Lang was charged with attempted violation of the Lacy Act,
illegal possession of a firearm by an alien, wire fraud,
money laundering, and several others. If you'd like more of
the interesting deats, check out the article by Eli Fournier
on the medieater dot com. The father of an NFL
(10:44):
player admitted last week to killing a bald eagle that
had been living in a Pittsburgh suburb. The US Attorney's
Office announced that fifty year old to Rodney Thomas had
been indicted by a grand jury for violating the Bald
and Golden Eagle Protection Act. His son, Rodney Thomas, the second,
is a safety for the Indian Apple Colts. There are
one million jokes I could tell about how the elder
Thomas clearly has a problem with the Philadelphia Eagles, another
(11:07):
NFL team, But I'm going to restrain myself You're welcome anyway.
Thomas reportedly turned himself in shortly after killing the bird
with an air rifle in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The bird
was one of a pair that had been nesting in
the area for the last twenty years. The eagles had
raised several clutches of eaglets over the decades and were
a favorite spectacle for local residents. It is unclear at
(11:28):
this point what motivated the killing, but residents have been
angry that the name of the perpetrator wasn't released for
more than two months. I have serious doubts that being
the father of an NFL safety gets you much special treatment,
but I suppose stranger things have happened. In Texas, a
Carnes County game warden was called to the scene of
a man lying on the ground next to a dead deer.
(11:49):
But the man wasn't dead. In fact, he wasn't even injured,
at least not seriously. The witness who found the man
had heard a shot from nearby road and yelled to
ask the shooter what he was doing. The shooter, who
turned out to be a poacher, and the aforementioned prone individual,
ran into the woods. He later told the game warden
that he'd had a few beers and decided to take
home some venison. The beers convinced him that poaching was
(12:12):
a good idea, and apparently that he might be able
to get away with it by playing possum, which brings
up the true victim here, possums. Possums eat ticks, they
can get bitten repeatedly by rattlesnakes and live. We can
get anti venom from them. They're super cool critters. They
should not be brought up in the same sentence as
(12:32):
a no good, dirty down poacher. Moving on to the
AMMO desk. The US Fishing Wildlife Service that made waves
last month when they announced a plan to phase out
the use of lead tackle and ammunition at eight National
Wildlife refuges, but state agencies are also making changes to
(12:53):
how hunters are allowed to use lead ammunition. The Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources announced this month that led ammunition
and will be banned on certain state owned lands starting
this fall. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is justifying
the decision based on their fear that animals like eagles, ravens, hawks,
and bobcats will ingest lead fragments from bullets. In addition,
(13:14):
they say lead ammunition left on the landscape can leach
into soil and waters. The ammunition ban is limited to
special hunts in state parks and recreation areas or scientific
and natural areas where hunting is allowed. The DNAR explains
that quote, hunting is not a primary purpose of state
parks and SNAs unless hunting is consistent with or helps
(13:34):
manage the natural resources in those areas. The band does
not apply to state park youth deer hunts in the
shotgun zones as long as hunters remove all parts of
harvested deer, including the entrails. This exception was made quote
due to shortages in certain ammunition types. The good news
for folks who like traditional lead ammo is that these
areas represent less than ten percent of dn R managed
(13:56):
lands in Minnesota. Ammunition will not be limited on wildlie
life management areas and state forests, which is where most
of the state public hunting takes place. Still, the agency
is not claiming to be banning led to address any
specific issue. They're not claiming that led ammunition is having
population wide effects on any of the species they list
in their press release. Given this lack of specificity, I'm
(14:18):
not sure why they wouldn't roll out lead AMMO bans
on other state lands in the coming years. The state
of New York also announced a multi year initiative to
study the impact of led ammunition on bald eagles. The
press release by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation admits
that the bald eagle population is quote doing well in
New York. Despite this conservation's success, they're still looking for
(14:42):
hunters to participate in a study to investigate quote the
reduction in bald and golden eagle deaths that can be
achieved from increased use of non lead ammunition for deer hunting.
They're offering a sixty dollars rebate on non lead ammunition
or non lead bullets for hunters who participate in pre
and post hunt surveys this coming fall. Only hunters who
(15:03):
were issued a deer management permit in certain wildlife management
units are eligible to participate, and the DEEC says it
plans to offer the rebate through twenty twenty four and
twenty twenty five seasons. The state currently allows hunters to
use lead ammunition on state land, but the legislature is
considering a bill that would ban it. A recent study
(15:23):
found that lead ammunition could be harming adult bald eagles
in the state between the years nineteen ninety and twenty eighteen.
The study estimates that lead killed one to two birds
a year, but the eagle population in those years rose
from twenty six to seven hundred and thirty eight, and
they did not find that lead affected eaglet survival rates.
They admit that their findings cannot be extrapolated to the
(15:43):
entire state, which is likely why the DC announced this
new initiative. If you'd like to participate and get your
free box and non lead ammo, we'll post a link
at the meat eater dot com forward slash col We
talked about lead and raptors a lot. This is a
personal decision. I don't think the state should be weighing
in on, particularly when raptors in these areas are on
(16:06):
the rise on a population level, But as an individual,
we make individual decisions. A big benefit to me for
shooting solid copper ammo is the fact that I kill
one thing that I intend to kill, versus having a
bunch of carrying eaters fly in there and fly away
with leading their gut and then they're highly acidic stomachs,
(16:27):
give them lead poisoning right away and they die a
painful death. Again, that's an individual decision, and I can
afford the non lead AMMO. There are other ways of
disposing carcasses that will have the same effect as shooting
copper AMMO. So if you're in a place where you're
taking stuff to a landfill or able to bury it
(16:49):
something like that, then you're in the clear. Moving on
to the extraction desk. Speaking of controversial policies, the Bureau
of Land Management announced last week that it will raise
the cost for oil and gas companies to drill on
federal public land. Starting in the year twenty thirty two,
oil companies will pay sixteen point sixty seven percent of
(17:10):
their revenue to the federal government, up from the current
twelve and a half percent. Rents are also rising. Under
the current system, companies have to pay one dollar and
fifty cents per acre each year for the first five
years of a lease, and two dollars per acre per
year after that. The new system will encourage companies to
relinquish leases by charging three dollars per acre per year
(17:31):
during the first two years, five dollars per acre per
year for the following six years, and then fifteen dollars
per acre for every year after year eight. The BLM
argues that this new leasing structure modernizes a program that
was developed sixty years ago. They also frame it as
a way to provide a fair return to taxpayers, who,
after all, own the land on which the oil and
(17:52):
gas companies are working. Whether those taxpayers see any benefit
from that increased revenue is another question, but the money
is to fund federal and state programs that benefit everyone.
As you can imagine, oil and gas companies aren't happy.
The American Petroleum Institute released a statement slamming the Biden
administration for adding barriers to future energy production during a
(18:14):
global energy crisis. The rule will increase costs and uncertainty
for producers, and it will hurt our country's ability to
independently meet our energy needs. Though the BLM doesn't mention
climate change anywhere in its press release, opponents of the
new rule say it's a thinly veiled attempt to cut
oil production and advance the president's climate change agenda. I
(18:36):
know this issue is larger than wildlife and habitat, but
this is a conservation podcast, so that's what I focus
on From that perspective, this new rule checks a few
positive boxes. For one thing, As the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership points out, increasing rental rates will cut down on
something called speculative leasing. When rental rates are low, oil
(18:56):
and gas companies lease land with no real potential for
economic viable oil and gas production. They aren't likely to drill,
but they want to reserve the land just in case
they might in the future. According to the TRCP, this
prevents the BLM from being able to effectively manage that
land for other important, multiple uses that may not be
compatible with the oil and gas. The rule addresses this
(19:18):
issue by raising the rental rates and by prioritizing leasing
in places with existing oil and gas infrastructure or high
production potential. Remember, other leasing operations out there right can
include public land outfitters, grazing operations, and you know, ideally
sometime in the future habitat work. In addition, the BLM
(19:40):
is raising the amount of money oil companies have to
pay up front to cover the cost of cleaning up
well if they abandon it. This is called the bond,
and it was set in nineteen sixty at ten thousand
for each lease The new bond amount will be one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a single lease or
five hundred thousand dollars for a statewide lease. This will
hopefully disincentivize companies from abandoning wells and make sure taxpayers
(20:04):
don't have to foot the bill for a well cleanup.
And since we all know that the wheel of time
grinds slowly in federal agencies, I think it's good if
we don't have to rely on the FEDS to clean
up oil wells. Whatever you think about this new rule,
you have a chance to share your thoughts. There will
be a sixty day comment period during which folks can
submit online comments, and the agency is also planning a
(20:26):
series of public meetings. The details on those haven't been
published yet, but will be sure to get those on
the meat eater dot com forward slash call as soon
as they are. I do want to ask you this
in regards to this, to anybody pays attention to real estate,
have you ever come across a deal where you can
lease ground for three dollars per acre a year for
(20:48):
two years, or five dollars per acre a year for
six years, and then fifteen dollars per acre for every
year after that. No, the answer is no, you have not.
That seems darn cheap, and that's the increased rates. Moving
on to the legislative desk. In South Dakota, the Game,
(21:08):
Fish and Parks Commission is considering expanding the areas in
which hound hunters can go after mountain lions. Current South
Dakota regulations limit lion hunting with hounds to Custer State Park.
One of these petitions could expand hound hunting to all
public land outside the fire protection District without the need
to start on private land. The other would expand hound
(21:28):
hunting to the fire protection district of the Black Hills.
These opportunities would be for residents only, and the harvest
would be limited to six males and six females. Petitioners
argue that the state lion population is robust and growing,
and hound hunting would encourage lions to stay away from humans.
The Commission agreed to adopt the second petition that would
expand hunting to the Black Hills, and they send it
(21:51):
to the Game, Fish and Parks Department for suggested changes.
They'll consider those suggestions and make a final decision at
their October fifth meeting in Deadwood, South Dakota hound hunters.
This is your chance to do what almost no other
states are doing. Expand the use of hunting dogs. Don't
let it slip away. Get in touch with Game, Fish
and Parks Commission and let them know how you feel.
(22:11):
We'll post contact info at themeadeater dot com forward slash
cal The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill that would
cut the budgets of the Interior Department and related agencies
by a whopping thirty five percent from last year. For example,
the bill would cut the Bureau of Land Management budget
by eighteen percent, the US Fish and Wildlife Service budget
(22:32):
by thirteen percent, in the National Park Service by thirteen percent.
The Environmental Protection Agency would lose the most. The bill
cuts the EPA's budget by thirty nine percent, including a
twenty six percent reduction in environmental programs and management. The
US Forest Service is one of the only agencies that
receives a raise. They'll get nine hundred and forty nine
(22:52):
million dollars more than last year, most of which will
be used to manage wildfires. The one hundred and eighty
six page bill also includes a a ton of provisions
that have nothing to do with money. For example, it
prohibits listing the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act,
requires the Department of the Interior to reissue the twenty
twenty rule delisting the gray wolf, and prohibits introduction of
(23:14):
grizzly bears in the North Cascades ecosystem. It also prohibits
the regulation of lead content in ammunition and fishing tackle,
and blocks restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on
federal lands. In addition, it would force the BLM to
rescind their latest Conservation Lease rule and rescind Biden Administration's
latest clean water rule. The bill does a lot of things,
(23:37):
some good, some bad, but it's unlikely to pass both
chambers of Congress in its current form. The House Appropriations
Committee passed the bill on a thirty three to twenty
seven party line vote, Republicans in favor and Democrats against.
The Democrat controlled Senate passed their own version of this bill,
and you can probably guess that it looked much different.
Most agencies received more money than last year, including a
(24:00):
four million dollar raise for the EPA. The final version
of the bill will be some sort of compromise. Both
appropriations bills emphasize and fund wildfire suppression. Hopefully that means
by being proactive with good forest management outside of wildfire season.
That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you
so much for listening as per usual, right in to
(24:23):
ask c A L. That's Asscal at the meaeater dot
com and let me know what's going on in your
neck of the woods. And don't forget to go to
www dot steel dealers dot com to find a local,
knowledgeable steel dealer near you. They're gonna get you set
up with what you need and they won't send you
home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk
to you next week.
From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is
Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available
only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers
dot com. Now Here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
A family of three was found dead at a remote
Colorado campsite last month, after relatives say the trio was
trying to live off the grid. Forty two year old
Rebecca Vance, her fourteen year old son, and her forty
one year old sister, Christina Vance, were found partially mummified
in the Gunnison National Forest after a hikers stumbled across
their tent in early July. Officials believe they'd likely been
(00:44):
camping since July of last year and may have died
during the winter. Their relatives say they had grown distrustful
of the media and the modern world during the COVID
nineteen pandemic, and they were hoping to escape the dangers
of modern society. But they reportedly had very little outdoor experience,
and they found another set of dangers in the woods.
Travala Jara, the sister of the two women, told The
(01:07):
Washington Posts they were relying on YouTube videos and online
research to survive by themselves. They rejected offers to use
an RV and a generator and instead tried to build
a lean to shelter. They were surviving on canned food, soup,
and other prepackaged items, but they were unable to complete
an insulated shelter by winter. The local corner thinks they
(01:27):
may have died due to starvation or extreme cold, but
an official cause of death hasn't been announced. Jarra says
her sisters refused to tell her where they'd be, so
when she didn't hear from them for several months, she
wasn't able to find them. If you're going out into
the woods, even if it's to live off the grid
and away from society, it may be a good idea
(01:47):
to let at least someone know where you'll be. It
could be the thing that saves your life when your
off grid life doesn't pan out. This week, we've got
the crime desk legislation getting the let out and I
don't mean Zeppelin. But first I'm going to tell you
about my week. In my week, you know, it was packed,
(02:07):
as per usual. One of the most interesting and important
things to happen was an order to deny a stay
requested by the plaintiff, Iron Bar Holdings in the Wyoming
Corner Crossing case. That case, of course, has already been
judged once, but if you recall, Iron Bar Holdings has
filed an appeal, that appeal process will hopefully happen sometime
(02:29):
this year. The Tenth Circuit Court meets again in September.
A stay of opinion is a request that can be
made which essentially puts the original ruling on hold. In
this instance, the stay was requested to be in place
until the case could be reheard in the appeals court.
Just as Skovdaal in his judgment to deny the request
for a stay of opinion, lays out the reasons one
(02:51):
could be granted a stay and then goes through each
of those reasons and explains why he chose to deny
the request. We're going to dig into this a whole
lot deeper, as it is really interesting, but the takeaway
that everyone should keep in mind is literally written into
the end of the judge's order quote the actions of
a few can ruin the opportunities for many, meaning that
(03:15):
had the Missouri Corner Crossers behaved in any way other
than respectful law biting and courteous, the stay of judgment
could have been granted, and the outlook on corner crossing
a lot more dubious than it is right now. Hunting
season is coming right up our tree. Antelope is down
near here. In Montana, fall bear seasons rapidly approach. Early
(03:37):
wilderness hunts, even depredation private land elk hunts start within
a few days of listening to this podcast. Remember that
everyone is excited for seasons and opportunities to start. Be patient,
be polite, and if you are in Wyoming and you
do intend to corner cross, be darn sure to know
where you are. Know that rudeness for behavior or any
(04:01):
intent other than moving from public ground to public ground
could derail a more straightforward future with non confrontational public
access to public land for all of us. Please take
a minute to read the order to deny the stay.
We'll have it up at the meat eater dot com
forward slash col There's some really great lines in there,
(04:24):
if I do say so myself, And if you're in
or near Wyoming and want to be more informed, TRCP
and Wyoming BHA are hosting a series of listening sessions
around the state. Next couple are conveniently located in breweries.
If you know a landowner that could be interested in
telling their side of the story how corner crossing has
(04:44):
affected them or could possibly affect them, please let them
know and get them over to Evanston, Wyoming. Sudds Brothers
Brewing six pm. August eighth, Rock Springs, Wyoming, Square State
Brewing six pm August ninth, Blacktooth Brewing six pm, Casper, Wyoming,
August tenth. I will be on the road to Buffalo,
(05:05):
Wyoming for the nearest session to me just as soon
as I get done talking to you, and for the
last bit of housekeeping before we move on. As many
of you are aware, I am on the International Board
for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. Our longtime leader, President and CEO,
Lantani of BHA, has stepped down after ten plus years
at the Helm Land was able to accomplish in just
(05:28):
five short years what most people said could not be done,
grow a grassroots, member driven organization from just a handful
of people to over fifty thousand members strong. BHA participates
in stewardship projects, access projects, habitat restoration, but possibly what
we're the best known for is advocacy on behalf of
(05:49):
our wild places, our hunting and angling rights and access
to wild places. We're one of the very few organizations
out there that will take anyone who is interested and
give you the tools to be the best possible advocate
for the things you love and your family loves to
go out and do on the weekends or during those
precious weeks of paid VAKA. If you are interested in applying,
(06:13):
go to Backcountry hunters dot org, forward slash Careers and
here's a fun fact for you. If you choose to
pursue this and get the job, I would then get
to be one of your bosses. Doesn't that sound like fun?
Are we having fun yet? Moving on to the crime desk,
(06:35):
seven men were charged in Illinois last week for killing
more than twenty wild turkeys with AR fifteen rifles equipped
with thermal optics and suppressors. A twenty eight year old
ironically named hunter Baxter and his thirty eight year old buddy,
Dustin Goldsmith, face the worst of the charges, including several felonies.
Their five hunting buddies were also charged with misdemeanors in
(06:56):
connection to this poaching operation, and between the seven of them,
they face a wopping sixty three charges. If these yahos
were using thermal optics to hunt turkeys, that means they
were probably shooting them out of trees at night while
the birds slept. As I've said many times on this podcast,
I really don't have anything wrong with shooting the bird
out of a tree, if you know, if that's your
(07:16):
means of getting meat in a limited time frame. However,
shooting probably solid core amo cheap two two three stuff
into the air is not a good thing, would be
very dangerous in fact. Jumping over to California, the National
Park Service is investigating the mysterious death of five burrows
(07:37):
in Death Valley National Park. The wild donkeys had all
been shot in the lower wild Rose area of the park,
and officials aren't sure who did it or why. Like
wild horses or mustangs, burrows are not native to North America.
They were brought in by Spaniards in the fifteen hundreds,
and they can damage sensitive ecosystems and compete for food
with native animals like bighorn sheep. Despite these downside the
(08:00):
US Congress passed a law in nineteen seventy one designating
wild horses and burrows as quote living symbols of the
historic and pioneer spirit of the West. Federal agencies are
now in the difficult position of having to protect these
invasive animals while also keeping them from destroying native habitat.
This is not to say anyone is justified in gunning
(08:20):
down wild donkeys in a national park, but it is
true that burrows, despite what you may have heard from
at least one famous green ogre, are not entirely harmless.
We could see I late swapping manless stars, and in
the morning.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I'm making waffles.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Speaking of mysteries, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is
searching for the person who killed six elk last week
and left them to waste. The carcasses of one bowl,
three cows, and two calves were found in Boyd County,
in the northern part of the state. Elk's season does
not start until August first, and there was no attempt
to salvage any part of the animals. A two thousand
(08:56):
dollars reward is being offered for information that leads to
an arrest, and tips can be submitted anonymously by calling
one eight hundred seven four two seven six two seven.
Thanks to listener Jonathan greedy for sending us that story.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to indict to
Alaska men for their role in running an illegal bear
guiding service that offered clients prostitutes and the chance to
(09:19):
profit from selling bear gallbladders. That's right, prostitutes and gall bladders.
Buckle up, folks. Investigators say that John Lang, who went
by the English name Harry, advertised his supposed guiding services
on a Chinese language app called Little Red Book. His
clients were mostly other Chinese nationals who would travel to
Alaska for the chance to kill brown bear. This scheme
(09:39):
caught the attention of Homeland Security, and they sent agents
to contact Lang and pretend to be clients. Lang charged
them each thirty thousand for the hunt, and he immediately
used some of that money to buy himself a Mercedes SUV.
He got the undercover agent's bear tags by pretending that
another man, Alaska resident Brian Falon, was the brother in
law of the two agents. He set up the agents
(10:01):
in a hunting blind for four days, during which time
they unsurprisingly saw no bears. But he did offer to
secure prostitutes for the two agents and said he'd sell
them a bear gallbladder for five thousand. Bear gallbladders have
been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
There's a big market for them in Asia, and we've
referenced them before here on the show. Anyway, long story short,
(10:23):
both Lang and Phelan have been arrested in June, and
Lang was charged with attempted violation of the Lacy Act,
illegal possession of a firearm by an alien, wire fraud,
money laundering, and several others. If you'd like more of
the interesting deats, check out the article by Eli Fournier
on the medieater dot com. The father of an NFL
(10:44):
player admitted last week to killing a bald eagle that
had been living in a Pittsburgh suburb. The US Attorney's
Office announced that fifty year old to Rodney Thomas had
been indicted by a grand jury for violating the Bald
and Golden Eagle Protection Act. His son, Rodney Thomas, the second,
is a safety for the Indian Apple Colts. There are
one million jokes I could tell about how the elder
Thomas clearly has a problem with the Philadelphia Eagles, another
(11:07):
NFL team, But I'm going to restrain myself You're welcome anyway.
Thomas reportedly turned himself in shortly after killing the bird
with an air rifle in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The bird
was one of a pair that had been nesting in
the area for the last twenty years. The eagles had
raised several clutches of eaglets over the decades and were
a favorite spectacle for local residents. It is unclear at
(11:28):
this point what motivated the killing, but residents have been
angry that the name of the perpetrator wasn't released for
more than two months. I have serious doubts that being
the father of an NFL safety gets you much special treatment,
but I suppose stranger things have happened. In Texas, a
Carnes County game warden was called to the scene of
a man lying on the ground next to a dead deer.
(11:49):
But the man wasn't dead. In fact, he wasn't even injured,
at least not seriously. The witness who found the man
had heard a shot from nearby road and yelled to
ask the shooter what he was doing. The shooter, who
turned out to be a poacher, and the aforementioned prone individual,
ran into the woods. He later told the game warden
that he'd had a few beers and decided to take
home some venison. The beers convinced him that poaching was
(12:12):
a good idea, and apparently that he might be able
to get away with it by playing possum, which brings
up the true victim here, possums. Possums eat ticks, they
can get bitten repeatedly by rattlesnakes and live. We can
get anti venom from them. They're super cool critters. They
should not be brought up in the same sentence as
(12:32):
a no good, dirty down poacher. Moving on to the
AMMO desk. The US Fishing Wildlife Service that made waves
last month when they announced a plan to phase out
the use of lead tackle and ammunition at eight National
Wildlife refuges, but state agencies are also making changes to
(12:53):
how hunters are allowed to use lead ammunition. The Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources announced this month that led ammunition
and will be banned on certain state owned lands starting
this fall. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is justifying
the decision based on their fear that animals like eagles, ravens, hawks,
and bobcats will ingest lead fragments from bullets. In addition,
(13:14):
they say lead ammunition left on the landscape can leach
into soil and waters. The ammunition ban is limited to
special hunts in state parks and recreation areas or scientific
and natural areas where hunting is allowed. The DNAR explains
that quote, hunting is not a primary purpose of state
parks and SNAs unless hunting is consistent with or helps
(13:34):
manage the natural resources in those areas. The band does
not apply to state park youth deer hunts in the
shotgun zones as long as hunters remove all parts of
harvested deer, including the entrails. This exception was made quote
due to shortages in certain ammunition types. The good news
for folks who like traditional lead ammo is that these
areas represent less than ten percent of dn R managed
(13:56):
lands in Minnesota. Ammunition will not be limited on wildlie
life management areas and state forests, which is where most
of the state public hunting takes place. Still, the agency
is not claiming to be banning led to address any
specific issue. They're not claiming that led ammunition is having
population wide effects on any of the species they list
in their press release. Given this lack of specificity, I'm
(14:18):
not sure why they wouldn't roll out lead AMMO bans
on other state lands in the coming years. The state
of New York also announced a multi year initiative to
study the impact of led ammunition on bald eagles. The
press release by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation admits
that the bald eagle population is quote doing well in
New York. Despite this conservation's success, they're still looking for
(14:42):
hunters to participate in a study to investigate quote the
reduction in bald and golden eagle deaths that can be
achieved from increased use of non lead ammunition for deer hunting.
They're offering a sixty dollars rebate on non lead ammunition
or non lead bullets for hunters who participate in pre
and post hunt surveys this coming fall. Only hunters who
(15:03):
were issued a deer management permit in certain wildlife management
units are eligible to participate, and the DEEC says it
plans to offer the rebate through twenty twenty four and
twenty twenty five seasons. The state currently allows hunters to
use lead ammunition on state land, but the legislature is
considering a bill that would ban it. A recent study
(15:23):
found that lead ammunition could be harming adult bald eagles
in the state between the years nineteen ninety and twenty eighteen.
The study estimates that lead killed one to two birds
a year, but the eagle population in those years rose
from twenty six to seven hundred and thirty eight, and
they did not find that lead affected eaglet survival rates.
They admit that their findings cannot be extrapolated to the
(15:43):
entire state, which is likely why the DC announced this
new initiative. If you'd like to participate and get your
free box and non lead ammo, we'll post a link
at the meat eater dot com forward slash col We
talked about lead and raptors a lot. This is a
personal decision. I don't think the state should be weighing
in on, particularly when raptors in these areas are on
(16:06):
the rise on a population level, But as an individual,
we make individual decisions. A big benefit to me for
shooting solid copper ammo is the fact that I kill
one thing that I intend to kill, versus having a
bunch of carrying eaters fly in there and fly away
with leading their gut and then they're highly acidic stomachs,
(16:27):
give them lead poisoning right away and they die a
painful death. Again, that's an individual decision, and I can
afford the non lead AMMO. There are other ways of
disposing carcasses that will have the same effect as shooting
copper AMMO. So if you're in a place where you're
taking stuff to a landfill or able to bury it
(16:49):
something like that, then you're in the clear. Moving on
to the extraction desk. Speaking of controversial policies, the Bureau
of Land Management announced last week that it will raise
the cost for oil and gas companies to drill on
federal public land. Starting in the year twenty thirty two,
oil companies will pay sixteen point sixty seven percent of
(17:10):
their revenue to the federal government, up from the current
twelve and a half percent. Rents are also rising. Under
the current system, companies have to pay one dollar and
fifty cents per acre each year for the first five
years of a lease, and two dollars per acre per
year after that. The new system will encourage companies to
relinquish leases by charging three dollars per acre per year
(17:31):
during the first two years, five dollars per acre per
year for the following six years, and then fifteen dollars
per acre for every year after year eight. The BLM
argues that this new leasing structure modernizes a program that
was developed sixty years ago. They also frame it as
a way to provide a fair return to taxpayers, who,
after all, own the land on which the oil and
(17:52):
gas companies are working. Whether those taxpayers see any benefit
from that increased revenue is another question, but the money
is to fund federal and state programs that benefit everyone.
As you can imagine, oil and gas companies aren't happy.
The American Petroleum Institute released a statement slamming the Biden
administration for adding barriers to future energy production during a
(18:14):
global energy crisis. The rule will increase costs and uncertainty
for producers, and it will hurt our country's ability to
independently meet our energy needs. Though the BLM doesn't mention
climate change anywhere in its press release, opponents of the
new rule say it's a thinly veiled attempt to cut
oil production and advance the president's climate change agenda. I
(18:36):
know this issue is larger than wildlife and habitat, but
this is a conservation podcast, so that's what I focus
on From that perspective, this new rule checks a few
positive boxes. For one thing, As the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership points out, increasing rental rates will cut down on
something called speculative leasing. When rental rates are low, oil
(18:56):
and gas companies lease land with no real potential for
economic viable oil and gas production. They aren't likely to drill,
but they want to reserve the land just in case
they might in the future. According to the TRCP, this
prevents the BLM from being able to effectively manage that
land for other important, multiple uses that may not be
compatible with the oil and gas. The rule addresses this
(19:18):
issue by raising the rental rates and by prioritizing leasing
in places with existing oil and gas infrastructure or high
production potential. Remember, other leasing operations out there right can
include public land outfitters, grazing operations, and you know, ideally
sometime in the future habitat work. In addition, the BLM
(19:40):
is raising the amount of money oil companies have to
pay up front to cover the cost of cleaning up
well if they abandon it. This is called the bond,
and it was set in nineteen sixty at ten thousand
for each lease The new bond amount will be one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a single lease or
five hundred thousand dollars for a statewide lease. This will
hopefully disincentivize companies from abandoning wells and make sure taxpayers
(20:04):
don't have to foot the bill for a well cleanup.
And since we all know that the wheel of time
grinds slowly in federal agencies, I think it's good if
we don't have to rely on the FEDS to clean
up oil wells. Whatever you think about this new rule,
you have a chance to share your thoughts. There will
be a sixty day comment period during which folks can
submit online comments, and the agency is also planning a
(20:26):
series of public meetings. The details on those haven't been
published yet, but will be sure to get those on
the meat eater dot com forward slash call as soon
as they are. I do want to ask you this
in regards to this, to anybody pays attention to real estate,
have you ever come across a deal where you can
lease ground for three dollars per acre a year for
(20:48):
two years, or five dollars per acre a year for
six years, and then fifteen dollars per acre for every
year after that. No, the answer is no, you have not.
That seems darn cheap, and that's the increased rates. Moving
on to the legislative desk. In South Dakota, the Game,
(21:08):
Fish and Parks Commission is considering expanding the areas in
which hound hunters can go after mountain lions. Current South
Dakota regulations limit lion hunting with hounds to Custer State Park.
One of these petitions could expand hound hunting to all
public land outside the fire protection District without the need
to start on private land. The other would expand hound
(21:28):
hunting to the fire protection district of the Black Hills.
These opportunities would be for residents only, and the harvest
would be limited to six males and six females. Petitioners
argue that the state lion population is robust and growing,
and hound hunting would encourage lions to stay away from humans.
The Commission agreed to adopt the second petition that would
expand hunting to the Black Hills, and they send it
(21:51):
to the Game, Fish and Parks Department for suggested changes.
They'll consider those suggestions and make a final decision at
their October fifth meeting in Deadwood, South Dakota hound hunters.
This is your chance to do what almost no other
states are doing. Expand the use of hunting dogs. Don't
let it slip away. Get in touch with Game, Fish
and Parks Commission and let them know how you feel.
(22:11):
We'll post contact info at themeadeater dot com forward slash
cal The House Appropriations Committee passed a bill that would
cut the budgets of the Interior Department and related agencies
by a whopping thirty five percent from last year. For example,
the bill would cut the Bureau of Land Management budget
by eighteen percent, the US Fish and Wildlife Service budget
(22:32):
by thirteen percent, in the National Park Service by thirteen percent.
The Environmental Protection Agency would lose the most. The bill
cuts the EPA's budget by thirty nine percent, including a
twenty six percent reduction in environmental programs and management. The
US Forest Service is one of the only agencies that
receives a raise. They'll get nine hundred and forty nine
(22:52):
million dollars more than last year, most of which will
be used to manage wildfires. The one hundred and eighty
six page bill also includes a a ton of provisions
that have nothing to do with money. For example, it
prohibits listing the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act,
requires the Department of the Interior to reissue the twenty
twenty rule delisting the gray wolf, and prohibits introduction of
(23:14):
grizzly bears in the North Cascades ecosystem. It also prohibits
the regulation of lead content in ammunition and fishing tackle,
and blocks restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on
federal lands. In addition, it would force the BLM to
rescind their latest Conservation Lease rule and rescind Biden Administration's
latest clean water rule. The bill does a lot of things,
(23:37):
some good, some bad, but it's unlikely to pass both
chambers of Congress in its current form. The House Appropriations
Committee passed the bill on a thirty three to twenty
seven party line vote, Republicans in favor and Democrats against.
The Democrat controlled Senate passed their own version of this bill,
and you can probably guess that it looked much different.
Most agencies received more money than last year, including a
(24:00):
four million dollar raise for the EPA. The final version
of the bill will be some sort of compromise. Both
appropriations bills emphasize and fund wildfire suppression. Hopefully that means
by being proactive with good forest management outside of wildfire season.
That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you
so much for listening as per usual, right in to
(24:23):
ask c A L. That's Asscal at the meaeater dot
com and let me know what's going on in your
neck of the woods. And don't forget to go to
www dot steel dealers dot com to find a local,
knowledgeable steel dealer near you. They're gonna get you set
up with what you need and they won't send you
home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk
to you next week.
Host
Cal Callaghan
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