What the heck's goin on with Utah's Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife?? Someone from work forwarded this to me. Kinda hard to -represent- the interest of hunters when you storm off panels!
The head of the Idaho chapter of the SFW recently had an editorial in the Idaho Statesman declaring that they were "autonomous and independant" from the Idaho chapter. Wonder if this was damage control on their part?
-FeverDreams
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At the last Utah wolf working group meeting Don Peay delivered an ultimatum to the other members of the group in which he made various demands that the WWG must accede to or else SFW would leave the table. SFW ended up leaving the table and is no longer a member of the WWG. Here are some of his demands as they appeared in an email:
1. If the people of the state of Utah want wolves, they need to identify a new specific funding source - tens of millions of dollars, to provide habitat funding, habitat acquisition, and other habitat efforts to allow for the increase of current ungulate populations. The annual increase over and above today's populations could be allocated to wolf consumption.
2. The private wolf advocates groups should raise commensurate funds as the sportsmen and landowners have over the past 50 years, invest time and money to increase Utah's ungulate populations, and then allow for the consumption of their annual ungulate yield to wolves.
3. Hounds lost to wolves shall be compensated at fair market value -$2,500 to $5,000 each
4. The state shall be compensated for every lost elk, moose, deer and bighorn permit. The fair market value of the loss shall be calculated at conservation permit prices, with elk tags ranging from $12,500 to $25,000 each permit, bighorn tags from $22,000 to $42,000 each permit, deer permits from $4,200 to $15,000 each
5. Guides and outfitters shall be compensated at $5,000 for each client lost. Taxidermist shall be compensated $800 for each shoulder mount lost, and $3,500 for each full body mount lost.
6. Families shall be compensated at $2.50 per pound for each pound of red meat lost to wolf predation
7. Sporting goods stores shall be compensated at the average annual expenditure for each hunter, for each permit lost to wolf predation. Rural counties shall be compensated at the average annual expenditure for each hunter on food, gas, and lodging for each permit lost to wolf predation.
8. Private conservation groups such as FNAWS or SFH shall be repaid the total principle invested, plus 5% annual interest if ungulate herds are damaged in areas where ungulate habitat and restoration cost have been expended by private organizations.
9. Ranchers shall be compensated for full market value, plus 10% for each animal killed, or suspected to be killed by wolves.
Yet that's not all. Here are the demands he made at the meeting:
1. Private landowners and CWMU operators be allowed to shoot wolves on sight on private land.
2. Assure sufficient funding to have sufficient data to know if wolves are having an impact on game populations, thus warrant management actions (don't blame it on the drought, winter, etc).
3. Ensure full market value and compensation to guides and outfitters, taxidermists, sporting goods stores and other businesses that will loose millions of dollars if game herds decline.
Utah "Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife"
