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.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Those orange vests better have kevlar. There’s a lot of bush shooters out there (as in see bush shaking, shoot at it, then check to see if a person was there).
So much for hiking, or living any near federal lands. Just ask the farmers that have to paint C.O.W. on their cows during deer season.
.
Perhaps the NRA or NWTF – “Preservation of our hunting heritage.”
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne recently reappointed National Wild Turkey Federation CEO Rob Keck to the Sporting Conservation Council.
The Sporting Conservation Council is made up of:
In March of 2006, the U.S. Dept. of the Interior announced the formation of the Sporting Conservation CouncilSporting Conservation Council. The council will provide input in regards to forest health, habitat restoration/protection and the impact of energy development on wildlife resources. As explained by Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton, “dating back to Teddy Roosevelt, hunters have been the pillar of conservation in America, doing more than anyone to conserve wildlife and its habitat.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Hunters and fishermen can be invaluable allies in conservation efforts. Ducks Unlimited has been involved in several major clean-water initiatives at the state level.
The problem becomes when the orders become extended to give ATVs and other motorized vehicles and boats more or less free reign on sensitive lands and waters.
Then hunting and fishing become much less of a sport and just another excuse for joyriding.
There are a lot of responsible hunters. More and more of them are realizing how bad Bush has been for hunting.
There are also a lot of idiots who have no business touching a gun. Cheney ain’t the only one that shoots before thinking.
Just what we need…
Republicans: Arming ter’rists everywhere to perpetuate the endless war.
perhaps this debunked legend may be closer to the truth than you might imagine:
har!
lTMF’sA