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- Tracking The Capitols - May 16, 2012campaign.r20.constantcontact.comSummary: Memorializes Congress to encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Fisheries Council, and the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council to adopt a weekend-only fishery for the 2012 red snapper season.
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- Center for Consumer Freedom ? Shock Poll: HSUS Donors Think HSUS Fundraising Misleadswww.consumerfreedom.comPromoting Personal Responsibility and Protecting Consumer Choice.
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- If you are concerned about hunting on BLM lands, your nomination to serve on a Resource Advisory Council in your state is imperative! Safari Club International (SCI) needs your help to protect hunting on millions of acres of public land so contact SCI today. SCI Hunter Advocacy: Advocate for Hunting, Participate on a Resource Advisory Councilscihunteradvocacy.blogspot.com
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- BLM backtracks on proposed shooting ban at Ariz. national monument Phil Taylor, E&E reporter Published: Friday, May 11, 2012 The Interior Department this afternoon backed off on a proposal to ban recreational shooting at a half-million-acre national monument southwest of Phoenix, a move that drew praise from sportsmen. Under pressure from the National Rifle Association and a sportsman advisory council, the Bureau of Land Management said target shooting would continue at the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The diverse desert landscape protected by President Clinton in 2001 includes 63 shooting sites, according to the NRA. "We plan to identify this option as the preferred management decision in the final environmental impact statement, with accompanying management and administrative actions to minimize the impacts of shooting to the monument values and objects," Robert Towne, acting director of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System, told the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council in a teleconference. Towne said the Sonoran plan could be a model for how BLM designs best management practices for recreational shooting on other agency lands. He emphasized the need for public education and resource monitoring. The decision breaks from the agency's draft proposal last August, which cited concerns over noise, public safety and resource impacts in the monument, which is marked by woodlands, cacti, creosote and rare desert grasslands. A month later, BLM unveiled a separate proposal to ban shooting on 129,000 acres of Arizona's Ironwood Forest National Monument near Tucson after several incidents of vandals shooting saguaros and palo verde trees, neither of which can survive damage from gunshots (Land Letter, Jan. 5). Both decisions drew protests from groups including Safari Club International and NRA, which accused the Obama administration of harboring an anti-hunting bias by punishing the majority for the actions of a few. "BLM managers have been open about this discriminatory and anti-gun attitude in the press," Susan Recce, NRA's director of conservation, wildlife and natural resources, said in testimony in January to the House Natural Resources Committee. The Sonoran decision comes in a state many consider a battleground in the presidential election, in part because Sen. John McCain, who won his home state by 9 points in 2008, won't be the GOP nominee. The hook and bullet crowd is a strong voting bloc in many Western states. "We're very pleased to hear this is the recommended course of action for the Sonoran that BLM is making in this regard," said Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation and a member of the federal wildlife council. The 18-member council today also approved a draft letter to BLM Director Bob Abbey warning that recent closures on BLM, Forest Service and county lands have limited opportunities for sportsmen. The chance to shoot on public lands, particularly near urban areas, is crucial for new hunters, the letter said. Sportsmen's access garnered national attention in mid-April when the House passed a bill designed to strengthen hunting and angling rights on public lands, over the objections of many environmentalists and Democrats (E&E Daily, April 18). Opponents included the Wilderness Society, Center for Biological Diversity and National Parks Conservation Association. The package included a bill by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) that would limit BLM shooting bans at national monuments to six months, after which only Congress could authorize a permanent ban. BLM opposed the bill (H.R. 3440), citing threats to the environment and the fact that 95 percent of the agency's 245 million acres is open to recreational shooting.
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- Kids Gone Hunting Celebrates Armed Forces Day with "Hats Off to our Armed Forces!" Facebook Promotiocampaign.r20.constantcontact.comKids Gone Hunting Foundation is offering their Facebook fans a chance to win prizes during their "Hats Off to our Armed Forces!" promotion from now until Saturday, May 19, 2012 at midnight central time. The winner will be announced Monday morning on the Kids Gone Hunting Facebook page. No purchase n...
