Role Model: Female Huntress

Remember this: You want bees-use honey. You want blowflies-use dead wild game carcass.

I told myself I would never do this again. I have been reading the Miley Cyrus rants and reviewing the current and on-going female representation in hunting via social media’s ether, by labeling certain females as role models of hunting.

I was disappointed. Was there a light somewhere in the smog of hunting that shows one female had finally diverted from the it’s all about me, hate the anti’s, and how dare you fellow hunter question me and my antics?

I removed my glasses and massaged my temples before humorously setting about finding this person. I was a little astounded by what I found-because of the one.

My thinking was: if I peruse the role model females’ pages in the mildest sense of research-there should not be a problem. That is what a role model is for-a template for someone not accustomed to what something should be to help them mimic it.

I saw the insulting quote post about looking at a page one too many times. If you wanted celebrity, then you shouldn’t have a problem having people look at it 100 times. What is up with the baiting posts?

Is that not what you wanted? Is it to the point, the page holder feels confident in mistreating anyone cruising through because the page itself represents a target for some? The page has a bait post to drag someone in for confrontation-so it is set up to catch sensitive types that have to post with knee jerk reactions.

I think of addiction-the addict gets use to a certain drug or liquor, and hits the poison of choice everyday not realizing the damage it is doing to their brain, body, and soul. Everyone around this poor soul is saying to them, this is detrimental to you-why don’t you stop? You watch them tip the bottle back, or crack open their chemistry set of narcotics to issue a dose-then off to lala-land they go; dead to the world and your warnings.

Right now, there are certain female hunting role models that do not realize the damage they are doing to themselves and anyone looking up to them. They rebuke intelligent recourse, and some of those interactions are probably negative which makes them ear-blind.

They are in a blind but they’re blind.

This is not about how the female hunting role model goes out and does her physical hunting, or her mentality when participating. It is about the behavior of a human being that disregards fellow hunters’ observations on their behavior and how it is detrimental to what they are trying to achieve. The garbled message people are comprehending and following in behind is lost to the four winds.

I had to stop looking at all this hunting squalor because it makes me feel like I am watching bad chintz wallpaper peel. It is boring too, because the articles are all the same.

If I want reality, I’ll mosey on over to Meateater. I can live with Steve and his wormy attitude.

I looked up four female hunters that are considered to some extent female role models. I went by their Facebook pages, ergo some of them had twitter accounts with the same information but varying followers.

Huntress No. 1

% Self-promotion

% Out-sourced advertising

% Politics and Political Views

% Inflammatory-Insulting posts geared toward groups not supportive     of hunting

% arguments with fellow hunters

Huntress No. 2

% Animal Rights Activist-Hunter Shenanigans

% Epic, My Life is so much more epic than yours posts

% Out-sourced posts from random pages not self-generated

% Nothing about the actual person except photos

% Inflammatory-insulting posts geared toward groups not supportive     of hunting

Huntress No. 3 (she’s been trying to get famous since she had her                   moles removed off her face)

% Self-promotion

% Inflammatory-insulting posts geared toward groups not supportive     of hunting

% allows multiple attacks on fellow hunters if they are foreign       female hunters

Huntress No. 4

% Self-promotion

0 % inflammatory-insulting posts geared toward groups not supportive     of hunting

% Promoting hunting for women, children, and education

*Finally learned the power of good Public Relations and filtering the crap from the cream. Guess who this No. 4 is?

I wonder. Why it is important to entertain a conversation when it is based around negative rhetoric?

I won’t lie. Some of these women make me want to gag-gagging the rainbow.

I see posts saying, “Do your research, learn about wildlife conservation…”, but you do not see the research being displayed on these women’s pages.

You want that information; you have to read Ecology, National Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Magazine, State wildlife Magazines, or Ranger Rick.

I digress; I don’t have to bash any of these females. That door was opened by them the moment they took to social media, and the world started throwing punches and shooting fire arrows at them.

No. 4 was Melissa Bachman. I perused her Facebook page and actually like it, when before I didn’t. It is more professional and the negativity has been drained from it. It was good to see at least one problemed female taking her public relations and image seriously, while putting the focal point on her abilities, performance and outreach instead of being the visual victim of attacks with pomp and circumstance through self-generated altercations.

Some hunters want to articulate to these top-notch celebrity figures that the behavior and the actions are causing the problem-but fear being excluded and branded a hunting heretic.

Does anyone remember the election? I didn't get the memo to vote, did you?

I would not have voted any of these people as role models, celebrities, or even representatives of the Hunting sport. It is shameful to say the least, and that is the women-some of the men are just as bad.

If you want to do Hunting a favor, hunters need to stand up to this kind of behavior. Hunters need to let these hunters,voted by unknown sources as the representation of the hunting sport, be informed by the masses that what is being publicly advertised and displayed as examples of hunting participants is not consistently true of the vast number of diverse hunters. It is direly erroneous.  

It is a misrepresentation of the diversity and quality of hunters everywhere.

I want to know when this crap is going to stop being a thing.

Written by: Cryptic Angelia and W Harley Bloodworth

A Very Curious Fawn.

Remember this: You never know what you'll see. Get outside.


It was extremely hot this afternoon. I wanted to take my father's dog for her evening  ride out to the watermelon patch. We sit out in the middle of a horse pasture eating watermelon. The watermelon row is short but the drought, then flood of water, has cause the melons to stunt. Some rot in the field before they even turn ripe inside. It's a hazard, along with the out-of-control grass. I am just glad I have snake boots. I decided to see what the state of affairs were in regards to flooded areas that needed to be bushhogged. Everything is a hot mess. High grass is everywhere. I shook my head. My son would have to wait to cut the grass.

While out riding around, I came across this pair of fawns standing in the soybean field. This little fellow posed up a storm instead of running off in the treeline. First it stared, then whipped its tongue out several times tasting the air. The fawn started to come over to me, but I didn't want it to. The fawn decided it would be best to walk off into the bushes. I was glad. These were well fed fawns as you can see. Usually, when I am messing about in the woods with my plants, little deer will become curious and come just close enough to you. I take a look then ignore them. If you act like you don't see them, the less scared they are. By the time hunting season comes, shooting puts the fear of God in them fast enough; sadly to say. The only thing trying my patience is the fact my camera is malfunctioning. On the distance setting, the image doesn't stablize and looks somewhat blurry. It also jumps back and forth between options on the option button; drives me batty. If it breaks, I will not be able to get a better one. It has been a good camera.

One other time, I became ecstatic seeing a huge turkey poult.  I got a photo of one of the little turkey birds. I warned the neighbors to watch their dogs, become one of them has a mean little dachsund and a red nose pit with no training whatsoever. Domestic pets menace them just as much as wild animals.

When I see these little babies I am so happy. They give you hours of fun when you watch them because they play alot. Even though they are eating machines, I still like them.

A week ago, a white plane was pretending to be the Red Baron over the woods behind the house, which annoyed me. The pilot seemed to be running the deer. Whether this was on purpose is unknown to me. I didn't know who it was, but the plane spooked the deer so badly they would not come out the woods for a week. I almost thought the plane was going to crash in the duck pond. You just never know with people anymore. Maybe they were looking for hidden marijuana fields. I am sorry to report  I have none, unless you want some oleanders bushes.

I did want to share this picture because it is just darling.

Written by: W Harley Bloodworth

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

The Water is Rising

Click on images to Enlarge.

 

 

 

Remember this: The water is rising. When a woman says, “Don’t go in there.” Don’t go in there.

 

I decided yesterday that I was going to go turkey hunting in the WMA on Friday. I scouted the area for the water table. The water was rising and spreading. I blamed this situation on the fact the moon is going into its dark nighs then growing. The moon doesn't change shape but affects the water table and tides. Just through the woods to the river you can see the salt water and the fresh water meeting. I knew the Gobbler King told me to call him on Sunday but that would give me three days left to turkey season. Rain killed the first part of the month for me. I didn’t want to count on him because I figured he was going to back out of this anyway then where would I be; empty-handed and not even trying.

The day before I drove the golf cart around for about an hour and a half at a different place; calling for anything. I got no response. That is when I schemed my plan with the help of Nena-Two-Feathers. I decided I would get my mountain bike, assorted hunting necessities and beat back the rising tide of river water. Mountain bike with a metal basket; extreme and hardcore, I know. Wait til you see pictures of me looking like a bag lady pushing a shopping cart in the woods with a buck in it when I am fifty years old. By then I will be a nutter and it won't matter what the game warden is telling me because I will be tone deaf.

I checked my bike for flat tires and loaded her up into the truck. I got all the stuff I needed and drove down to the WMA. I looked down the road and the water had now pooled well onto the road in front of the sign-in box. I pulled in onto the gravel park, got out, walked over and signed the notebook inside. A truck drove up with a Mr. Wilder from Tabor City, NC. He was driving a Z71 but his four-wheel drive was compromised. He asked me did I think he could get in. I told him no. I did ask him did he want to walk  with me up the road but he seemed disgusted at the idea of getting wet.  I offered. He had never been in the area and did not know it. I explained the terrain to him. He relayed stories of other hunters submerging vehicles in the next county near Punch Bowl because they couldn’t see what was before them. Mr. Wilder decided to turn -tail and go back home.

I had sat at the sign-in box the day before talking to the propane driver from the next county. He didn’t think he would be able to go down the road either. He said he stopped going hunting when he got married, took up horses, got divorced, then stopped with the horses. I guess marriage and divorce is a buzz-kill.  

I waved good-bye to him then walked up the middle of the road in my snake boots watching the turtles drift by. I finally got to the second parking area and walked up on a turkey that flew into the woods over the briar bushes. I meandered through the thicket, after hiding my bike in the briars, to see if the water was there too. It was. I passed on this area.  I pushed on through the earthy tea of the swamp.

 

 

 

 

I heard a vehicle coming up behind me as it broke the water. These two men pulled up.  The driver had never been there before. He asked me if I thought he could make it. I told him no but he could make his friend get out with a stick to dip test areas for depth of hole; made sense to me. Once again, Sacajawea was telling Lewis and Clark not to go there but they did.

 I was now the unofficial swamp troll telling hunters if they could pass or not. Somehow, I thought I needed a staff like Gandalf, while proclaiming, “You shall not pass!” The problem with these two guys was the truck. It was one of those low riding Nissan deals. I could see it sinking into the mire while water flooded it.

We talked about turkey because they were there to hunt like me. It was about 10:30 am and the two hunters were trying to find a gobbler after the hens left for nesting.  We discussed the surveys the DNR sends out and how I got one that was a psychological questionnaire. I told the guy, “I am now starting to question my mental status because I am here, knee deep and up to my eyeballs, pushing a mountain bike with a shotgun strapped to the handle bars.” We laughed.

The driver also told me he thought some of the younger men shoot the turkey and drive right out of the WMA without saying a thing so they can reserve their tags for other days. I think this was probably his opinion but I don’t know what people do and don’t do in the WMA once they get dead birds to their truck. I kept in mind he said he had never been to this WMA so I am wondering if he didn’t mean some other where he had seen it. I am not the game warden but people sure do tell me a lot of stuff.  After shooting the breeze a little more these two intrepid souls decided to chance the water and mystery holes on the road horizon while pushing forward to their dreams.

I wondered up the road and came to a small clearing that lead to a grown up road with a gate in disrepair. I thought about going down it because something had stomped down a path. I looked down in the ditch to find an assortment of red shotgun shells floating there. I piddle for a while then realized it was to overgrown. I went across the road and down in the water-filled ditch. I was unceremoniously up to my waist in water but made it across to the dryer part and mounds of dirt. I messed around in that area but it was one of those spots that one step and you are down in it with your head sticking out. I passed on this but while standing on the hill heard a motor coming. A red jeep wrangler appeared pulling the little green Nissan in tow with the driver laughing like Santa Claus and his co-conspirator, riding in the truck bed, laughing it up at me while I cried, “I tooooldddd yoooouuu soooo.” The swamp troll was vindicated. Those two guys looked like they were in their forties but the look on their faces reminded me of two sixteen-year-olds out with new drivers licenses and getting in trouble.  I thought it was hilarious and so did the jeep driver. They were just waving and laughing.

I then went to the trouble of getting me a witch cane and measuring a section of ditch to cross that wasn’t so deep. I barely made it across but I didn’t get my backpack or gun wet. I walked back up the road to get my bike. I then thought this wasn’t going to get better but I remembered back at the sign-in box there was a gate and I saw a turkey. I walked back. At the second park, two men stopped me to tell me that I didn’t have to wear safety orange because someone would shoot me and the game warden couldn’t write me a ticket because it was turkey season. I told him people worried me enough with their drinking and hunting. The one old dodger had a cannula in his nose where he was getting oxygen. I thought he must be a boss because even sickness wasn’t going to hem him down. He was giving my shotgun googley eyes and said, “That is an 870. Best gun ever made for turkey shooting.” I said, “Yes sir.” He looks at me and says, “Go in there girl and get that turkey.” He excused himself and rode away with his friend. He didn’t want to go down the road either and he had a new Jeep Liberty. I wished at that point I had a Jeep Wrangler but all I had was a mountain bike. Yep, good old mountain bike.



 

 

 

 

I watched them go and strolled through the waters. Finally I got to the gate and steered around the post to go inside. Dart frogs were shooting in every direction. This road was previously bush-hogged and I could walk it no problem. I wanted to be far off the road because of the no shooting zone. I came to a bend and went right where I eventually found a little cul-de-sac and nestled in. The only water I had to cross was a small low place with running water. It was dry as a bone and you couldn’t tell from where I was, that not too far in the other direction, it was flooded. I sat giving my calls and listened. I heard purrs and some yelps. I then concluded that I was on the dry spot with the hens, which were nesting because by this time it was mid-day. Every so often I would do some calls. I was so engrossed at one point with practicing my purr-cluck, I didn’t notice the fast moving black racer that came up to three inches of my snake boot to stare at me. It looked to be over six feet long. It scared the bee-jesus out of me to start with because it snuck up on me and I tossed my flex-tone wooden piece to my slate somewhere in the beige straw grass. I yelled and it shot over to do a semi-circle around me. My inner voice said,  “Snake I am not a hen laying an egg. Go away.” I thought about how this was probably adding to my white hairs that I have had since I was twenty.

 

Of course there is the old superstitution that if a black snake crosses your path, someone is trying to do you harm. I don't think so because this snake was just after something to gulp down.

It’s funny how even snakes can hunt eggs and hear or feel a sound that signals a hen is laying and came calling. I decided after sitting for about two hours that I would call it an empty-handed success. I then saw baby ticks on my gun. It wouldn’t be hunting unless the ticks were invited unannounced to the party.

I did want to see where the road leads but half way up it was muddy like a hog parlor. I relented, jumped on my bike and peddled away. I was doing well until I hit the water hole at less than top speed but didn’t sink the boat. I was exhausted but fairly accomplished.

I then snickered that I had found the hens and walked up on a turkey. I was still in the woods making calls when everyone else was giving up over water and not looking for options. I didn’t wait on someone else but went to do my business, whether I failed or succeeded. I laughed at intrepid souls who laughed at themselves and met people, all men who have been hunting longer than I have. I transversed a ditch to get to the other side then went back into that same ditch to come out. I questioned my mental status while knowing I was not insane. I stood on a hill and laughed at people's shenanigans. There were hunters knew to the WMA that didn’t have a clue and I was educating them and giving them advice. I was encouraged by a man that looked like he was two steps from a nursing home bed.

With hunting, it’s as much what you observe people doing and how they deal with situations that arise. It is not just actually scoring a turkey for you. People are amazing, funny, and informative when you get off your computer, out your house, and strike out down a path to a spot in the brambles. I do have new found respect for ancestors that ran with the Swamp Fox through those same swamps. I signed out after four hours while watching people come then giving up. I thought and laughed a lot going home.

After all, I did it on a mountain bike.

 

 

 

Written by: W Harley Bloodworth

 

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

 

 

 

A Better Informed Female Hunter

Remember this: Everyone has to start somewhere; encouraged or not.

Recently I have been scheming to hunt outside of my state. Hunting within your state is where you cut your teeth. From there you have to branch out.

Of course the reality of this would be casting myself out into the world alone, which is a scary thing to do. Eventually this gypsy-like quality strikes all people for them to migrate and see new places for the excitment, awe, and alas vacationer fatigue (when you go, then come back more tired than what you were when you left).

While entertaining this idea of out-of-state hunting I was plotting to hunt turkey nearby on this tract of land that belonged to the DNR, but being familiar with the property over time, had some questions before I set out to beat the bush. I referred to the rules and regulations book; no answer. This tract of land was fifty miles off the coast in a swampy area.

My questions were on unmarked lanes with gates that were at times locked. Seemed simple enough to answer.

Called up the game warden. Not a nice chap; didn't answer my question. He admitted to me lack of knowledge on his part about the area. Belligerently referring to the rules and regulations book, which did not cover this particular question. Sadly I had to raise my voice which I don't like to do. He made me feel like I was not welcome to go to that place or I was pestering him when he had more important things to do. The most useful thing I got out of him was the problem of bogging down so some of the lanes with locked gates could only be walked down. It would seem previous hunters or woodsy people just tore up the roads. It was the Blood Moon. Maybe he was on his manstruation? (Love you guy!)  I wondered why he didn't take my name and get back to me. Moving on.

What does one do when the game warden is of no help and the possiblity that you could run amuck of the law exist? I stewed then got an idea. I considered people that were new to the sport without a clue. One must get a clue after all.

When a person starts out hunting, fishing, camping, or even hiking there are rules and regulations that you must abide by while utilizing property. If you do not understand or know these regulations and rules could mean a ticket, fine, or jail time. God forbide losing your hunting license for the rest of your life.

If I were to go to this area, get myself in trouble, the game warden is not going to care, then will most likely antagonize me for whatever crime I commited by making me feel stupid; giving me a ticket anyway. I refer back to my conversation with the game warden when saying, "I don't want to go to this area then commit a crime by happenstance and have the game warden say to me, "Ignorance is no excuse" when I am calling you with questions. Made sense to me. I will tell you I love the SCDNR but sometimes it is the individual attitudes within this department that make life problematic.

Sometimes you can't let off-putting people stop you. I can admit there have been up to three different people excluding the game warden that I have asked to clarify or go down to this tract with me so I won't get in trouble. All they do is walk away or ignore you.

Here is what I did. I knew of a retired game warden that lived close by and called him. I explained to him what I was attempting to do. He took 45 minutes of his personal time out to explain to me about the tract of land. After this conversation I felt more empowered to go by myself and sit under a tree to do my business.

I had paid for my license last year for this particular tract that didn't need tagging or special permits. Always thinking of safety, if I were to go inside this place by myself then someone would have to know. I went over to the local DNR office to pick up maps for each game zone. I looked them over. Unfortunately there were no detailed maps of the specific area. What was a girl to do?

I googled Earth. For every one of those little lanes or entry ways, I followed the white line to see exactly where it ended. Most of them looped back to the main road so I was comfortable with the fact I could get back out. I did note the swampy areas where it would not be easily accessed. I then thought I would go down and make my own map with numbers and where it ended so when I went back I could mark the places where I hunted, water holes, game that appeared, general direction of tracks and time of day among other things. As we know some animals do not go back to the same place twice or travel the same path. Overall this endeavor was to pinpoint my location to family members if I were not to come back so it would be easier to find the body. There is the old saying, "Gone and let the hogs eat you". Gone being the southern sounding word in exasperation for "Go on". I could be eaten by wild hogs; it happens.

This is why sometimes you have to consider the way people get into hunting or fishing. Someone else takes them and minus the license probably do not feel responsible for the knowledge because they are temporarily there for the pleasure of the activity.

If you go by yourself it is rather different. As a hunter you have to put some semblance of thought and planning into your trip or else come up empty handed or worse yet in disaster. Your success depends on your knowledge and not someone elses unless you are gathering it from the source that dictates the legal parameters of whatever it is you are doing. I negate guided hunts in this piece because you are still relying on another person for your success.

I know there is a lot of online chatter about how close people are that hunt but when  you are considered the outsider in circles or just starting out while not knowing anyone it can be hard. To some extend it is who you know. You don't know anyone; it gets harder. You might approach people that turn their nose up at you, do not want you to know their hunting spot, or consider you a joke because they don't think you have "the look" or "attitude". Unfortunately for me I don't have "the look" but my attitude I wonder at sometimes. I don't wear camo all the time, sleep in it, cover my truck in it, or whatever else people do with camo. I don't look the part which confuses people. Usually I wear a red plaid shirt, blue jeans and snake boots. Half of the time there are memes that have make-no-sense messages that drive me crazy. Hence, keeping my inflammatory writings relegated to my blogosphere.

When you are a female hunter starting out, as magazines and other people that hunt are tooting their horns while neglecting to educate these women on the details of what life is going to be like, may find moments where things are just unclear or you are going it alone.  A lot of this information you can get from online or at the local Department of Natural Resources. It is always a good idea to check with these departments because when land tracts are exchanged they could have changing legislation, logging companies could be on or off the properties, there might be existing private property within the tract, and  the reality of changing conditions. Moreso what you can, can not do and telling someone when and where you are going, then coming back at what time. You have to consider cell phone reception in case you break a leg, bog down, shoot yourself, or pass out. Some hunters go down in the woods to have a heart attack then where will you be?

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. If whoever doesn't want to help you find someone with character that will. There is always a way, might take you a while to get there, or find a friend or two to get your back, but keep trying and doing. Eventually it will come and they will find out they found a diamond and not a piece of coal; when coal was all that surrounded them.

P.S. So going to get a ticket from the DNR.

Written by: W Harley Bloodworth
                  
 

~Courtesy of the AOFH~



Keystone XL Pipeline and Wildlife: Investigative Huntress Reports.

Remember this: As a hunter, when there is a potential threat to the quarry you hunt, find out what is at stake to disappear, or lower your standard of hunting. No quarry, no hunt.

With this post I am using this link as sourced material:
http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/draftseis/index.htm

The whole purpose of this blog is to investigate hunting issues or concerns. The theme of hunting is born out of the realization that to hunt you need quarry, areas to hunt, necessary tools, and compromised/uncompromised conditions. What if there existed a foreseeable question as to the health, welfare, and longevity of one of those attributes? Mainly quarry. 

What hunter/huntress would not want to have a vested interest in that topic? Here you have the opportunity to join up with non-hunters that believe that wildlife, habitat and your environment is worth safe-guarding. There are no enemies here. What you do is let the world know your concerns that way if someone in the XL pipeline sector doesn't keep up their maintenance schedule, or overseeing the line they can't cry foul. I question what person wants to go down in history as the 'most hated president' either but we have had some real contenders for that title. 

The above photo illustrates there is an existing pipeline from Canada at Winnepeg, but after the pipeline generates itself out of Calgary's area that would mean the pipeline from Calgary to Winnepeg could be closed because why have two pipelines pumping to the same destination? If that pipeline were to close that would mean that Canada would have less ground line for the pipeline if something were to happen excluding the damage in the Tar Sands Region. 

Even if the Enbridge Northern Gateway (which in this is proposed and I have yet to check) doesn't go through that would mean most of the transfer across country would be done on American soil at TransCanadian benefit. If that is the case maybe they should be getting charged for that so we can pay off our national debt? Either way if TransCanada's faux oil pipeline ship should run afoul on American soil will there be any restitution for the damage to our once pristine land while Canada doesn't suffer other than the damage it has already done to itself or monetarily?

Can you imagine if some kind of war broke out and someone opened a match on that thing to watch it burn a line across America? Love speculation. What better way to screw a country by dividing it with a pipeline? An unassuming bomb? Interesting or as Johnny Cash put it 'Ring of Fire' which could do a loop back to Winipeg from Alberta.

With this post I wanted to disclose which quarry would be in trouble if things were to go South on any given part of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.  Mind you wildlife does not have any concept of boundaries. Wildlife has no concept of legal ownership through survey of a piece of property that is registered at the tax office by a citizen.

In the section in the link 4.6.3.1 Big Game Species it is as quoted, "Construction of the proposed Project could impact hunter success rates with the Project area. Hunting could be adversely affected due to construction activities ocurring during hunting seasons, primarily due to the displacement of big game animals from construction and noise disturbances. Once the proposed pipeline is constructed, harvest rates could potentially increase after construction because of increased access by hunters using the pipeline ROW to access remote areas (Comer 1983). In addition, big game species that use a cleared ROW could be more likely to be hunted than animals in forested habitat. Increased hunting along cleared ROWs in the fall hunting season has been documented elsewhere (Crabtree 1984)."

If this is likely then it makes it to easy to hunt an animal because you are sitting on a pipeline which could result into a barrier to fence them in thereby possibly obliterating 'fair chase'. On the other hand if human disturbance stresses out the slow breeders then there might be some concern with taking animals during a season due to low birth rates. Something to consider.

Big Game Animals Possibly affected:
Pronghorn Antelope
Bighorn Sheep
Elk (as of the time of this impact study it was noted there was a re-establishment program going on) in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.
American Bison (States that there is no free-ranging bion in the propsed Project route.)
Mule Deer
Whitetail Deer

Note quoted on Big Game Species 4.6.3.1 from above link:

"Construction activities could result in increased agitation, physiological stress, and use of sub-optimal habitat. Animals can become physiologically stressed when energy expenditures increase due to alarm or behavioral avoidance (Lutz et al. 2011). These responses are often attributed to interactions with humans or activities associated with human presence such as traffic and noise. Physiological stress diverts time and energy away from critical activities such as foraging and resting, both of which are important to maintain or improve fitness (Gill et al 1995,  Frid and Dill 2002).
Construction of the proposed Project may alter migration routes and displace wildlife from preferred habitats (Sawyer et al. 2006) by creating barriers that hinder migration and use of these  habitats (Sawyer et al. 2009)" 

"In the northern portions of their range, white-tailed deer, mule deer and elk may aggregate or yard during winter in stream bottoms, on south-facing slopes, or in other areas where snow accumulations are reduced. In Nebraska, where the proposed pipeline ROW has been modified to avoid the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality-identified Sand Hills Region, white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn are principal big game animals that occur along the proposed Project route."

"The proposed Project has been designed to avoid impacts to many state and federally managed areas within the vicinity of the Project area. In Nebraska, all state-managed Wildlife Management Areas that provide protected habitats for wildlife have been avoided. These areas are all more than 500 feet from the proposed Project centerline."

I sat back and pondered thoughtfully if Ranger X was going to go out and sit the Wildlife down and explain to them that there will be no migration off of Wildlife Managed Areas. I wondered to myself does a Bison or an Elk really understand the '500 yard rule'? I then wondered in what land I was walking because I then contrived if the oil should come out of that pipe was there a command that TransCanada had taught pipeline oil to 'stay put there on the ground and not move'?

Moving on.

Below is a list of assorted animals. Glance down through it and see if you hunt any of these.

Small game and furbearers:
Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Mountain Cottontail (Sylvilagus muttallii)
Coyote (Canis Latrans) ~on the fence with this one.
Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Squirrel (Sciurus spp.)
American Beaver (Castor canadensis)
American Mink (Neovision vision)
Least Weasel (Mustela nivalis)
American Badger (Taxidea taxus)
Black Tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Common muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius)
Franklin's ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii)
Gray fox (Urocyon vinereoargenteus)
Long tailed weasel (Mustela nivalis)
Mink (Mustela vision)
Nutria (Myocaster coypus)
North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Spotted Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus spilisoma)
Souther Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans)
Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
Thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus)
Virginia opossum (Dipelphis virginiana)
White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii)

Small game and furbearers would suffer:
Nest/burrow destruction
Abandonment
Loss of young
Foraging/Cover habitat
Displacement
Could fall into open trench during pipeline construction causing injury or death
Could be attracted by change in ground temperature


Birds Possibly Affected :
Hawks
Eagles
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Ducks/Geese
Chimney Swift
Nighthawks
Plovers Killdeer
Gulls, Terns
Sandpipers, Snipe, Woodcock
Dovers
Belted Kingfisher
Cuckoos
Kestrels, Merlins, Falcons
Common Loon
Northern Bobwhite
Upland Game Birds (Pheasants, Grouse, Turkey)
Cranes
Coots and Rails
Rock Pigeon
Snow Goose
Sharped Tailed Grouse
Northern Bobwhite
Greater sage-grouse
gray patridge
Mourning dove
American woodcock

Migratory and Non-Migratory birds affected by:
Destruction of nesting area
Nest or burrow abandonment
loss of eggs or young
death
Habitat loss
Alteration
Fragmentation
Degradation of habitat after revegetation due to spread of noxious and invasive species, noise, or human presence.
Communication pump stations tower collisions/guy wires

Possible Fish Affected:
Brown trout
Mountain Whitefish
Rainbow Trout
Burbot
Channel Catfish
Smallmouth Vass
Walleye
Crappie
Sauger
Shovelnose sturgeon
Sunfish
Yellow Perch
Bait fish

I also wanted to see what this draft stated were the Environmental Consequences of construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the proposed project: Page was left blank. Why? Its a draft come on. We want to know.

I read the Potential Impacts on Wildlife in Section 4.6.3.1:
"Construction of proposed Project would have direct and indirect, and temporary (short-term and long-term) and permanent impacts on wildlife resources. Direct impacts could occur due to the vegetation removal or conversion, obstructions to movement patterns, or the removal of native habitats that may be used for foraging, nesting, roosting, or other wildlife uses. (Barber et al. 2010). Indirect impacts to wildlife are difficult to quantify and are dependent on the sensitivity of  the species, individual, type and timing of activity, physical paramters (e. g. cover, climate, and topography) and seasonal use patterns of the species (Berger 2003). Short term impacts on wildlife would occur during construction and may extend beyond construction activities. Disturbed habtitat may not be returned to former levels of functionality for up to 3 years following restoration efforts (Baun 1998), but long-term impacts on wildlife could extend through the life of a projcet and possibly longer for those habitats that require many years to be restored (Harju et al. 2013). Permanent impacts would result from construction of aboveground facilities that convert natural habitat to land used for pipeline operations, and where operational maintenance of the right-of way (ROW) permanently alters vegetation characteristics (Braun 1998).
The proposed Project could affect wildlife resources through the following:

• Habitat loss, alteration and fragmentation;
• Direct mortality during construction and operation;
• Indirect mortality because of stress or avoidance of feeding due to exposure to construction and operations noise, low-level helicopter or airplane monitoring overflights, and from increased human activity;
• Reduced breeding success from exposure to construction and operations noise and from increased human activity; and
• Reduced survival or reproduction due to less edible plants or reduced cover."

Listed of the Disturbances:
(~12, 696 acres of various habitat)
7744 acres of grassland/rangeland
40 acres of upland forest habitat
636 acres of wetland habitat
58 acres of forested wetlands
156 miles--150 temporary access roads
20 miles-41 permanent access roads.
80 acres each---*Building four or more construction camps
6.3 acres of grassland and developed land for a pump Station in N. Dakota
15.2 acres of grassland for a pump station in Kansas.
X amount-Pubic lands
X amount-Private lands
29 acres of forested wetlands converted to non-forested habitat due to ongoing ROW maintenance.
X amount -Access roads that increase human activity that affect Elk, Moose, Deer, Carnivores, small mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles (people do love to eat rattlesnake).
Slow-growing sagebrush inhibited by increased foraging by wildlife for browse.
Loss of shrubland and wooded habitat which moose and other animals eat.
High noise levels at site pumps which can mask wildlife communication whereby impuning reproduction during breeding seasons.
Nest abandonment
Decreased wildlife reproduction.
Vibrations detected in the soil surrounding roadways or construction
~285 acres of undeveloped habitat permanently lost due to construction of aboveground facilities
 Now I read this but near the end it says that "total habitat loss due to the pipeline construction would likely be small in the context of available habitat because of its linear nature. Restoration is suppose to follow construction with reseeding but areas of native vegetation could be converted to non-native species which could reduce the value of habitat for wildlife."

Moving on to Fragmentation.

"Fragmentation of wildlife habitat would result from the proposed Project. Fragmentation is the splitting of a large continuous expanse of habitat into numerous smaller patches of habitat with a smaller total habit area, and isolation within a matrix of habitats that are unlike the original (Wilcove et al. 1986). Habitat fragmentation has two components:
1)reduction in total habitat area;
and
2) reorganization of areas into isolated patches (Fahrig 2003.)
Habitat loss generally has adverse effets on biodiverity; fragmentation typically has a lower magnitude effect (realtive to habitat loss) that may be either beneficial or adverse (Fahrig 2003).
The effects of habitat fragmentation are dependent on many variables including original habitat structure, landscape context, predator communities, and susceptibility to nest parasitism (Tesksbury et al. 1998) Habitat fragmentation effects are typically most pronounced in forested and shrubland habitats and are generally reduced for pipeline corridors because of their wides can be narrowed in sensitive habitats, vegetative cover is re-established in temporary working areas, and there is minimal human disturbance during operations (Hinkle et al. 2002) During construction, however, pipelines can be significant barriers to wildlife movements (Hinkle et al. 2002). After construction, pipeline corricdors may be used as travel corridors by coyotes, deer, raccoon, and many other species.  The following are wildlife habitat fragmentation issues relevant for pipeline construction and operation:

• Reduction in patch size of remaining available habitats;
• Creation of edge effects;
• Creation of barriers to movement
• Intrustion of invasive plants, animals and nest parasites;
• Facilitation of predator movements;
• Habitat disturbance; and
• Intrusion of humans (Hinkle et al. 2002).

Pipeline construction would remove vegetation including native grasses, shrubs, and trees creating an unvegetated strip over the pipeline trench and the adjacent constrution areas.

Subsequent re-vegetation may not provide habitat features comparable to pre-Project habitats, and restoration of wetlands in arid regions is not always successful (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC] 2004). Removal of vegetation increases the potential for the establishment and spread of noxious weeds and other invasive plants that have little use or value for wildlife and that displace native plants, resulting in degraded wildlife habitat values."

I stopped there because I don't believe in spoon feeding people but as you can see when in consideration for the encompassing conditions of a pipeline that affect the quarry that pipeline could affect the hunter/huntress and hunting act itself.

In each state and amongst hunters/huntresses in the hunting community there is a public declaration of how much revenue the hunting sport puts back in the system of conservation toward pubic lands, private lands, wildlife refuges, wetlands, state parks, natural resources, research, habitat restoration, animal specie monitoring and welfare and jobs for people.

Where is all that going to go in the face of a series of explosions?

I would contend that every hunter/huntress should pick up a pen and paper or e-mail President Obama himself to tell him about your feelings on this. I dare not tell you what you should say. You have a mind, the power of google, initiative and where-with-all to decide if this is worth a sack of egg sucking  chicken killing dogs.

Whereby the power of your conviction for hunting is aided and abeded by non hunters with the same goal even if the motive is different. The outcome will be the same.

If you so desire to pen your feelings you can find our good man President Obama at this website and address:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Choose in the right hand column: Write us. Read the next page and send them an e-mail.
I am sure he'd be glad to hear from you plus you'll probably recieve a picture of him and the family dog.


Written by: W Harley Bloodworth and Angelia Y Larrimore
 (We stick together)

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Carmine on Bloodlust and Hunting Vs. Conservation.

Remember this: Everything has its dark side.

In a passage from James Carmine’s book, Hunting Philosophy for Everyone: In Search of the Wildlife, Carmine poses the argument of hunting not being conservation.  This is the following except:

“Hunting is not conservation. No hunter goes off into the woods to thin the herd. That is a lie hunters tell to mollify those who don’t hunt, and perhaps to themselves to qualm their fears about their own bloodlust. If hunting were really for the sake of conservation then early each spring we would simply use our tax dollars to pay a small army of lab technicians to go about the forests and fields with the most advanced satellite-enhanced equipment and, with relative ease, find the most fragile fawns and other animals scientifically deemed unbeneficial to the ecosystem, and euthanize then efficiently, painlessly, and silently. “(Carmine 242)

It could be said that to employ plans of conservation the hunters function in a utilitarian way. Hunters are used to address issues that conservationists may not have the man power to meet. This practice also offsets the cost of alleviating a problem though wage by relying on hunters need to track, stalk, and kill.

In the previous article I related to called Preventing the Establishment of a Wildlife Disease Reservoir: A Case Study of Bovine Tuberculosis in Wild Deer in Minnesota by M. Cartensen and M.W. DonCarlos, I surmised the necessity of the MNDNR to use sharpshooters to kill deer suspected of infection. Even though this practice was not well received over a period of time as the result of disease began to diminish people were not so against it. In the Minnesota example we do not have lab technicians going in the woods kindly putting sick animals down. Its shoot to kill without any predetermined test to prove sickness. It’s the old ‘shoot first ask questions later’ mentality. The hope here was maybe they could eradicate disease with a mass death killing. Was this hunter mentality? No. Was it conservation? You bet. Conservation has a dark side just like hunting with its good, bad, and sometimes right down distasteful but necessary.

In order to have a healthy sustainable population of deer the population had to be semi-eradicated in order for the Bovine TB to be hindered in its spread. This activity on the part of the MNDNR helped to keep Bovine TB from forming a stronghold in deer populations which would spread to others and domesticated livestock.

Once again I thought of Carmine’s excerpt and the Missouri Moose problem. Were DNR workers not fitting moose with high tech gadgetry to monitor body temperature and other pertinent data of moose physiology? It has been known that wolf populations have the random $4000 GPS and monitoring devices around their neck as well as bear.

I then thought of what Carmine said about hunters not going into the woods to thin the herd. If a hunter were to practice intentional culling that deviated from hunt-stalk activities this would imply some sort of ownership. The only way one would have ownership of wild game in America is if they ran or worked a fenced game farm where domesticated wild stock were evaluated for benefits and losses financially. This isn’t hunting. It is farming hands down. Call a spade a spade I say.

Yes hunters may see the random wounded animal whereby putting the animal out of its misery. Hunting is based on opportunity and then you pick your target if you have more than one option.

Hunting and Conservation are two different skill sets that comingle depending on the overlap of need and the situation the two ideas are applied to.

If a hunter is using conservation as his springboard platform for argument and evidence of validating the details of the hunting act then maybe they need to sit in a deer stand and get their priorities straight. Hunting and conservation can be integrated into another entity as a whole but they tend to be separate concepts with different definitions and requirements. Conservation tends to walk the line of monitoring and sustaining wildlife where hunting rides the fence as partaking of.

As for hunters ideals of bloodlust not all hunters are created equal, have the same mindset, come from the same culture, or even have the same views of death. Subtracting the fact they actuallyl do hunt one could ponder whether they have any respect for others, themselves, or decorum in general.

Blood is blood. There are several schools of thought on blood and gore in the hunting realm. Some are very adamant about being comfortable with their bloodletting while not understanding or ridiculing a fellow man for weakness and inability to perceive certain violent acts as “normal acts of nature”. Violence again each other has become so prevalent and sensationalized in the media we cringe at seeing animals doing it to one another but on the other hand some sit in front of the TV during shark week glorying in the sight of Sharks tossing seals.  Other hunters do care about not forcing visual aids off on people that would not want to see them because when it comes to social media you never know when the random boob shot is coming. I have found after actually having an intelligent conversation with non-hunting buddies that I am actually okay with not showing them my personal photos of hunting outings. My aspect of hunting is to promote life more because death is eventual and not pretty. It’s not that I ignore death. Being enamored with death and shoving it in people’s faces is almost like assault to me. There are people that get off on other people being repulsed by blood, gore, and death. It gives them an ego boost I guess that they can handle it and someone else is too fragile. This behavior doesn’t make a hunter or person is strong by no means. It just means death is on that person to the point the air he breathes is death with its sickly sweet smell. These types court death with the false illusion of adventure. If something directly threatens your life as an endeavor, it is not adventure, that my friend is a death wish.

Sometimes ideals have to be tested as to their relevance. What seems distasteful might have a far reaching benefit if no other workable option exists to resolve problems. I enjoyed getting this pot load of gold out of a small excerpt.

Written by W Harley Bloodworth
~Courtesy of the AOFH~
 

Sources Cited:
Carmine, James. Hunting Philosophies for Everyone: In Search of Wildlife. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons (2010). pp 242. Print.

Having Respect For Your Fellow Hunter

 

 

 

Remember this: Never judge a book by its cover. Fear will do great and odd things to a person's behavior. Question wisely not blindly.

Always show respect for your fellow hunter or huntress.  Lurking on social media like nefarious highwaymen will only get you one of two things: virtual buckshot in your rear end or exposure for what or who you really are.

A couple of days ago while making random conversation on social media I spied a post centered around killing X amount of a wild species. It was based as a contest. Of course this could be one of those fake contests but at the same time it could be have some merit, all be it misguided. I got into a very interesting discourse with three people I assume to be gentlemen. Specific conversation aside because I am not in the business of giving other people that much credit or advertisement for bad behaviour. I wanted to inspect it a little closer afterwards so my evaluation of it was not drenched in resentment that was mildly displaced temporarily.

When someone is good enough to share their opinion on something you should either agree or disagree. Its probably not a wise thing to do by calling out anyone person with the indication of there name.When you call the name of the devil, it could appear?

I also at some point wondered whether I was being influenced to avoid the intial person. There was a comment made to the point by one of them that the poster, "need not feel she should turn to me". I felt like that was a very strange thing to say.

If you can't get the 'other side' of what is actually "no side" to get back on topic you can bet they are not there for intelligent conversation.

Yes, you could be the better man or woman but if you are not reducing yourself to calling names such as "idiot" or "the weakest link in the chain" then by all means stand up for yourself. Do not back down.

Unfortunately for these persons they didn't have prior intelligence that I have been trained in the subtle art of managing aggressive types to go in the direction that I want them to or diffuse their anger by not giving in to their terrorism.

Another thing about comments on the internet is that there is no emotional inflection in the typed word. Yes, when someone types "F-U" after a nasty comment about a person that has died or such you could probably say that it is what it is.

There are always people that want there to be a winner-loser side in a battle that does not even exist. People online have become addicted to confrontation.

I have also noticed online comments where a hunter/huntress is really trying to say "This is not me. I don't agree with this one issue or how it is conveyed."  Does that mean they are turning turn-coat? No, they just form their own opinion which is healthy. Questioning is healthy. Backing down from it to lesser beings is not. The group that person is co-mingling with will literally try to drive them like one would drive a wayward sheep back into the fold. Of course they think the wolf is everywhere and are scared. I would suggest thinking on why that fear exists? Maybe they did or have been doing something they don't want to be found out for? As long as you're in the dark about it they can manipulate you all they want.

I have read that women through the centuries have gotten into the habit of trying to please others in the face of aggression because avoiding that behavior is better than getting into it with someone. The only problem with that is the behavior continues and puts upon the woman until she is frustrated. It stunts her growth.

I think hunters/ huntresses should be free thinkers of their own mind to evaluate for themselves what is going on. If they need to come to God on issues with their breathern let them do it at least in a manner where information flows back and forth. This way intelligent conversation or assessments can rule out the absurd and ridiculous.  Do they not do this when they walk out into the woods or a field to assess how things lay with the land or the game they chase? Why would I want them to be any less? That I think would be against a hunter's/huntress's nature. To idly go into trouble with their eyes closed. Rip them blinders off.

I hate no one.

Written by W Harley Bloodworth

~Courtesy of AOFH~