Got a few too many wild animals in your neighborhood, that are, well, a bit too wild? No problem, Bushco has a plan. And no, it doesn’t involve an armed Dick Cheney, although that option is always on the table. Read on.
In another attempt to further the public “good”, President Bush has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to promote hunting, now apparently a preferred activity on federal lands. (Get your camo suits ready.)
Washington, DC A vacationing President Bush issued an Executive Order directing federal land management agencies to expand and enhance hunting opportunities. While the order does not overturn any conservation laws, it establishes a preference for hunting at the expense of all other activities in the administration of federal lands, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
A considerable amount of acreage is covered by this order, including the national forests, already under siege. Apparently attempting to have the order seen in a positive light, federal agencies must consider the value of hunting in considering their actions.
Although the order explicitly covers national forests, wildlife refuges and range lands, it also applies to all federal agencies that have a measurable effect on land management, such as military bases and nuclear weapon reservations. These federal agencies must now evaluate the effect of [their] actions on trends in hunting participation [and] consider the economic and recreational value of hunting in agency actions.
Economic value? Perhaps all those additional orange vests that will be sold.
PEER:
“This is political meddling posing as a conservation policy”, stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “This order reads like it was written by a lobbyist.”
“The President seems to be saying you can never have too many deer and that public lands should be run as a salad bar for trophy animals”, Ruch added. “It would have made more sense to have Dick Cheney sign this executive order instead.”
The executive order is here.
