billrquimby

Interesting. The final order for Agriculture's forest service was published at the end of Mr. Obama's first year in office. Wonder how long it took to reach that stage, and if the orders for agencies in Interior and other departments had the same time frame? I repeat my previous question. These roads on the public's lands have been around for decades. Why the rush to close them now? Bill Quimby

Some (if not most) of these roads have existed for decades. Why close them now? Although land managers may feel they "go nowhere" and "serve no purpose," each goes somewhere and, more importantly, they serve to disperse hunters, campers and other users of the public's land. Bill Quimby

Does anyone know the details behind the Agriculture Department's Forest Service and the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management deciding to eliminate thousands of miles of roads? Was there an act of Congress that we ignored? Bill Quimby

Prayer sent. Bill Quimby

Snapshot: I flyfished for a week the streams that feed Lake Taupo on the North Island near Zane Gray's old cabin, and caught the only fish in our group -- a 14-inch rainbow. My guides said I should have been there just a few days earlier. Meanwhile, anglers who trolled the lake with heavy spoons loaded up with fish. Like everywhere, New Zealand's fishing can be great or awful. Bill Quimby

Coon Canyon, I believe, includes the herds that hang around the Little Colorado River from Greer to Eagar, as well as the farms off Water Canyon Road. You could camp in either of the two campgrounds in Greer and be just minutes away. If you must set up a throw-down camp in the national forest do it outside the units with hunts under way. Both of these special units are so small that anyone who camps in them runs the risk of stepping on the toes of the other tag holders who have patterned herds. That happened to me several years ago, and I was not happy to find a fifth-wheel trailer parked exactly where I had put a bull to bed the night before the season opened. Those guys must have spent half the night gathering and cutting wood because they had a big fire blazing when I arrived in the dark at "my" honey hole. If the truth were known, "not happy" really doesn't describe how I felt. If you choose the Flat Top area, see if you can borrow an ATV. The Saffell Mountain ATV trail is its southern boundary, and gets you into the heart of Flat Top's elk country. There are elk all around that mountain, but it is darned hard to get away from the houses except on the side with the ATV trail. As for vegetation, both areas have junipers and pines, depending upon elevation, but it is mostly juniper. The elk are are just about everywhere. Bill Quimby

Yes, I knew George and Jacque. I hunted whitetails a couple of times with him, and enjoyed the menudo he served for breakfast at their home in Amado before each of our hunts before we piled into his old green Jeep. I talk about George in my book "Sixty Years a Hunter" and include a photo of him with a big Coues deer he shot in Mexico. He's also mentioned briefly in "Royal Quest," my book about Jack O'Connor's buddy Prince Abdorreza of Iran. George guided the prince to two whitetail bucks (Abdorreza had diplomatic immunity but obtained museum collecting permits) in a week south of Tucson. The last I heard, Jacque had moved back to their ranch at Amado. That was at least five or six years ago, though. She is a great person. Bill Quimby

It's my belief that the continued closing of roads to create de facto wilderness everywhere without the consent of Congress and the public is the result of the ramblings of a misguided easterner who came west and was so awed by our region that he wanted the gates closed to keep everyone else away. He was a doper and an alcoholic, a socialist, atheist and anarchist who wrote well and convinced an entire generation that people are bad and that only the pure at heart have the right to go into the outdoors we all own. I'm talking about Edward Abbey and all you need to do to realize that his Gospel According to Abbey has come to fruition is to read his fourth book, "Desert Solitaire." In it, among other things that show his complete arrogance, he kills a cottontail with a rock just to see if he could do it, yet lets a rattlesnake live at the door of his trailer in Arches National Monument where he was employed, He also wrote that he didn't care that handicapped people can't visit the types of national parks he envisioned. An Aldo Leopold he was not. Abbey might not have been an eco-terrorist in deed, but he certainly supported that bunch of thugs. He was involved with Earth First and close friends with its founder. His fans today include way too many people making decisions on how the federal lands will be managed. Bill Quimby

I hope the new look is as easy to navigate as the present one. I especially like its "view new content" feature. I stopped visiting africahunting.com when it lost that feature. monstermuleys.com and 24hourcampfire.com never had it, so my visits there are few and far between. Bill Quimby

Congratulations on some absolutely great animals. New Zealand is one of my favorite places, and not just because of the scenery of the South Island's Southern Alps. Its citizens have to be the friendliest on this planet. Bill Quimby

My age (76) and health (congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation managed by a pacemaker, and COPD) preclude my walking without frequent stops to rest. I don't have an ATV, and my Chevy truck is very quiet. I don't want to drive over every square inch of forest, but please don't close roads that I've used for 20, 30 and 40 years. Closing roads definitely discriminates against me and others like me. Bill Quimby

Follow the suggestions I gave you and you will find elk. They are there. Bill Quimby

I first heard of that law last year when a client whose memoirs I helped write proudly told me during the interviews that he had lobbied the Alaska Game Board for it. He said it took several years, but the board eventually adopted it. He believes that it will help conserve bears in Southeast Alaska. He compared it to Africa's wound-it and you pay-for-it tradition, and would like to see it adopted across the U.S. He is a successful hunting outfitter who operates from two luxury-class vessels in the areas where the law applies. Bill Quimby

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Rocker and wildlife hunter Ted Nugent has agreed to plead guilty to transporting a black bear he illegally killed in southeast Alaska. Nugent made the admission in signing a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that was filed Friday in U.S. District Court. Calls seeking comment from Nugent, his Anchorage attorney, Wayne Anthony Ross, and assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt were not immediately returned. The plea agreement says Nugent illegally shot and killed the bear in May 2009 on Sukkwan Island days after wounding a bear in a bow hunt, which counted toward a state seasonal limit of one bear. According to the agreement, first reported by the Anchorage Daily News, the six-day hunt was filmed for his Outdoor Channel television show, "Spirit of the Wild." In the hunt, Nugent used a number of bear-baiting sites on U.S. Forest Service property, according to the agreement. The document says Nugent knowingly possessed and transported the bear in misdemeanor violation of the federal Lacey Act. Nugent, identified in the agreement as Theodore A. Nugent, agreed to pay a $10,000 fine, according to the agreement, which says he also agreed with a two-year probation, including a special condition that he not hunt or fish in Alaska or Forest Service properties for one year. He also agreed to create a public service announcement that would be broadcast on his show every second week for one year, the document states. "This PSA will discuss the importance of a hunter's responsibility in knowing the rules and regulations of the hunting activities that they engage in, which is subject to the review and final approval, prior to any broadcast, by a representative of the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Alaska," the agreement says. Nugent, who signed the document April 14, also agreed to pay the state $600 for the bear that was taken illegally, according to the agreement. He would still need to enter the plea in court and have the plea be approved by a judge. In August 2010, California revoked Nugent's deer hunting license after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of deer-baiting and not having a properly signed tag. Nugent's loss of that deer hunting license through June 2012 allows 34 other states to revoke the same privilege under the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Each state, however, can interpret and enforce the agreement differently.

I'm certain you are right about many CWT members, but I would not be among them. My point, though, is that between the state compact that would keep us from hunting in 37 states there also is a federal law that could ruin us financially and send us to prison for violating a hunting law -- no matter how dumb that law might be -- in another state or country. I am not a fan of Ted Nugent. In my opinion his in-your-face attitude does hunting and hunters a huge disfavor. However, no one who hunts as much as he does in as many places as he does should be expected to know all the laws everywhere he goes. The real violators were his guides and outfitters. Bill Quimby

"Baiting deer and shooting a second bear after wounding one are not very serious crimes. Wrong is wrong but you must also look into the severity of a crime before casting judgement. I am sure hunting all sorts of states the rules might become a little foggy. " If he broke a game law and transported across state lines even a single whisker from an animal he killed illegally, he can be charged under the U.S. Lacey Act and subject to huge fines and long jail terms. If it can be shown that he violated the state law knowingly, it can be deemed a felony and he will lose his right to vote or possess firearms. I'd say that is very serious. Unfortunately, because he hunts as much as he does in as many states as he does, his reputation (and his freedom) is at the mercy of the guides he hires to find him animals and keep him from unintentionally breaking a law. Bill Quimby

"Baiting deer and shooting a second bear after wounding one are not very serious crimes. Wrong is wrong but you must also look into the severity of a crime before casting judgement. I am sure hunting all sorts of states the rules might become a little foggy. " If he broke a game law and transported across state lines even a single whisker from an animal he killed illegally, he can be charged under the U.S. Lacey Act and subject to huge fines and long jail terms. If it can be shown that he violated the state law knowingly, it can be deemed a felony and he will lose his right to vote or possess firearms. I'd say that is very serious. Unfortunately, because he hunts as much as he does in as many states as he does, his reputation is at the mercy of the guides he hires to find him animals and keep him from unintentionally breaking a law. Bill Quimby

" In my opinion, its deer herd is in trouble. A lot of 2-3 year old bucks and very few mature deer (compared to years past). " Bohntr: I am not a biologist, but I have read, traveled and observed a lot in my time, and I can tell you that seeing lots of young animals is widely accepted by knowledgeable wildlife managers around the world as a sign of a healthy herd -- unless that population threatens to exceed the carrying capacity of the habitat, of course. It is for certain that a population of anything -- including humans -- is in trouble if the majority of that population represents an old-age class. Bill Quimby

Among the things I found interesting is that Bailey wrote about a separate population of Merriam's elk along the Arizona border in far eastern New Mexico, and mentioned that shed elk antlers had been plentiful there. I just finished reading the biography of a trapper named Nat Straw who operated in that region in the late 19th century. He trapped everything from grizzly bears to a jaguar, but not once did he mention the word "elk" in all the times he was interviewed by Dobie and others. Straw said he shot mule deer to bait his grizzly traps. If he had encountered elk, he would have shot them also, but he never mentioned them. The pioneer ranchers the author interviewed also never mentioned seeing elk before 1900. Also, although the book had very early photos of cabins and barns in the area with mule deer antlers on their exterior walls, not one had an elk rack on it. I've read most of the books written about early houndman Ben Lilly, who hunted bears and lions across New Mexico and Arizona, including the alleged range of Merriam's elk. I don't remember any of his biographers mentioning his encountering elk. Strange ... Bill Quimby

I have an early model Ruger 77 chambered for .257 Roberts, and it did all I asked of it the only time I hunted with it. I used it to kill Himalayan tahr, chamois, sika deer, red deer, and wild boar and cull a few feral goats in New Zealand after I developed a flinch with my 7 mm RM. All of those kills were made while standing up, shooting offhand at distances of 50 to 150 yards. There were no suitable rocks or trees in sight or, for that matter, time enough to find anything to use for a rest. After that trip, I returned to the 7 mag and haven't looked back. Although that .257 produced tight groups from the bench, such accuracy from a hunting rifle simply is not needed to kill game. Bill Quimby

Have someone check the Phoenix and Flagstaff swap meets. A belt sander with my name on it that was taken from my cabin in a break-in years ago showed up the next week at one and the police spotted it and eventually returned it to me. Bill Quimby

That's awful. Our cabin in Greer was broken into twice over the past 30 years or so, but the thieves took only tools and televisions and didn't bother my mounts. I have heard of vandals pulling mounts off walls of cabins and urinating and defecating on them before trashing everything else in sight. Such people need to serve serious prison time. Bill Quimby

I bought a new Apache Sitgreaves National Forest map last year and was shocked to see how many long-existing roads were NOT shown. After the Wallow Fire, when the forest service opened the main roads east of Big Lake, I drove to Buffalo Crossing and noticed that only the main roads had white arrows on them. The little roads I used to drive when looking for elk before the fire did not have arrows on them. When I checked my new map, those roads were not on it. Bill Quimby

House Passes Historic Hunting, Conservation Legislation Senate Urged to Quickly Take Up Companion to H.R. 4089 For Release: April 17, 2012 Washington, DC – Safari Club International expressed its appreciation to the U.S. House of Representatives for passing H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012. The legislation passed on a bipartisan vote and will now be reported the Senate for consideration. “The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 will preserve the rightful place of hunting, fishing and target shooting on U.S. public lands for generations to come,” said SCI President Kevin Anderson. “Millions of Americans, including thousands of SCI Members, hunt and shoot on our nation’s public lands. By passing this legislation, Congress has helped protect our hunting heritage for the future outdoorsmen and women.” H.R. 4089 included four separate parts. Title I requires hunting and recreational shooting and fishing to be recognized activities on all Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands; Title II protects recreational shooting on National Monuments under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management; Title III amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow hunters who legally harvested polar bears in Canada prior to its listing under the Endangered Species Act to purchase permits in order to transport their trophies into the U.S.; and Title IV clarifies that the Environmental Protection Agency does not have the jurisdiction to regulate traditional lead component ammunition and lead fishing tackle. “Sportsmen and women encourage the U.S. Senate leadership to take up H.R. 4089 and quickly pass it,” asserted SCI Chief Communications Officer Larry Rudolph. “Our national heritage of hunting, fishing and target shooting is constantly under attack by eco-maniac special interests who want to lock up our public lands and prohibit recreational uses. Today was a day of action and we look forward to the Senate proceeding forward with this legislation. “SCI would like to thank those members who drafted HR 4089, Congressman Miller (Fla.) for introducing the comprehensive bill as the Co-Chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Hastings for his leadership in the floor debate. Legislation introduced by Congressmen Young (Alaska), Bishop (Utah), Benishek (Mich.), Flake (Ariz.), and Broun (Georgia) also contributed H.R. 4089.” The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 was supported by a coalition that included Safari Club International, National Rifle Association, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Boone & Crockett Club, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, and over 30 other hunter-conservation organizations. Contact: Nelson Freeman (Media@safariclub.org)

The House vote was 274 yeas, 146 nays, and11 not voting. Arizona Republican representatives, Paul Gosar, Trent Franks, Ben Quale, David Schweikert, and Jeff Flake voted for the bill. Democrats Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva voted against it. New Mexico’s representatives also voted along party lines. Republicans Martin Heinrich and Steve Pearce voted for the bill. Democrat Ben Lujan voted against it. All but two House Republicans (both from Illinois) voted for the bill; the Democrats split, with most voting against it. If that happens in the Senate, the bill’s fate will be decided by Mr. Obama. I'm guessing it won't get that far, though. Senate majority leader Harry Reid knows how to keep his party members "in line" and there are too many RINO Republican senators. Bill Quimby