Anti_Hunting Dubya and Anti-Hunting White House Gut National Wildlife Refuge System.

[JoseCuervo]

Dubya once again shows he is the worst President we could have as hunters.

Idaho wildlife refuges face cuts
Federal funding shortfall will reduce staff, research, education, visitor services
The Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge near Nampa will limit public access to Gotts Point and say goodbye to its deputy manager who will retire because of a $2.5 billion budget shortfall facing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Changes at Deer Flat are only part of the reductions on tap in Idaho at national wildlife refuges.

Refuges are becoming more popular as tourist destinations, but Idaho still will lose almost a third of its personnel on seven national wildlife refuges, which encompass 84,000 acres and more than 50,000 visitors each year.

"We have serious impacts on staffing, and that means less things done on the refuges and also for visitors services," said Dick Munoz, project leader for Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex, based in Chubbuck near Pocatello.

The cuts raise the concern of refuge managers and conservationists alike because Idaho's national wildlife refuges are the last bastion of wetlands habitat in agricultural areas or urban valleys that are being paved over for parking lots, supermarkets and subdivisions.

"This is a place where you can get the kids out of the house and away from the computers to get fresh air and see wildlife," said Dianna Ellis, manager of the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge near Bonners Ferry.

The refuge lures visitors from population centers like Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, as well as from British Columbia and Montana.

Refuges like Kootenai, Deer Flat at Nampa, Camas near Idaho Falls, Minidoka near Rupert, and Bear Lake, Grays Lake, and Oxford Slough near Pocatello are places where families can get out and see wildlife.

Some also are easily accessible for auto tours, hunting, picnicking or boating.

Even so, the cuts will limit access to refuge personnel. The budget cuts will mean refuge staffing in Idaho will be reduced by 29 percent by 2009.

Budget cutbacks also may affect hunting on refuges. Some, like Kootenai, have to pump water to maintain wetlands. If refuges can't afford to pump water, they can't attract waterfowl.

"These are special places," said Daniel R. Patterson, an ecologist, hunter and southwest director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national alliance of local, state and federal resource professionals. "These are cuts on top of cuts."

The most popular activities at national wildlife refuges are hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, photography, wildlife interpretation and environmental programs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has come up with a plan that calls for combining management offices for refuges in southern Idaho to make up for lost personnel.

Management offices for Camas, Oxford Slough and Grays Lake will be moved from Chubbuck to the Bear Lake National Wildlife office in Montpelier as the Southeast Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Management of the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge near Rupert will be taken over by the office at Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge in Nampa, about 200 miles away. Both refuges will be in the Southwest Idaho National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

"The distance issue is a concern with reduced staff," Munoz said.

To meet the target for budget cuts, the Idaho refuge system staff will hold vacant eight of its 28 positions. The positions will be vacant through natural attrition, retirement and relocation.

Todd Fenzl, deputy manager at Deer Flat, will retire as a result of the cuts. He has patrolled the refuge, checked hunters, conducted biological surveys, and counted waterfowl for a weekly waterfowl report during hunting season. The refuge has been conducting goose nesting surveys since 1953.

He foresees cuts in those activities.

Public access will be hampered at Deer Flat's Gotts Point, which will be closed to vehicles, requiring a quarter- to half-mile walk into the area. There's not enough personnel to patrol the area, which has problems with vandalism, trash and "undesirable activity," Fenzl said.

Cutbacks make Patterson and his organization cringe.

"Refuges are the only places we have that are specifically set up for wildlife," he said.

Cuts come as refuges are becoming more popular as tourist destinations.

Ever since the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge was put on the Selkirk Loop, a tourist route throughout northern Idaho and British Columbia, the number of visitors has increased, Ellis said.

PEER's Patterson sees a dire need for support of the nation's refuge system.

"It's a system in critical condition," Patterson said. "It's on life support and it's like the feds are pulling the plug."

 

[Tom]

"because of a $2.5 billion budget shortfall facing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."


People and services usually do get cut in a situation like that.


What's your proposal to fix it? Maybe raise the non-resident hunting fee, make them buy a liscense to apply, something like that, there's still a shortfall for the land you want to hunt for free there Senor Idahoan.

 

[Ithaca 37]

Dubya's been a disaster for wildlife, hunters and fishermen. Anyone who voted for him should feel like a fool.

 

[JoseCuervo]

"because of a $2.5 billion budget shortfall facing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."


People and services usually do get cut in a situation like that.


What's your proposal to fix it? Maybe raise the non-resident hunting fee, make them buy a liscense to apply, something like that, there's still a shortfall for the land you want to hunt for free there Senor Idahoan.

How about rolling back tax cuts for the rich, not wasting $500 Billion on Dubya's War of Terror?

Why should hunters be forced to pay for Dubya's failed policies?

 

[cjcj]

Why should we pay for your cousins? english learners programs, incarcerations,etc,etc.... if you would see all of the waste you would gain some credibility.

 

[1_pointer]

cjcj- Way to stay on topic...

Jose- I for sure am not happy with the budget situation. The 1% increase we got doesn't even keep pace with inflation. Not to mention the cuts we got last year for Katrina and Iraq. Besides, we don't even have an approved budget for this year!

 

[Tom]

Katrina relief was for a natural disaster. Iraq and Afganistan were for attacks on America and Americans and for a democracy in the muslim world, so things don't get worse. You guys are worried you might have to pay $0.50 or something more to go do some recreational fishing and hunting to support the US fish and wildlife?

I can see why the terrorists believe they can win.

 

[noharleyyet]

Damn straight Tom....

 

[Washington Hunter]

cjcj- Way to stay on topic...

I don't see where he was not on topic, the topic is the budget and what money is being wasted where...

JC feels money is being wasted on tax cuts for the rich, and the war in Iraq.

cjcj feels money is being wasted on supporting people who are in this country illegally.

 

[cjcj]

Thanks W.H,... if its about "taxpayer money" then its still our money... we had an article in the AZ Repulsive newspaper, that all of our state parks are suffering because of budget cuts! ... funny how they found 400 milion for a football stadium and 200 million for the "english learner" program.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Katrina relief was for a natural disaster. Iraq and Afganistan were for attacks on America and Americans and for a democracy in the muslim world, so things don't get worse. You guys are worried you might have to pay $0.50 or something more to go do some recreational fishing and hunting to support the US fish and wildlife?

I can see why the terrorists believe they can win.

Tom,

Please list when Iraq attacked the US in the last Decade?

 

[cjcj]

Tom,

Please list when Iraq attacked the US in the last Decade?

They are doing it right now Jose,, insurgents in Iraq? Iranian arms???hump

 

[JoseCuervo]

They are doing it right now Jose,, insurgents in Iraq? Iranian arms???hump

They are doing what right???

On the fourth anniversary of the invasion begun with a Donald Rumsfeld "shock and awe" attack on Baghdad, Australian scientist Dr. Gideon Polya has stated that the combined death toll since the Iraq disaster is significantly higher than the biggest previous estimate of 655,000 by a Johns Hopkins University research team.

According to Dr. Polya's study the death toll in Iraq since the American invasion to "democratize" the Middle East nation could be as high as 1 million.

BAHGDAD, Iraq, March 18 The U.S. military Sunday reported the deaths of eight U.S. soldiers in Iraq and injuries to at least five other troops.

The latest death occurred Saturday when a Task Force Lightening member was struck by a bomb during operations in Diyala, a military statement said. Five other members were taken to a medical center for treatment, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported.


Seven other soldiers died and two more were wounded in fighting in Baghdad, including four killed by a bomb, raising the U.S. military death toll to 51 this month and 3,216 since the war

 

[JoseCuervo]

They are doing it right now Jose,, insurgents in Iraq? Iranian arms???hump

They are doing what right???

On the fourth anniversary of the invasion begun with a Donald Rumsfeld "shock and awe" attack on Baghdad, Australian scientist Dr. Gideon Polya has stated that the combined death toll since the Iraq disaster is significantly higher than the biggest previous estimate of 655,000 by a Johns Hopkins University research team.

According to Dr. Polya's study the death toll in Iraq since the American invasion to "democratize" the Middle East nation could be as high as 1 million.

BAHGDAD, Iraq, March 18 The U.S. military Sunday reported the deaths of eight U.S. soldiers in Iraq and injuries to at least five other troops.

The latest death occurred Saturday when a Task Force Lightening member was struck by a bomb during operations in Diyala, a military statement said. Five other members were taken to a medical center for treatment, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported.


Seven other soldiers died and two more were wounded in fighting in Baghdad, including four killed by a bomb, raising the U.S. military death toll to 51 this month and 3,216 since the war

 

[Nemont]

This thread got off topic REAL fast

 

[AZ402]

This thread got off topic REAL fast

That's not shocking..........

 

[Nemont]

Jose,
Given your sensitivity to the Jewish faith and what they have gone through I am surprised you would reference Dr. Polya. He blames the Jews and the US/UK for every evil in the world. In addition he calls what is happening in Iraq a "Holocaust" however there are no death camps, no gas chambers, no systematic plan to kill all Muslim. Dr. Polya is about as object as Dick Cheney. Quoting him is of absolutely no value.

The Bush administration has never funded any Land Management agency with enough money. Have you found any financial discipline within the new Democratic majority in the House or just more pork barrell spending. Take a look at the supplemental war spending pork used to buy votes in the House.

Muslim Holocaust & Holocaust Denial by Bush US Alliance

By Gideon Polya

Al-Jazeerah, December 20, 2006



Christmas is almost upon us and the World – especially the mainly nominally Christian Western World - pauses to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and to celebrate the sanctity of Mother and Child. Yet much of the Western World through the Bush US Alliance is complicit in horrendous crimes against humanity in Occupied Palestine, Occupied Iraq and Occupied Afghanistan – in gross violation of the teachings of Jesus and of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) of the Abrahamic religions that declares “thou shalt not kill”. Much of the West is complicit in war criminal mass murder, genocide and mass infanticide led by Bush America in the Muslim World – yet the carnage continues due to the IGNORING of this Muslim Holocaust by Western politicians and racist, lying, holocaust-denying Mainstream media.

MASS MURDER. Dr Burnham's medical epidemiology research group at the prestigious American Johns Hopkins University has estimated 0.7 million post-invasion excess deaths in Occupied Iraq (published in the top medical journal The Lancet in October 2006) - this falls between estimates from 3 other authoritative data sets of 0.6 to 0.8 million. Taking a Jordan/Syria baseline for death rate comparison and the latest Lancet data yields a 0.9 million estimate for post-invasion excess deaths in US-occupied Iraq (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ and http://mwcnews.net/content/view/10528/42/ ). The post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) in the Occupied Palestinian, Iraqi and Afghan Territories presently total 0.3, 0.9 and 2.1 million, respectively, as determined from the latest UN and medical literature demographic data (for analysis and documentation see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).

This carnage is due to UK, US, Australian, Coalition, Israeli and NATO violation of the Geneva Conventions.

CONCLUSION. Bush and Blair (and their associates Rumsfeld, Cheney, Dr. Rice (Dr Death), Olmert, Australia's Bush-ite government and other Western Bush-ite governments) are actively involved in racist, anti-Arab anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, anti-Asian Holocaust commission – they are complicit in a Muslim Holocaust involving Mass Murder, Genocide and Mass Infanticide. These atrocities continue due to Western politician and Mainstream media Holocaust Denial (see: http://mwcnews.net/content/view/11293/42/ ).

What can decent people do? Silence kills and silence is complicity. Decent people are obliged (a) to inform others about horrendous abuses of humanity and (b) to act ethically in all their personal and business dealings with those complicit in such atrocities. Peace is the only way – the continuing mass murder, genocide and mass infanticide by the UK, the US, Australia, the US-led Coalition, Israel, US-Israeli State Terrorism (USIST) and NATO in the Muslim World cries out for comprehensive intra-national and inter-national Sanctions and Boycotts against those responsible

 

[Tom]

Jose, can you see?

There were daily (almost) missile attacks by Saddam in the no fly zone, he was asking for it, remember all ths stuff he did wrong after being defeated for invasion of Kuwait?

“Operation Northern Watch continued to provide air security to the Kurdish population in the north. American and British aircraft continuously maintained the integrity of the NFZ, receiving anti-aircraft fire from Iraqi forces almost daily. The operation ran until its conclusion on May 1st, 2003.”

here's the source of the quote, but its lots of places, http://www.answers.com/topic/iraqi-no-fly-zones

 

[AZ402]

Jose,
Given your sensitivity to the Jewish faith and what they have gone through I am surprised you would reference Dr. Polya. He blames the Jews and the US/UK for every evil in the world. In addition he calls what is happening in Iraq a "Holocaust" however there are no death camps, no gas chambers, no systematic plan to kill all Muslim. Dr. Polya is about as object as Dick Cheney. Quoting him is of absolutely no value.

The Bush administration has never funded any Land Management agency with enough money. Have you found any financial discipline within the new Democratic majority in the House or just more pork barrell spending. Take a look at the supplemental war spending pork used to buy votes in the House.

Very nice Mr. Nemont..........

 

[JoseCuervo]

Tom,

So you support Dubya not funding National Wildlife Refuges to the amount required by the agency's needs, based on some disputed unilateral decree imposed on a dead guy 14 years ago?

C'mon Tom, time to MoveOn...