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Speaker 1: From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Cow’s Week in Review with Ryan cow Callahan. Here’s cal Thirty nine year old firefighter Matthew Glenn Mayer of Claypool was charged last week with illegally taking a white tail deer, but that is the least of his worries. Mayor was also charged with resisting law enforcement and battery on a public safety official, both of which are felonies that carry serious jail time. Seems that Mayor was trespassing to hunt deer, and neighbors notified police when they saw him chasing one particular deer over a field on private property. After DNR officers spotted his side by side, they ordered him to stop, but he fled the scene, and when officers caught up to him at his home, he allegedly pushed one of them. This might strike you as a pretty garden variety wildlife crime story, not really much to write home about, except for the fact that Mayor himself did not write you know that song about mothers and daughters.
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Speaker 2: Speaking to.
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Speaker 1: This particular Mayor was a conservation officer with the Indiana Department Natural Resources. I’m not going to speculate about the possible former workplace tensions involved in this incident. But you’d expect that after chasing poachers for a living, Mayor would have learned to commit wildlife crimes with a little more guile. Of course, this he may have thought of this as part of his compensation package. This week, we’ve got the legislative desk, keeping it in the family poaching style and the mail bag. But first I’m going to tell you about my week. And my week we all went by a real fast gang. As you are well aware, we are seeing rollbacks of public led efforts, such as the mining moratorium in the Rainy River Watershed, home of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of wilderness. Much of the area within road designation you can’t build a road on due to the slope and highly irrodable soils. In these areas, there aren’t stands of marketable timber either. There are fantastic hunting opportunities, though there are headwaters of cold rivers that provide clean drinking water and fishing and boating opportunities. In Montana, for instance, the only rifle season for bugling bull elk is in inventoried roadless areas. In Wyoming, the longest hunting seasons in the state are in inventoried roadless Idaho reports that hunter’s success is actually higher in inventoried roadless areas. What’s really fun about roadless is that it was not the green groups pushing this one. They were at the table. It was fiscally conservative folks who were shocked at the eighteen billion dollars maintenance cost of decrepit forest service roads. It was logging companies outlining areas that are not suitable for marketable timber. And the roadless rule was the result of six hundred public meetings in communities that would be nearest to roadless designations local stakeholders. In other words, now, how many public meetings are proposed to rescind this rule that brought all the interests to the table and carved out mutually agreed upon areas that would limit development with few exceptions zero. We’re all just being told that this roadless decision is in our best interest because that’s where the timber is, and that’s where we need to fight fires by building roads. Well, the problem with that is new roads, any road can already be built in a roadless area to address fire mitigation. Habitat work. Currently about two million acres of inventory. Roadless has had this type of work done near urban interface, while at the same time other work has been stymied by litigation, and we can work on that. That’s something we can improve on now. New fires are often human caused, and where do humans hang out on roads? The more roads, the more fire, because the vast majority of that fire, especially those we label catastrophic, are human cost This one’s not about firefighting. It’s not about timber gang if you ask me, It’s more about a couple of minds that nobody’s talking about. These areas that don’t have roads are their own attraction. They produce their own economic results. They are highly sought after places of refuge for wildlife, including species list on the ESA, and for quiet loving people who don’t want to be on a road system. No matter what you think about this one, don’t you wonder why to create the roadless rule, industry, recreation, county commissioners, nonprofits and individual citizens were included. But to rescind this rule, all those interested parties are being kept out. We have almost half a million miles of road across our public lands, some three hundred and forty thousand miles across US Forest Service, more than the Interstate highway system. We currently have a maintenance backlog of six to eight billion dollars on what we currently have. Proposed projects to shore up what we currently have puts US over ten billion dollars. Where and what is the real reason why it’s not timber, it’s not fire, it’s not recreation. And if it were, just show us exactly where I guarantee you it’s not going to affect the entirety of the fifty six million acres currently listed as roadless. On top of that, the day you hear this podcast, Friends and Neighbors, there may be a vote in the Senate to rescind the Boundary waters through use of the Congressional Review Act. Congressional Review Act is a hot topic right now because it is being used in new and interesting ways, most of which have never been done before. In this case, to rescind a twenty year mining moratorium in the Rainy River watershed. It’s only about two hundred and twenty five thousand acres or the moratorium is. This is a middle ground approach. It’s not a total mineral withdrawal. It’s just a pause and as I’ve said several times now, copper does not rot in the ground. It’s not going anywhere. This particular mining company has a horrible track record when it comes to the environment. If we need that copper here in the US, which we obviously don’t because this copper is going to China, but there’s a possibility we could use it in twenty years and we could have a mining company with a way better environmental track record. There are huge potential downstream impacts. Army Corps engineers among others, say they are probable if this mind goes in and it’s our most visited and a lot of people would argue most family friendly wilderness area in the US. Capital switchboard two two two two four three one two one, and to use those backcountry hunters and anglers action alerts when they come through. We want to keep you informed so you always have the option of weighing in. If you’re listening to this podcast, I know you do. We can make results, man, keep it up. Moving on to the legislative desk up in Virginia, the state General Assembly is in full swing following the election of Democrat Governor Abigail Spaanburger. House Bill thirteen ninety six would establish a permit system for people who hunt game animals, fur bearing animals, or nuisance species with the aid of dogs. The fee for this new permit will be nineteen dollars. HB thirteen ninety six also prohibits anyone from hunting with dogs on private land without permission from the landowner. HB two oh seven would impose a five hundred dollars tax on every firearms suppressor purchase. This comes on the heels of a federal bill that reduced the federal tax on gun mufflers from two hundred dollars to zero. I guess Virginia legislators aren’t happy about hunters protecting their hearing without the government taking its pound of flesh. Finally, HB two one seven would ban the sale and purchase of so called assault firearms and large capacity magazines. The pro gun control Virginia Democrats failed to pass an assault weapons ban the last time they controlled the legislature and the governor’s mansion, so I’m sure they’re excited to take another bite of that apple. Virginia gun owners might feel differently. That’s HB one three nine six, HB two oh seven, and HB two one seven. You can contact the Virginia General Assembly dot gov. Good news up in Pennsylvania, after the legislature passed a bill last year that allows the Game Commission to allow hunting on all Sundays, the Commission voted to do just that. The Pennsylvania Border Game Commissioners gave preliminary approval to the twenty twenty six twenty seven hunting season, which includes the Sundays that fall within the listed start and end dates. No more wondering whether this or that Sunday is open. Now if it falls within the opening or closing of the season, you can hunt even better. The season that previously ended on Saturdays will largely end on Sundays, providing one additional day of opportunity. Up in Wyoming, the state Senate is set to consider a bill that would allow hunters to use tracking dogs to find downed black bears. It’s already legal to use dogs to recover elk and deer, but Senate File twenty seven would add bears to that list. Seems like a no brainer to me. State wildlife agencies across the country are looking for ways to increase funding. In Oregon, they’re hoping tourists can help foot the bill. The one Percent for Wildlife bill, sponsored by Democrat Rep. Can Helm and Republican Rep. Mark Owens, would increase the state’s current hotel and lodging taxes by one point twenty five percent. The revenue generated from this tax would be sent to the Oregon Department of Fishing Wildlife to support long neglected habitat conservation programs. The bill number is HB two nine seven seven A and it’s currently in the Senate Rules Committee. Staying in the Beaver state, two Oregon legislators have introduced a bill that would legalize corner crossing and protect landowners from liability. A draft of the bill obtained by the Salem Statesman Journal would allow hunters and other public land users to corner cross as long as that person has the right to be on public land, does not cause physical harm to the property or landowner, and does not unreasonably interfere with the quiet, enjoyment or use of that property. In turn, the bill also prohibits corner crossers from bringing negligence suits against the landowner for damages that arise from those actions. In other words, if there’s a fence at that corner, and you break an arm trying to get over the fence without damaging it, you can’t sue the landowner. The bill enjoys bipartisan support and it definitely seems like a reasonable compromise, but we’ll see how it goes. Oregon is not within the Tenth Circuit, and so the ruling from last year that legalized corner crossing does not apply there. Oregon is one of several Western states that will have to continue working out this issue on the state level, and you should be a part of that process. So get in touch with your state legislators and tell them what you think about this idea. The bill hasn’t been officially filed as of this recording, but you can still reach out and let your voice be heard over. In Indiana, House Bill one zero zero three has been introduced to overhaul several state boards and commissions, and it would eliminate entirely the Indiana Natural Resources Commission. The sponsors argue that they want to reduce government bureaucracy, and I can get behind that, but this bill is like reducing your acne by cutting off your head. The Indiana Natural Resources Commission oversees the adoption of permanent outdoor rec rules based on the expertise of biologists and managers at the DNR, and it consists of citizens appointed by the governor, members of other state agencies, and a representative of the Indiana Academy of Sciences. The NRC is the main way for Hoosiers to make themselves heard on issues of public lands, waters and wildlife. If the NRC went away or lost its authority, than wildlife policy would be made by the executive branch and the state legislature. And anyone who’s listened to this show knows what kind of policy you get from politicians up for reelection. So Hoosiers, call your apps tell them to vote down HB one zero zero three. Also in Indiana, the DNR is prosecuting its first drone poaching case, the first since recovering game with drones was legalized in March of twenty twenty four. The DNR alleges that back in December, several hunters use a drone to scout, pattern the movements of and harvest white tailed bucks. The agency has received several complaints that a drone was following one, especially well antler deer for several days in a row. Investigators began following this drone, soon finding out the identity of the operator and identifying the targeted buck. Sure enough, after the deer was killed, investigators seized the drone and recovered hundreds of photos of this deer, as well as location data tracing the deer’s daily travel. The suspects also allegedly shot the deer over bait and trespassed to recover the animal. I guess pinpointing the exact location of the buck didn’t prove enough of an advantage for him. Now, can I blame this entirely on the fact that Indiana allows deer recovery with drones? Yea, none entirely. People would still probably be doing this without that particular law in place. But it’s notable that these guys were caught because other people called the in complaints about a drone relentlessly following one deer. No doubt there are other bad actors who are a little more subtle about their tactics, and because there are other lawful drones in the air during hunting season, no one on the ground thinks to call those in ban them all. I say big thanks to doctor Brian Stone for writing in with those two Indiana problems over in South Dakota. The legislature past House Bill ten seventy seven, which would ban lab grown meat. Bill now heads to the Senate. To be more precise, The bill would declare lab grown meat to be a quote unquote adultered food, which would de facto make it illegal to sell in South Dakota. Until now, the definition of adulted food in South Dkota had been limited to items that contain harmful ingredients or have been doctored to hide spoilage, as well as quote filthy, decomposed, or putrid animal or vegetable substances unquote. As an aside, of course, I think you shouldn’t sell anything putrid, But just recently I flirted with putrescence wet aged steak, no visible mold, but smelled and had a legit blue cheese taste. House smelled like blue cheese, like that strong, very tender, real tasty. It was a walk on the wild side. People not gonna lie anyway. South Dakota is following several other states that have passed cultured meat bands, including Florida, Texas, and Nebraska. South Dakota also has laws on the books requiring lab grown meat to be clearly labeled and preventing state money from being us for research into developing it. Although the bill passed, there were loud voices on both sides of the issue. Not surprisingly, there weren’t a whole lot of cultured meat boosters over there in peer, but several reps voted against the bill on free market grounds, arguing that people should be able to choose what they wanted to eat as long as they weren’t being misled about what was on the plate. A spokesperson for the South Dakota Cattleman’s Association went further, saying, quote, we do not support the cell cultivated proteins. However, not supporting them and not wanting people to eat them is altogether different than defining what is adultered. Representative Julie Ach sponsored the bill and said quote, being a witness to my industry and being taken over by a society that is more concerned with climate change and sustainability is disheartening. I’m not going to stand by and allow global elites to take over South Dakota’s livestock industry. And this seems to get to the heart of the matter. As longtime listeners to the podcast No I Am No Fan of lab grown meat cow’s condo. As they say, I’d rather trust America’s land to ranchers than real estate developers. Still, this bill mostly seems like a symbolic opposition to the idea of climate change. I’m willing to bet that most people, when they’re presented with a sizzling rabbi or a sizzling puck made of cell promulgated slurry, they’ll probably choose the ribbi. So let’s get busy focusing on other ways of reversing climate change. There’s a lot of good ranchers out there setting good examples. Jumping down to Mississippi, Senate Bill two four to three six has been introduced to open a bear hunt in the Magnolia state starting with the twenty twenty seven and twenty eight season, which would be the first since nineteen thirty two. However, despite growing bear populations and a corresponding rise in human bear conflict, Ursus americanus is still listed under the state’s Endangered Species Act. It might seem like a contradiction to advance a lot of hunt and endangered species, but Mississippi State and dangered list is due for review. You and bears may be on the verge of coming off. The process would work this way, the state Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks would make the recommendation to the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program, the entity that collects information on rare species administered by the state’s Museum of Natural Science. If the program agrees that the bear can come off the list, then the five person Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks would make a final vote on the matter. If the bear comes off soon, it would be a great thing to have a hunt all ready to go. He might be surprised that Mississippi doesn’t have a bear hunt already. Nearby Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee all have long standing bear seasons, and Mississippi doesn’t have the strong anti bear hunting culture that our friends down Florida deal with. And at one time Mississippi was world famous for bear hunting. The nineteen oh two hunt where Teddy Roosevelt refused to shoot a tethered bear that led to the invention of the Teddy bear, took place on the Little Sunflower River in the western part of the state. Bears have made a heroic back in the region after being reduced down to a few dozen individuals in the early twentieth century, but bears in Mississippi are lagging behind their neighbors for a few reasons. First, Arkansas and Louisiana each had reintroduction programs that brought in hundreds of bears from Minnesota. Second, habitat loss in Mississippi has been harder to reverse, as the flat agricultural land of the Delta hasn’t regrown for us the way the Ozarks in Wa Cheetah Mountains have been able to. To give you an idea of what the habitat was like before, I’ll quote the historian John M. Berry, who wrote that the Mississippi Delta was quote a jungle equal to any in Africa, with dense forests of cane and giant trees from which hung great vines of wild grape and muscadine. The density of growth choked off air and held in moisture and pulsing heat. It was so thick a horse and rider could not penetrate even on foot. One needed to cut one’s way through. One pioneer reported killing fourteen bears in eight days. Still, in the twenty first century, Mississippi’s bear population had return to a level that can sustain a hunt which has caused for celebration Magnolia staters call your reps and urge them to vote for SB two four three six. Moving on to the family matters, desk and Idaho family is set to stand trial together for illegally killing four mountain lions and eight bobcats across three counties in the northern part of the state. A grand jury indicted Eddie aid Dills, his wife Angela, and their adult son Daniel for conspiracy to commit unlawful killing of wildlife, conspiracy to sell unlawfully killed wildlife, and conspiracy to conceal evidence, all three charges or felonies. According to the Cordelaine Post Falls Press, Eddie and Danny allegedly dumped a mount lion down an embankment after it had been unlawfully shot and killed in an effort to conceal it. Prosecutors also say Angelus sold the carcasses and hides of mountain lions and bobcats that her husband and son had illegally killed to moscow hide and fur. The carcasses and hides sold for a total of one thousand, seven hundred and twenty five dollars. According to court records, Angela’s attorneys requested that the defendants be tried separately. They argued that jurors would be confused by the large volume of evidence and multiple defendants, and they worried that Angelo would be wrongly convicted simply due to her association with her husband and son. Her lawyers say she killed the animals herself and did everything by the book, but prosecutors alleged that she didn’t kill those animals, but only made it appear as if she did. This would make her part of the larger conspiracy, and so she should be tied to her husband and son. Sounds like the Dills Scout themselves in a real pickle here, because the judge sided with the prosecutors, so now it looks like it’ll be a family affair when the three face a jury of twelve starting February seventeen. Moving on to a National Parks edition of the Voicemail Desk. A few months ago, I told you about a new policy from the Trump administration that would charge non US residents to higher fee to international parks. The Department of the Interior argued that since American taxpayers fund those parks, they shouldn’t have to pay the same fee as a foreign tourist on vacation. The administration also said that higher fees for foreigners would generate more revenue for the park service, which is struggling under the weight of staffing and budget cuts. The idea made some sense in theory, but I recently received an on the ground report about how it’s working out in practice.
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Speaker 2: Hi. This is Brad from Northern Arizona Valley, Arizona, up near the Grand Canyon.
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Speaker 1: Brad’s been a guide in Grand Canyon National Park for about six years. He explained that the new policy has forced park staff to check everyone’s IDs at the gate. This has led to some unfortunate, unintended consequences.
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Speaker 2: They’re checking ID for psually everybody at the gate, and that’s thlowing things down quite a bit. We’re in January, normally the quietest month of the year. Well, racing lines about half an hour. Come spring break, I would not be surprised to see those stretching to three, four or five hours long. And that’s not just an inconvenient or you know, people visiting the park. That has some really big environmental habitat effects up here in the National Park and in the Kaibab National Forest.
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Speaker 1: That area of Arizona’s home to tons of wildlife, including elk meal, Deir Havilina, squirrels and other critters. We want to see more of, not less. That means protecting their habitat as much as possible and creating policies that reduce how much they’re disturbed by traffic and tourists. Accordinator Brad, those long lines are going to have the opposite effect.
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Speaker 2: Imagine five hours of hundreds of vehicles idling waiting to get into the park, serious serious air quality issues, and about some significant number of those folks are going to open up Google Maps or Apple Maps and say, hey, I see all these forest roads. Let me give those a try. That Kaibab National Forest is going to become a super highway people trying to divert their way around those four and five hour line.
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Speaker 1: Big thanks to Brad for that amazing on the ground report. But I want to hear from you too. Are you seeing longer than usual lines at national parks? You can do two things. You know. You can always write your representative in Congress and shoot me a voicemail. That’s four oh six two two zero six four four one. That’s all I got for you this week. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to write in as K C A L. That’s Ascal at the meteater dot com or four oh six two two zero six four four one. Hit those BHA action alerts. Call your senators. I predict a tough road to hoe between now and midterms. Gang gotta hold these folks accountable. Thanks again, we’ll talk to you next week.
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