Jesse's Hunting > Jim Matthews > July 2000 To Dec. 2000

July 2000 To Dec. 2000

CIBOLA REFUGE PLANNING CHANGES -- matthews column -ons 27dec00

The erosion of hunting opportunity is proceeding at a rapid pace. This past week the news came that the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, located on the Colorado River south of Blythe, may end its seven-day-a-week goose hunting program. Merry Christmas hunters. Already in 2000, we’ve seen Bill Clinton expand the Pinnacles National Monument, closing off yet more of the Central Coast to hunting. The Mojave Preserve Management wants to cut hunting opportunity in this vast desert area by more than half.

These changes and proposed changes join an ever-growing list of county, state and federal land acquisitions that increasingly exclude hunters, Department of Fish and Game regulations and application procedures that are so complex and licenses so expensive that many hunters have given up their passion, and law enforcement personnel seem to take delight in hassling hunters who are obeying the law. So the news from Cibola is just another omen that the new Millennium is not starting off on the right foot for hunters. The program at Cibola is unique for federal refuges because it has 18 pit field blinds are open to hunters through a daily drawing every shoot day of the goose season -- an incredible opportunity.

“I think it will probably change to three days a week,” said Mike Hawkes, the refuge manager. “Our major purpose is to provide feed for waterfowl. There are 300 acres down, and the geese can’t use those fields.” Already, the proposal is drawing a hornet’s nest of fire from hunters who travel the long distance from the Los Angeles area in Southern California and Phoenix in Arizona to hunt Cibola’s goose fields.

Dave Kiper, a Bellflower regular at Cibola, said that Hawkes told him, that while they are going to go through a hunter-input process, “we’ve pretty much decided what we’re going to do.” Kiper said that what the proposal would do is “take away goose hunting four days a week.” “Little by little they’re eliminating hunting out there. The firing line is gone. There’s no hunting on the river any longer. This year they’ve shortened the hours that guys can hunt the fields, and now they want to make it a Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday hunt,” said Kiper. “I don’t think they care at all about the hunters. I haven’t spoken with a single hunter who wants only three days a week.” Kiper and other hunters also question whether the change has anything to do with the geese, suggesting that there is plenty of food in the refuge and surrounding farm fields to send the birds north in great health each year. The 300 acres in Farm Unit 2 aren’t necessary to keep the geese healthy. (The birds can use Farm Unit 2 after the season closes late in January each year.) It is about restricting hunters even more.

Bob Corbett, who runs the Cibola Sportsman’s Club, said he knew the prior refuge manager (Wes Martin) felt that a three-day hunt would improve the quality of the hunt and allow geese to use the fields for feeding, but Martin didn’t make the change because he listened to hunters who traveled great distances and didn’t want to have a mail-in drawing system that almost certainly would need to be used. “If they used the same system they have now {a drawing the morning of the hunt for blind sites], what would a guy do if he wasn’t drawn on a Wednesday or Sunday? Now, he waits until the next day when he has another chance. If he’s staying down here a few days, he’ll get a good draw one or two days,” said Corbett. Corbett was not optimistic about hunters being able to change things. “Usually when the government puts out something for review, it means they’ve already made up their mind,” said Corbett.

The argument about changes being needed to improve the quality of the hunt are often advanced by agencies that want to further restrict hunters, not really improve hunting. Hunters are always willing step up to the plate to help wildlife when the circumstances warrant change -- whether it means restricted seasons, closures, or increased fees to fund necessary work. But most of the changes we’ve seen lately are not based on wildlife needs, they are based on wrong-headed assumptions on how to deal with hunters and what some people think hunters want or need. The changes at Cibola are a good example of how evolution of refuge policy has slowly excluded more and more hunters needlessly.

Wes Martin, the former refuge manager, now retired, closed the “firing line” at Cibola. The firing line was a place on the refuge where hunters could pass shoot geese going from one closed area to another closed area. It had its detractions because some hunters shot at geese too high and because of a stupid rule. Wounded birds that sailed more than 50 yards behind the hunters could not be retrieved because hunters would have to enter the closed zone to get the birds. Martin decided that wounding loss and unsportsmanlike conduct (skybusting) were unacceptable and that the firing line should be closed. It had nothing to do with hunters shooting too many geese. So poorer hunters who couldn’t afford the two to six dozen goose decoys needed to hunt the pit blinds at Farm Unit 2 were effectively excluded from hunting geese at Cibola because of the actions of a very few hunters and a refuge manager who wouldn’t set up a retrieval zone behind the firing line. The purists liked that fine, but most hunters didn’t.

This year, Hawkes arbitrarily changed the close of hunt time at Farm Field 2 from 3 p.m. to 1 p.m. For hunters who set out large spreads, that meant they had to start picking up their decoys, which can take more than two hours to set out, in the morning. It effectively cut out the mid-day hunting period when geese start moving around the valley after feeding all morning. Another couple hours of opportunity shaved away.

The official notice of review regarding the change to three-day hunting from seven-day hunting at Cibola has not been issued yet, but Hawkes said it will probably be made the first part of the year. Hunters who are interested in commenting on any proposed change can contact the refuge at (520) 857-3253.

Unfortunately, it sounds like the decision has already been made, and both of the reasons that will be advanced for the change -- a) good for the geese, b) good for the goose hunter -- need a careful gander. Both are specious.

STATE RECORD RAINBOW TROUT CAUGHT -- ons -- 27dec00

ANAHEIM -- A new state record rainbow trout was caught by Craig Joaquim of Anaheim while fishing the Santa Ana River Lakes here Wednesday. The huge trout weighed 23.76 pounds on a nearby Albertson’s meat market scale and breaks the current state record of 23 pounds-even set in January this year at Lake Natoma.

Joaquin, who fishes Santa Ana River Lakes one or two times a week, caught the trout fishing with a three-inch orange Berkley Power Worm on two-pound test line. Joaquim said he’d had smaller fish fight much harder and landed the big trout fairly quickly. “I’ve been fishing these worms for a while now and had excellent success with them,” said Joaquim, who didn’t realize the trout was as big as it was when he caught the fish.

“I had seen some 20-pound fish caught the day after Thanksgiving, and I didn’t think my fish was as big as those. I guess I was wrong,” said Joaquim, who’s a 55-year-old pharmacist. He caught the trout at 7:30 a.m., but didn’t weigh it until about 9:30. When it pulled the scale down to 23-pounds, 12-ounces at the tackle shop at the lake, they then rushed over to Albertson’s to have the fish weighed on a certified scale to apply for state record status.

But Joaquim doesn’t think his record will last too long. “It wouldn’t surprise me if this record was broken today. There was supposed to be another fish that jammed the tube (on the stocking truck), and I don’t think this one was big enough to do that,” said Joaquim. “I saw a couple of other trout rolling that looked as big as the one I caught or bigger. So I think there’s a bigger fish in there.”

Doug Elliott, co-owner of the lake concession with Bill Andrews, said they had contacted with Mt. Lassen Trout Farms in northern California to deliver the largest trout they had in their ponds during plants on Sunday and Tuesday this week. The staff at the hatchery felt they indeed had several trout that would break the current state record of 23 pounds, and those fish were delivered to Santa Ana River Lakes and nearby Corona Lake, also run by Elliott and Andrews, this week. “We’ve been telling anglers that we would have trout that break the state record, and now we’ve done it,” said Elliott.

DEER DRAWING, MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS -- matthews column -- 20dec00

REDLANDS -- Sonke Mastrup, the statewide deer program coordinator for the Department of Fish and Game, said a mouthful:
"We're concerned.... that we have lost touch with our hunters," said Mastrup at the last of a series of statewide public meetings held at the San Bernardino County Museum last Thursday in Redlands.

Mastrup has been traveling around the state since summer making a presentation on two aspects of the DFG's big game program: options for a new tag drawing system to be used for deer and other big game, and the future of deer management in California. Mostly he has been listening to hunters who've bothered to take the time to show up and made notes of their concerns, distributed survey forms, and asked as many questions as he's answered. Mastrup said he figured he's spoken with around 2,000 hunters during the meeting process.

"Participation in Fish and Game Commission (FGC) meeting by hunters has dropped off, and we're concerned that hunting regulations and changes are being determined by a handful of vocal hunters who show up at meetings. We're not hearing from the average hunter and learning what he wants," said Mastrup. Thus, the meetings.

Tag Drawings: During the meetings, Mastrup distributed a handout and made a presentation of the different drawing processes available to hunters, along with each systems' pros and cons. He was essentially asking hunters to vote for one of the systems. They include:

-- Preference Point System. A hunter unsuccessful hunter receives a point each year, and each subsequent year all tags are drawn from the pool of hunters who have the highest number of points first before other hunters have a chance. The biggest drawback to this system is that in premium hunting areas, hunters who do not get in on the first year of the point system and continue to collect points each year will never have an opportunity to draw for this tag.

-- Modified Preference Point System. Same as the regular preference point system, but only a percent of the tags for each hunt are awarded to hunters with the most points, leaving the rest to be chosen from all applicants.

-- Bonus Point System: Hunters unsuccessful in the draw get a bonus point. Each bonus point accrued will give the hunter an additional "chance" to get a tag in all future draws. It's like a raffle, each extra ticket you have is another chance to get drawn. Each bonus point is like an additional raffle ticket in the tag drawing.

-- Draw-by Choice System: This is the current system used in California. All hunters face an equal chance in the drawing for the first choice on their application. Second and third choices are not considered until all first-choice applicants have a chance at tags for a specific hunt.
-- Random Draw System: This was the system used in California until last year. All applicants are assigned a random number. The computer sorts the numbers lowest to highest and awards the hunter the first tag on his application for a hunt not already filled. In this system, a hunter could get his second or third choice before another hunter with a that same hunt for his first choice would get drawn.

Mastrup made it clear that deer hunters in California would not have to sit out a season to accumulate preference or bonus points. Hunters would still be able to purchase tags left over after the drawing. For example, you could apply for the X5b deer hunt or the Goodale last season buck hunt, not get drawn, and still hunt the A-zone or D-11 (or both), purchasing those tags after the drawing.

What system is used is our choice, according to Mastrup.

The Future of Deer Management: Mastrup posed a simple question to kick off the second part of the DFG's search for feedback from hunters: "Do we like were we are in deer hunting today or do we need to take a different path," asked Mastrup.

The first seasons and bag limits were set in 1901 in California, and deer populations peaked in California during the 1950s and 60s. In the 1970s, we went to a statewide zone system, and we now have a quagmire of 44 zones, 28 area-archery hunts, 36 additional hunts, 68 private land management programs, and 10 fundraising tags. There are just over 150,000 deer hunters in California, and we lose from three to five percent of them each year.

Mastrup said that we need to encourage participation, not make it increasingly difficult to hunt big game. With that in mind, the DFG is working toward simplifying the system. Mastrup said the agency wants to have 11 deer assessment units (DAUs), with deer management units (DMUs) within those areas. The DAUs are broad, ecologically similar units were deer behave in the same way. The DMUs are specific deer units that are designed around managing hunters within the DAUs.

The DFG wants to get away from the A, B, C, D and Z-zone designations and go to a simpler numbering system, like all other Western states use. They would like to offer tags that cover whole DAUs, multiple deer zones, for general hunts and then perhaps special tags for late-season hunts, doe hunts, etc. in specific DMUs. This is the direction the agency has been moving to give hunters greater opportunity. For example, a D-11 tag is now also valid in D13 and D15.

But by going to the DAU system, a special late season hunt would not be valid only in a small portion of a zone, it would probably be valid throughout a deer zone or perhaps all the zones within the whole DAU. The same for doe hunts. It would make management options more varied and applying for hunts easier to understand. It also gives hunters more freedom.

Beyond the new zone system, Mastrup said it was really up to hunters on how they wanted tags divvied up. Options vary from DAU to DAU, but hunters can choose between long, early seasons with lots of opportunity to shorter, later seasons with higher quality hunting. We can have fewer general season tags and a few rut-hunting tag special opportunities for those lucky in the drawing.

But Mastrup reminded hunters that buck harvest would be limited to a certain number in each zone based on the DFG's annual surveys. How that number is split between different types of seasons is really up to hunters, he said. A long, early general season hunt might only have a hunter success rate of 10 or 12 percent, which allows for a lot of tags to be issued. A late, rut hunt would have a 30 to 40 percent success rate and fewer tags. You simply can't issue as many rut hunt tags as pre-rut hunt tags. Blending the two means you have to issue eight to 10 fewer general tags for each rut tag you issue to get meet the same harvest objectives. Add in archery tags to mix. Maybe a doe hunt or two.

The DFG has a framework in each DAU for harvest. It is up to hunters how the mix of tags distributes the harvest and opportunity.

NOTES AND TIDBITS -- matthews column 13dec00

The largest bass caught in California this year was landed this week at Lake Murray, a tiny San Diego City water reservoir. Float-tube angler Roger Horton of San Diego caught the huge 18.55-pound largemouth while fishing a waterdog at the lake. According to Western Outdoor News, a weekly sportsmen's newspaper here in Southern California, the bass ranks in the list of the top 30 biggest bass of all time.

While the duck hunting is generally dismal throughout Southern California right now, with most of the public hunting areas producing about one bird per hunter, the San Jacinto Wildlife Area had a harvest of 51 pintail this past Saturday. They made up more than half of the 90-duck bag for 81 hunters. With the limit just one pintail per hunter again this year, and the fact they are difficult birds, there are whole months when that many pintail aren't taken at San Jacinto. Whole seasons.

With rockfish populations hammered down to dismal levels, the sportfishing fleet along this part of the coast has discovered a great pastime for winter anglers that provides sacks of tasty fish but relieves the pressure on the rockfish: sanddabs. These tiny, halibut-like flatfish inhabit inshore waters in mind-boggling numbers. Yes, they are very small -- rarely more than 12-inches long -- but they are delicate and mild-flavored fish. On recent trips, some anglers have had over 100 fish to clean when boats returned. For example, on Wednesday this week one of the boats out of 22nd Street Landing (310-832-8304) in San Pedro had 37 anglers who caught 3,145 sanddabs.

Unlike rockfish, which may not spawn until they are 10 years old and live longer than your grandmother, sanddabs spawn at three years old and are prolific. The perfect gamefish. The trips cost $35.

Anglers beware: Game wardens are having a field day writing citations to anglers who are snagging threadfin shad to use for bait. The citations are being written at Castaic Lake, Lake Skinner, and Lake Perris. Since it seems like the game warden goal is to write as many citations as possible these days, not protect resources, they are having no qualms about writing these unjustified citations. They try to justify it by saying that its against the law or that anglers might actually be trying to snag gamefish.

Give me a break. Most of the shad snagging rigs I've seen consists of a light weight at the end of a line on spinning tackle, and several small, No 8 to 12 treble hooks are tied along the line above the weight. Anglers see schools of dimpling or swarming shad, cast beyond the fish, and reel and jerk the rig back through the bait. The snagged bait go into a bait bucket or live well. If you hook a gamefish on these rigs, the hooks bend open and all you get is a scale.

Technically, snagging shad -- a baitfish without size restrictions or limits -- is against the law. The only way you can legally get them for bait is with a dip net. In most other states, throw nets are legal for gathering bait, but not here in California. So it essentially becomes impossible to get shad for bait legally and consistently. And shad are outstanding bait. If you can "dip" a bait bucket of shad, it translates into good fishing even this time of year. Check out today's fishing report if you doubt it.

Instead of writing these bogus citations, the DFG wardens should petition the Fish and Game Commission to eliminate the snagging rule for shad -- and every angler who's been cited should also write a letter to the Commission asking for the change. Throw nets also need to be legal here.

First hot fishing tip of the week: With trout season in full swing at the urban lakes throughout the region, a lot of successful anglers are using the three-inch Berkley Power Worm designed just for trout. While they are still difficult to find in many tackle shops, these small, plastic scented worms are consistently producing fish. They can be fished a variety of ways. The most novel method I'm hearing about this year is the use of a small piece of these scented baits added as a tail to one of the many brands of small jigs on the market. Some anglers are even dousing the jig and worm with garlic oil to -- apparently -- give it more appeal. You can't argue with success.

Second hot fishing tip of the week: The flows in the lower Owens River below Pleasant Valley Reservoir near Bishop have dropped to less than 100 cfs in the past two weeks and they are expected to stay that low through the rest of the month. Tom Loe, who runs Sierra Drifters Guide Service (760-935-4250) reported that his drift boat clients have caught as many at 92 trout, mostly browns, up to 17-inches the past two weeks. Many of the fish are showing on dry flies during a great day-time hatch of small mayflies.

Even if you don't want to float the river, the lower Owens in the Wild Trout Stretch is very wadable at these flows, and you can fish runs and pools that are normally torrents of moving water. This is my little tip for those of you who only think of the Sierra as a place to go for the trout opener or on summer vacations.

NEW AMMO DEVELOPMENTS -- matthews column -- 06dec00

I admit that I've become a bit of a gun and shooting aficionado, to the point of reloading my own ammo and wishing I owned, oh, about 30 or 40 more shooting pieces than I already have in the gun safe. Each year I try to make the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, the industry's unveiling of new products in January, on the hope that one of the companies will come out with something I really like.

Mostly, they come out with things I don't like.

The rifle craze of late has been the introduction of hulking magnum rounds that hold more powder than baby bottle, kick ferociously, and encourage hunters to attempt shots at distant game they could never make. All the whiz-bang magnums hurl slug at well above 3,000 feet per second and sport trajectories that suggest they are nearly flat shooting to 500 yards -- never mind that most hunters can't hit game in the field past 200 yards.

The handgun equivalent is the .454 Casull, which is a specialist's firearm. Several companies now make handguns for this round and some are making guns for cartridges that are even more ferocious than the .454. They all recoils too much for most shooters to handle. I know. I have a .454. It is painful to shoot, and I have spent the better part of the last year crafting reloads that make this gun more like a .45 Colt, which is an easy-kicking joy to shoot. I also like the "snake" loads I've developed for the .454 because they are great fun and have about as much shot as a .410 shotshell.

With that background, you might understand why I'm a little bit excited about two of the new announcement for 2001.

First, Ruger and Hornady are jointly announcing an all-new handgun round and caliber -- the .480 Ruger. I am less excited about the new round (a sort of tamed-down .454), than the fact that this will be the first cartridge to ever bear the name "Ruger" on its headstamp. Some of us hope it won't be the last. Ruger has consistently brought out some of the most innovative and popular firearms to the American marketplace. Many were guns that firearms pundits said would be flops. All have sold like gangbusters.

The new .480 Ruger develops 50 percent more muzzle energy than the .44 magnum, which has become the standard firearm for pig guides, bear hunters who follow hounds, and as a back-up sidearm in hunting woods throughout the nation. The .44 mag is a gun most handgun buffs can handle with a little practice. The beauty of the .480 Ruger is that it develops only half the felt recoil of the .454 and operates at standard revolver pressures making brass life long for reloaders. For hunters who've wanted more than a .44 but felt the .454 was simply too much because of ferocious recoil, the .480 Ruger is a logical step.

Beyond the new .480 Ruger, can we expect other rounds to wear a Ruger headstamp in the future? Some of us have suggested that Ruger come out with a specialty cartridge for its lovely little bolt-action Model 77/22 Hornet rifle. This gun has a very short designed specifically for the ancient .22 Hornet cartridge. That old round is great, but some us wish for something a little peppier in this gun.

I have been talking with a Montana wildcatter (designer of custom cartridges) and bullet maker -- Jim Calhoun -- who's been working with a neat .19 caliber wildcat based on the .22 Hornet case. There are no factory .19 calibers, but Calhoun makes a conversion kit that includes a barrel for the Model 77/22 Hornet. It is a peppy cartridge that launches 35-grain bullets at over 3,300 feet per second. It would be a perfect next step for Ruger to adopt in its development of new cartridges and calibers -- call it the .19 Ruger.

I'd kind of like to see a .270 Ruger, designed around a .308 case and loaded exceed the .270 Winchester by Hornady with its Light Magnum compressed-powder technology. It would be a great fit with Ruger's regular Model 77 bolt-action hunting rifle. And how about a .400 Ruger cartridge based on a beefed up, lengthened, and tapered down .45-70 case for the Ruger No. 1 Single Shot. Or how about a new double-barreled Ruger rifle for this round. I like this trend.

Just when I was thinking that Ruger was the only innovative company out there, Winchester Ammunition along with Winchester-Browning firearms announced they have teamed up to bring out the .300 Winchester Short Magnum, or .300 WSM for short.

The cartridge is built like me -- short and fat. It's so short in fact that it will function through a true short-action bolt rifle. You know, the kind designed for .243 and .308-class cartridges. Out of this short, fat case, Winchester had managed to squeeze .300 Winchester Magnum performance. It is almost the ballistic twin of the longer round with both guns hurling 180-grain slugs at just over 2,950 fps and the 150-grain slugs at around 3,300 fps.

The benefits to the short, fat round over the long, sleek one are two-fold. First, the stubby case in more efficient in burning its powder and therefore is inherently more accurate. Second, it allows makers to chamber the round in shorter-action guns which are more rigid (again, more accurate) and can be made lighter or more compact. There is also a huge benefit in the field. Many of us have a tendency to get excited when game appears and we start shooting. Follow up shots are often botched because we don't cycle the bolt completely, either jamming the gun or simply not getting a new round in the chamber because we don't yank the bolt back far enough. I have been guilty of this malady more than once on pig hunts recently, even with .30-06-length actions.

In contrast to the .300 ultra magnums, the .300 WSM (or the older .300 Winchester Magnum, the one on the long, narrower case) is about the upper end of the recoil range most hunters can handle, and it is plenty adequate for big game out to the longest practical shooting ranges in the field.

But I'm more interested in what might come in the future from Winchester on this new case: A .375 WSM, a round that delivers cape buffalo-stopping performance in a round that is nearly an inch shorter than the century old, worldwide classic .375 H&H round? Or perhaps a .270 WSM, a round that outshines the classic .270 Winchester. You can almost count on seeing 7mm and .338 caliber versions on this new case for hunters, and long-range target shooters are drooling over a 6.5mm version.

I have been saying that things have been getting boring on the new cartridge front the last few years -- or ridiculous, as with the Ultra and Super magnums that hurt hunters more than the game -- but it finally looks like we might be entering a new period of development of intelligent, sound cartridges for hunters.

DEER HUNTER INPUT SOUGHT BY DFG -- matthews -- 6dec00

The Department of Fish and Game staff are nothing if not daring. They are inviting us -- local hunters who've watched our deer herd dwindle away over the years -- to a meeting to give the biologists and managers our feedback on what we think should be done with our deer herds in Southern California.

They are actually inviting us to discuss deer-related subjects -- including seasons, limits, tag application procedures, drawing success, and habitat.

Jane McKeever, Southern California deer management coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Game in Long Beach, and Sonke Mastrup, the department's statewide deer program senior biologist in Sacramento, will join local wildlife biologists during a pair of public meeting to be held in Redlands and El Centro. The meetings have been set up to discuss deer-related information and obtain hunter input regarding the state's deer-tag drawing system and recent changes in the department's deer population management methods.

The Imperial County meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 11, at the Imperial County Building, 940 W. Main St., El Centro. The San Bernardino County meeting takes place at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands on Thursday, Dec. 14. Both meetings are set to begin at 7 p.m.

McKeever said meeting participants are encouraged to ask questions, disclose suggestions, preferences, and views both verbally during the meetings, or if preferred, in writing for consideration later.

Do they realize what they are in for?

We have all seen our deer herds dwindle on public lands where there is public access, while herds flourish on private lands or places where use is severely restricted. I recently watched the scoring of two huge bucks taken off the Angeles National Forest by bowhunters. It is an area where access is limited, tags are limited, and there is no rifle hunting and little poaching. I have seen water sources for big game disappear in our local mountains forcing our deer to a handful of watering locations where they are vulnerable to poaching and predation. I know more deer are killed by cars on Highway 395 than hunters get in the Sierra. The U.S. Forest Service doesn't know how to spell "habitat work" and the DFG doesn't hammer them on the issue.

Oh, I'll be at the Redlands meeting for sure. See you there?

(For more information on these meetings, hunters can contact McKeever at 562-433-8876 or Mastrup at 916-653-4673.)

For an agency that has done such a dismal job with deer, the DFG has done wonders with bears. Last week, bear hunters from throughout the state were being notified by mail, news releases, and direct contact from DFG wardens that the statewide quota on black bears had been filled, triggering the close of the season.

The DFG announced the closure when the statewide harvest of black bears reached 1,500 animals, as it has every year for the past several seasons. Including tags that have yet to be received by the DFG, it is estimated the statewide harvest will be between 1,600 and 1,800 bears. That harvest is out of an estimated bear population of 18,000 to 23,000 animals that continues to grow.

While I'm not sure the bear population is growing because of DFG management or in spite of it. The statewide quota has clearly increased the number of older age class bears in the population. Since successful bear hunters must surrender a tooth from their bear for biology, that data has shown that hunters are taking older and older bears. That is a good thing.

Beginning this year, there was no quota on bear tags sales, while prior to this year, there were only 15,000 tags sold. Since there was a quota on the harvest of bear, the DFG lifted the cap on tag sales, with Fish and Game Commission approval. Over 18,000 tags were sold this year, but the increase in tags didn't result in an earlier closure to the season, according to the DFG. In fact, last year the season closed one day earlier. The difference was that the DFG netted an additional $60,000-plus in money to do bear research. That is also a good thing.

The season, had the harvest quota not been reached, would have continued until Dec. 31 this year, but it hasn't gone through the end in several years. So the quota is working well.

Bear hunters are reminded that all bear tags, including those unfilled, must be returned to the DFG's Wildlife Programs Branch (1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento, CA 95814) by Feb. 1, 2001. Hunters who do not return their tag may lose their bear hunting privileges next season. For more information on bear tags, hunters can call the Wildlife Programs Branch at (916) 653-7203.

Do you think the DFG staff will hear anything at their deer meeting about the fact that many of us have seen more bears and bear sign in our local mountains than we see deer and deer sign?

HUNTER SAFETY CLASS SCHEDULE -- matthews 6dec00

Hunter Education/Handgun Safety Class schedule
First-time hunters in California are required to pass a 10-hour hunter education class before purchasing a hunting license. These classes also satisfy the California requirement for a safety course before a handgun may be purchased. The following is a list of regularly scheduled classes coming up in the next month:

Saturday, Dec. 9, at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises' Sporting Clays Range, Norco. Registration is 6:30 a.m. and the fee is $35 per student, which includes instruction, hunter safety certificate, lunch and refreshments. Participants must register at a Turner's Outdoorsman store or Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises and bring their hunter safety booklet the day of class. Classes are normally the second Saturday of each month. Contact: (909) 735-7981.... Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Inland Fish and Game Conservation Association Range, Redlands. Registration is 7:30 a.m. and the fee is $8 per student. The class includes live-firing and students should bring a lunch and drinks for the all-day class. Classes are held the second Saturday of each month at the Inland Range. Contact: (909) 781-HUNT.... Saturday, Dec. 9, at Baker Press, Ontario. Fee is $3 per student. This class is held the second Saturday of each month. Contact Girard Rudd at (909) 930-9470.... Saturday, Dec. 9 at the San Gabriel Valley Gun Club. There are classes the second Saturday of each month at the club. Fee is $15 per student and the class runs from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Contact: (626) 358-9906.

Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 9-10, in Escondido. Contact Mike Sanchez at (760) 739-8434.... Sunday, Dec. 10, in Rancho Cucamonga, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Price is $10 per person. Kids under 16 are required to pick up a study book in advance. Contact Gene Hubler at (909) 987-0811. Hubler runs classes the second Sunday of each month.... Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Maywood Rod and Gun Club, Perris. The club runs a hunter safety class the fourth Saturday of each month at its range in Perris, except for Nov. and Dec., when the class is the third Saturday. Contact Bob Williams at (909) 685-3908.... Saturday, Dec. 16, in Costa Mesa. Contact Wayne Morse at (714) 546-1139.... Saturday, Dec. 23, at Prado Tiro, Chino. The one-day class begins 7:30 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month in the Airgun Hall. Cost is $15 (includes ammunition and range fees). Bring a lunch, snacks, and drinks. Contact: (909) 656-3359.

Qualified hunter education instructors are available within a short distance of most any Southern California location, and courses are conducted throughout the year. For a recorded list of volunteer hunter education instructors, their locations and telephone numbers, call (562) 590-5670, or access the list via the Department of Fish and Game website at www.dfg.ca.gov.

Spanish language instructors can be found in Santa Ana, Orange County, Colton in San Bernardino County, Escondido in San Diego County, and Lompoc in Santa Barbara County. And in Los Angeles County, Spanish language hunter education courses are available in Baldwin Park, Canoga Park, Inglewood, and Torrance.

DEER SEASON SUCCESSES, AND LOSSES -- matthews column 29nov

Deer hunting seasons ended earlier this month in most hunting zones in Southern California, and there are some interesting stories about successes -- and losses -- to tell.

Many hunters I know lament the “good old days” when game was more plentiful and there were big bucks on every mountainside. The reality is that there may be more big deer around today in this country because of more restrictive hunting seasons and better management than ever before.

John Van Oort, a Moreno Valley bowhunter, arrowed a buck in the San Gabriel Mountains that may well become a new state record taken with archery gear. The deer was shot in late September in the Mt. Wilson area and had a 20-inch spread with four even point per antler. The bases of the antlers measure 4 1/2-inches in diameter. For hunters familiar with the Boone & Crockett (B&C) scoring system, the buck “green” scored 144 2/8ths points. That is a monster buck for the California mule deer subspecies.

(For those of you not familiar with B&C, the scoring involves a series of measurements of the antlers, lengths of tines, spread, and circumference. All the measurements are added together. Deductions are made for differences between the two antlers. “Green” scoring means the measurements were made before the antlers had dried. Since they shrink a little, official scoring isn’t done until they have dried out.)

Van Oort’s hunting partner Troy Spillman also shot a good buck in the same area (the D11 deer zone). His was a 20-inch, four-by-five with a score of 118 1/8th. But Spillman said the big one got away -- a buck that would dwarf either of their bucks. So the big boys aren’t a thing of the past.

Sometimes bucks that you earn, through sheer effort, are the greatest trophies, regardless of their size. Brandon Smith, who lives in Mountain Home Village in the San Bernardino Mountains, hunted every weekend of the D14 deer season. He’d seen a huge, four-by-four buck, but the deer was on private property and Smith turned down the deer, even though no one was around and would never have known.

One of Smith’s hunting mentors and neighbor, Gary Hatfield was proud of the young hunter’s decision. Hatfield, who has taken bucks in both D14 and D17 each of the past two years said, “You know how ethics are when you’re hunting -- there’s no one around but you.”

But then it seemed as though the hunting gods smiled on Smith for his honesty. He had backpacked up to the top of a remote ridge, set up camp in the snow, and then found a nice buck on public land the next morning. With a single shot, he thought he had a good portion of his winter’s meat supply.

After dressing the deer, Smith set off on the half-hour walk back to his camp to collect his gear and backpack before hauling the deer down off the mountain. Returning back down the same ridge, he saw tracks in the snow. Bear tracks going toward his deer. When he arrived where his deer had been, there were only bear tracks. A sow and its yearling cub had carried his buck down a steep canyon into thick brush. With no bear tag and knowing he couldn’t legally shoot a sow with a cub anyway, Smith shrugged and headed home.

“That was the hardest I’d ever worked for a deer, but it’s a pretty exciting story. My dad says that’s better than deer in the freezer,” said Smith, still not sure if that was the case.

Jimmy Rizzo is a transplanted Mississippi boy who finished the deer season with four hunting buddies in the San Bernardino Mountains. The last weekend of the season was upon them and they all had unfilled tags. Rizzo had scouted extensively in the area, and had a trick up his sleeve.

He started using a call, a deer grunt call. The last week or two of the hunting season is ongoing as the deer are moving into the rut, or breeding season. Over the next two days, Rizzo and his partners proceeded to call in five different bucks. The quickest a buck came in was 15 minutes, and none took more than an hour to call. Rizzo’s scouting had put them in good deer habitat where he had seen bucks during the season. They build blinds and called the deer to them.

Randy Frederick of Fountain Valley shot the biggest deer, a heavy-horned three-by-three, and Dean Karaharwa of Westminster shot a big forked-horn. The rest of the group, Rizzo, Randy Bowen of Anaheim, and Mike Edwardh of Buena Park, shot smaller forked-horn bucks. The buck Edwardh’s shot was his first.

“This just doesn’t happen. Five for five is really something in a California hunting camp,” said Rizzo.

Using a call for deer is also something that almost no one does here in California. At least until next year. When I expect a lot of us might be learning how to use a grunt tube.

Applying the 'chad’ issue to field sports

As a sportsman, a person who enjoys those arcane field sports of hunting and fishing, I am kind of rooting for Al Gore in all this legal wrangling. It would usher in a new era of personal responsibility where one’s intent become more important that what they actually achieved.

That little forked-horn buck that I didn’t shoot on the first day of the deer season, and then when I didn’t see anything the rest of the season, I need to tell you that my finger really was on the trigger and squeezing. I don’t know what happened. I meant to shoot that buck.

In the world of Al Gore, I would now be awarded that deer to my freezer. The Fish and Game Department, I assume working with God and Al Gore, will now divine the mule deer to die, and there will be a net gain to my holiday feasting on wild game.

Can you tell that I spent my Thanksgiving weekend watching MSNBC?

At some point, when is someone going to talk about voter responsibility in the same context that we talk about it in all other facets of life. Imagine if we applied the “voter intent” theory to the outdoor world. It wouldn’t matter if we could actually punch a shot through the ribs of a nice buck or punch the hook home on that tournament-winning largemouth bass, we would be credited with the kill or catch if somehow it was divined that we really intended to do the deed.

I could just hear the tales in hunting camps: “You guys have to believe me, I saw a buck that was bigger than Leroy’s by at least six-inches in spread and it had four big, long tines per antler. I tried to hit him three times, but there were big gouts of dust behind him each shot. It was a record book buck for sure. Don’t you think I should make the book because I tried to whack him.”

Or at the bass tournament weigh-in: “Ask my back-seater Joe, he saw the fish jump, it was at least a six-pounder. And even if you just add four pounds to our total, we have won this tournament fair and square. It isn’t my fault that big ol’ bass threw the hook. I intended to land him, and therefore we had more poundage hooked than anyone in this tournament. We win.”

I’m not even going to say anyone is lying here because we all know that fishermen and hunters are as honest as the day is long. But before Al Gore, you only got the rewards if you managed to get the deed done. That’s how it has been in life.

Am I the only one who thinks that you have to vote to have your vote counted? Voter pamphlets are pretty clear about how to vote and that you need to make sure the “chad” is punched out. I have always made sure there were no clinging chad or hanging chads on my ballot card. One time I had to manually take a chad off, flicking it with my fingernail. Of course, that was before I knew what it was called. Was I tampering with my own ballot? What would Al Gore say here?

Or how about the “butterfly ballot”? Real world analogy: You and your hunting partners are planning your annual deer hunt. There’s one dumb---- in your group, call him Willard, who assumes you’re going the same place as last year and doesn’t read the instructions from Bob, who did the scouting. Willard also didn’t look at the map Bob gave him when everyone was getting ready to caravan out of town. Willard ends up in New Mexico instead of Colorado and spends a night in every campground in the Gila National Forest looking for the group and wonders why everyone calls him a dumb---- when they all get back home. You can’t vote for two guys for president, dumb----!

When all else fails, read the instructions. This isn’t like putting a kids’ Christmas toy together. With the toy, you can do it once without reading the instructions and have a toy that doesn’t work and has leftover pieces. So then you go back and read the instructions. You only get one chance at the ballot box and you have to do it right. No do overs. In fact, I’m sorry to say this, but do we want people who are too stupid to complete this voting task participating in the process? It isn’t rocket science for crying out loud. You punch out a chad in the card and make sure it’s your chosen candidate’s number.

Maybe we should have a mandatory “Voter Preparation” class, just like we have a hunter safety class. We know the hunter safety classes work. Maybe a voter prep class would help prevent lots of people from shooting themselves in the foot, figuratively.

But that would prevent people from playing God with ballots in close elections. Boy, would the lawyers and judges hate that.

Deer hunter meetings set for early December

Southern California hunters can take advantage of an opportunity to meet with state Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologists this month to discuss deer-related subjects -- including seasons, limits, tag application proceedures, drawing success, and habitat.

Jane McKeever, Southern California deer management coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Game in Long Beach, and Sonke Mastrup, the department's statewide deer program senior biologist in Sacramento, will join local wildlife biologists during a pair of public meeting to be held in Redlands and El Centro. The meetings have been set up to discuss deer-related information and obtain hunter input regarding the state's deer-tag drawing system and recent changes in the department's deer population management methods.

The Imperial County meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 11, at the Imperial County Building, 940 W. Main St., El Centro. The San Bernardino County meeting takes place at the San Bernardino County Museum, 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands on Thursday, Dec. 14. Both meetings are set to begin at 7 p.m.

McKeever said meeting participants are encouraged to ask questions, disclose suggestions, preferences, and views both verbally during the meetings, or if preferred, in writing for consideration later.

For more information, hunters can contact McKeever at (562) 433-8876 or Mastrup at (916) 653-4673.

MATTHEWS WHOLE OUTDOORS CATALOG -- matthews-ons 22nov00

Annually, I waste the space devoted to this column in a very personal and self-serving way: I tell about the Matthews Whole Outdoors Catalog Company, the largest and oldest mail-order business in the world dealing with unique outdoor products, all of them designed, tested and manufactured by the eclectic members of the Matthews family for this 186-year-old business.

I'm always amazed how many people have never heard of our mail order catalog company (and associated web site -- and in spite of what Al Gore or the U.S. military says, we actually did invent the Internet). The MWOCC catalog was published in 37 languages this year, and we print over 32 million copies which are distributed to virtually every nation in the world. Two copies are also currently on the international space station (Russian and English versions). Even without retail stores, we rival Sears in gross annual sales. So I just say to those of you who've never heard of us: Do you live in a cave?

This year, I'm delighted to announce three of our newest products that show how we are branching out into 21st century outdoor sports and games, and spill the beans -- sadly -- about how one of them is being used illegally as we speak.

Genuine Grizzly Bear Hibernation Elixir.
Sleep away those boring months. The Matthews Outdoor Gene Group (the same family members who introduced the Frog Hormone, or Thunder Thigh Elixir for float tube anglers and swimmers, and extinct Irish elk genetics into game farm elk stock that produces bulls scoring over 500 Boone & Crockett points) has discovered a way to distill the hibernation traits of bears into a tasty drink that allows humans to sleep uninterrupted for up to several months, not just during the winter. Test lots of the elixir sold out almost overnight to fishermen who wanted to sleep through those boring late fall and winter months and to hunters who wanted to get past summer to their beloved fall. By increasing the amount of the elixir taken, the user can vary the amount of time hibernation sleep is induced. Two warnings: First, inducing sleep longer than four months is not recommended because passage of the anal plug that forms during sleep become extremely painful. For example, a losing presidential candidate might be tempted to simply sleep off his loss for three years. Bad idea. Passing an anal plug in place for three years might be more painful than losing an election, especially for a politician. Second, the product should not to be used by pregnant women because babies are born prematurely with rich coats of fur.
Snore-In-A-Bottle (Single Season Size, eight-ounces).... $23.95
Snores-In-A-Jug (Family Size, 32 ounces).... $69.95
Available in mint, cherry, and huckleberry flavors.

An Authentic Electronic Dolphin Language Decoder.
Divers around the world have been pressing our technology experts at MWOCC to come up with a method to decipher the squeaking language of dolphins. Our great uncle, Werner Von Matthews, who single-handedly broke the code used by the Germans in World War II, not only was able to translate all known sounds of dolphins, he has put all the data into a microchip as part of a small, waterproof computer that fits in a pair of specialized diving goggles or mask. With the special ear piece, you can instantly hear the computer's translation of what the dolphins are saying around you while diving. During head-wagging, laughing behavior, some phrases used by the dolphins repeatedly around human divers are perplexing because they translate as: "Otter-brained-whale-spittle," "Net this!," "Does anyone know how to CALL great white sharks?," "Rucy I'm Home," and "Land urchin."
Flipper Talks Swim Goggles.... $289
Flipper Talks Swim Mask.... $359

Heads-Up Display, .02 Caliber, Silenced, Eyeglass Novelty Gun.
Great uncle Werner, cousin Steve "Apple" Matthews, and cousin Willis Matthews designed this product as a party novelty and practice device for military fighter pilots. They were drinking, what can we tell you? It is nothing more than a miniature, semi-automatic firearm fitted in the frame of a pair of glasses. It fires tiny .02-inch diameter slugs made of walnut out of a silenced barrel in the right temple frame. Aiming is accomplished with a holographic display that shows in the left or right eye (please specify when ordering). Firing is accomplished by tapping the "trigger" on the bridge of the glasses or via a remote "trigger" housed in a ball-point pen housing. The device is extremely accurate, allowing the wearer to hit an object the size of a pin head with the nearly microscopic walnut bullet at 20 feet. Low-Power loads are great at parties for making people think bugs are crawling on them, or shooting sparks rising from a campfire. High-Power loads will kill a housefly at 30 feet, great fighter pilot training, or for school teachers to keep their students alert.
Micro Woody Eyeglass Gun.... $689
Please specific head size: Pin Head, Fat Heat, or Meat Head.
Woody Low-Power Ammo (per 100).... $88
Woody High-Power Ammo (per 100).... $89

To our dismay, unscrupulous vote-counters in Florida have found that high-power loads were sufficient to dislodge one or two corners of a chad on a ballot. We have overnighted over 100 of these specialty eyeglasses and over 100,000 rounds of ammunition to the Sunshine State in the past week. The outcome of the election is in their hands.

For your very own complete copy of the Matthews Whole Outdoors Catalog Company Christmas catalog, which has over 147 new items, please send certification that you voted in this year's presidential election, a note from your mother affirming your sanity, and $2 is G&H Green Stamps to MWOCC, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007.

Second Pig-O-Rama set for Dec. 8-10 at Tejon

LEBEC -- The Tejon Ranch will host the second Pig-O-Rama the weekend of Dec. 8-10, and the hunter who bags the heaviest hog during the three-day event will win $1,000, according Don Geivet, the game manager at the ranch. The first "Ham Slam," as the event is also known, was held earlier this year over Memorial Day weekend. The event was limited to the first 50 hunters who paid the $300 hunter access fee, and the event was won with a 230-pound field-dressed hog taken by Mike Jones from Santa Ana. Entry fee is again $300 (and all hunters must have a $20 insurance policy), and the hunter bagging the biggest field dressed hog between noon Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday will win a $1,000 prize. Entries must be received no later than Dec. 1. For more information, hunters can write or call Geivet. Write to Don Geivet, Tejon Ranch Company, P.O. Box 1000, Lebec, CA 93243, or call (661) 663-4208 or (661) 663-4209.

PHEASANT SEASON OPENER COLUMN -- matthews-ons -- 15nov00

They are signs of the times. A "posted, no trespassing" sign, and a "$" sign. The pheasant season opener this past weekend attracted more hunters than ever before to Imperial County, but the bulk of the most productive pheasant hunting areas were posted at the last minute, according to Joe Brana, a Department of Fish and Game warden here. "I'd say 80 percent of the fields south of Interstate 8 around El Centro were posted," said Brana. "That means the bulk of the land where birds are at is posted." Brana said that in the past, most of these same lands were open to hunters who asked permission, but Brana said the Abatti family decided to post their lands and only offer fee hunting this year. That move closed about 3,000 acres of the best lands to general hunters.

"I just want to make sure they don't get a bad rap," said Brana of Ben and Mike Abatti. "For years they've just been letting people hunt their place, and they've been real pro-hunter." Brana said the crowds have been getting worse each year, and some hunters have trashed the private property, so the Abatti's decided to go to a fee hunting program to cut hunter numbers and problems down. "We just want to manage the resource for future generations," said Mike Abatti of Upland Paradise Land Resource Management, which is managing property for four farmers in the El Centro region this year. Abatti said they posted approximately 3,000 acres and that several other farmers also posted lands at the last minute.

Abatti said that only 50 hunters opening day hunted the posted lands and 62 hunted the second day of the season. Many, if not most, of those hunters had limits of pheasants, according to Abatti. He said two hunters were limited out by 8:30 a.m., drove home to Perris for a wedding Saturday evening, and were back Sunday morning at 5 a.m. to hunt again. "The bird population is just incredible this year. I don't even want to guess how many birds there are, but we want to provide a good experience and want everybody to limit everyday they hunt," said Abatti.

Lands managed by Abatti are only opened on weekends. Costs for hunting are $100 per day, per hunter (or $50 for junior hunters 14 and under), or a season-long fee is $750 ($350 for juniors). All pheasant hunters must check in and out. (For information, hunters can call Abatti at 760-352-0543.) Is that too steep? For old timers who are accustomed to the old days of knocking on doors and forming long term friendships with farmers and ranchers, it seems like a horrible deal. But for anyone who's been out here on opening day of dove season or pheasant season, you can certainly understand the farmers' concerns.

Warden Brana said that he did check about 35 birds taken by hunters on non-posted lands south of Interstate 8 and in the Holtville area north of the freeway. He said the key was finding Sudan grass or asparagus fields, which were holding the most birds. "I've been here 20 years and this is by far the most people I've ever seen for pheasant opener. It seemed like there was at least one hunter in every field," said Brana. But he also noted that there are more pheasants in the valley than ever before, saying that it was not uncommon for him to see 400 birds a morning while patrolling. He told of one farmer who reported seeing 100 pheasants in a single field. So diligent hunters who seek out good places to hunt and get permission (or pay trespass fees) will have a good hunt in Imperial County.

Prior to the opener, Brana worked with the public affairs office of the DFG in Long Beach to get out the word about how good the pheasant hunting season looked to be this year. It led to several stories being published in Southern California newspapers and Western Outdoor News, a sportsman's weekly newspaper. But that was before the lands were posted. Brana found out about the posted lands in the middle of the week just before the opener. "We were worried that people would show up and no one was going to be able to hunt," said Brana.

Many hunters apparently went to areas adjacent to the posted lands or opted to hunt other game birds. He said that many hunters also found the opening of the season half of the dove season pretty good. Brana said he checked several hunters with limits of doves. Hunters are reminded that pheasant hunting is not allowed until 8 a.m. each day, and that only roosters may be taken. While the limit was only two birds per day opening weekend, the limit is now three roosters per day through the end of the season, which concludes Sunday, Dec.10.

The question is now whether or not you can find a place to hunt or are willing to for an opportunity that used to come to anyone who was courteous and asked permission.

Bear harvest nearly 1,000 animals in statewide tally

SACRAMENTO -- The statewide bear harvest was at 960 animals as of last Friday, according to the Department of Fish and Game. That is about two-thirds of the statewide quota of 1,500 animals. Bear season is scheduled to continue through Dec. 31 in all bear hunting areas of the state, but it could be shut off early if the reported harvest reaches 1,500 animals. Last year, the DFG closed the season on Nov. 29. During the 1999 season, in addition to a quota on the harvest, there was also a tag quota of 18,000 tags. For this season, the sales quota was lifted and there have been just over 20,000 tags sold as of last week. The harvest quota remains at 1,500, regardless of how many tags are sold.

DUCK STAMP WINNER AND MORE -- matthews outdoor column 8nov00

The 2001-2002 Federal Duck Stamp design election, I mean contest, went as planned this week. In other words, the results weren't announced two days late, and it wasn't decided by 11 votes in Florida.

On Wednesday, Bob Hautman of Plymouth, Minn., won the event for the second time. His painting of a lone pintail sitting on the water near cattails will be on next year's duck stamp, which is required for all waterfowl hunters. The funds raised by stamp sales are for wetland habitat acquisition to expand the National Wildlife Refuge system. Hautman, along with brothers Jim and Joe, have painted designs to win this event six times since 1989.

Considering the number of outstanding artists who compete in this competition each year -- with 316 in the judging -- the brothers' dynasty is amazing. Brother Joe finished third in the judging this year, while brother Jim was ineligible this year. (You have to sit out for three years after winning.)

Avid hunters, the win has affected the close-knit family's hunting plans for year. "My brother Jim said to me this week, `You'd better not win, you'll screw up your whole hunting season.' We've all learned about that before," said Hautman.

The winner of the duck stamp competition makes appearances with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at two events right after the competition. The first is this weekend in waterfowl art festival in Easton, Md., and that is followed by a trip next week to Redlands here in Southern California to be at the Wildlife Art Festival at the San Bernardino County Museum. The Wildlife Art Festival features the top 100 entries in the federal duck stamp art competition, including the Hautman brothers' work. It is open to the public Nov. 17-19, with Bob Hautman on hand all three days.

"This is really going to cut into my hunting this year," said Hautman, who is still managing to squeeze in a planned trip to South Dakota to hunt pheasants and ducks between the Easton and Redlands trips. "Maybe we'll know who the next president is by the time I get out to Southern California."

18th Annual Wildlife Art Festival features federal duck stamp art

REDLANDS -- The 18th Annual Wildlife Art Festival will be held Nov. 17-19 at the San Bernardino County Museum, and it will again feature the top 100 entries in the annual federal duck stamp art competition. The event is the only place in Southern California where the artwork for the federal duck stamp competition can be seen, and it has evolved into a major wildlife art festival attended by most of the prominent wildlife artists, sculptors and decoy carvers in the West and much of their work may be purchased on site. The junior duck stamp art is also displayed, and there is a decoy carving competition with hundreds of competing pieces on display. Most of the major conservation groups also have displays at the event -- including Ducks Unlimited and Quail Unlimited.

The winner of the duck stamp competition for 2001 is chosen just days before this event, and the winning artist and his artwork will also be at the festival. Last year, Adam Grimm, who painted the design on this year's federal waterfowl stamp that must be purchased by all hunters 16 and older to hunt ducks and geese, was at the show. Admission to the wildlife art festival is $6 for adults, $5 for students and seniors, and $4 for children. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. For information or directors to the museum, call (909) 307-2669 or the toll-free line at (888) BIRD-EGG. You can also get more information at the museum web site: www.sbcountymuseum.org.

While seemingly the whole world was focused on the presidential race Tuesday, members of the California Sporting Goods Association and a broad range of representatives from the shooting and hunting industry in Southern California gathered at a fundraiser. It wasn't to battle political assaults on gun ownership or hunting, it was to raise something over $30,000 for organizations working with abused and underprivileged children.

The Third Annual Sportsmen Helping Children event has been held with little fanfare. These are sportsmen in the community working with the community.

"We've purposely picked smaller, local groups where we could really make a difference," said John McGovern with CSGA. "We'll raise at least $30,000 and turn it into at least $100,000 in product." There are five homes for abused children, one children's hospital, and a group that buys shoes for children who submit "wish lists" of products in the sporting goods field -- helmets, bicycles, scooters, backpacks, basketballs, etc. Because the CSGA can get the equipment at wholesale or manufacturer's cost, the value of the cash raised at the fundraiser is increased for the charities.

"They provide us with $10,000 worth of equipment at this event and help us throughout the year with other needs," said Rhonda Beltran with the McKinley Children's Center in San Dimas, which has 72 children in residence and another 80 with foster parents. "It's such a worthwhile cause. We couldn't keep our kids in safety helmets without their assistance." Not something you'd expect from a bunch of NRA-supporting, Bush loyalists, eh?

Speaking of the NRA, do we know who won the presidency yet? Regardless of who won, you won't hear this from the political pundits: the National Rifle Association made the election extremely close. Forget Ralph Nader. Never mind that a sitting vice-president with a booming economy should have blown away the opponent. The issue was gun ownership, and if Bush holds on to the projected win, it may have come down to 37 rural Florida gun owners who took time out to drive into town to vote against a threat to the Constitution, at least in their perception. The NRA and gun ownership was big in this election that should have been a landslide for Al Gore.

With all the talk about third parties, perhaps we should follow the model of sportsmen in France and form our own party. Our platform: Mandate that the opening day of trout and dove season be national holidays, make hunting and fishing constitutionally guaranteed rights with a new amendment, and require that you have a hunting or fishing license before you could vote. I'd accept the nomination.

OUTDOORS AND POLITICS -- matthews column 1nov00

I would rather be writing about hunting or fishing this week, but elections are next Tuesday and the outcome of the national vote will really set the stage on how our sports, our outdoor passions, will be shaped through at least the first half of this century. Or whether or not consumptive outdoor sports and broad-based gun ownership will survive at all.

Those of you who've read my columns over the years know that I'm generally a pretty optimistic guy, but the past eight years of Bill Clinton's presidency and the promises made by Al Gore to the environmental and anti-gun community over the past two months, has convinced me that I am a target of their discrimination and that ending hunting, fishing, and gun ownership is truly a goal of these people. They may say otherwise, but their actions continue to speak much louder than their words.

I used to have an immense amount of respect for Al Gore back in the days when he represented Tennessee. He had solid stands on the environmental, supported sportsmen, and a sterling voting record on firearm issues. After eight years in the beltway, he has deserted his roots. Gore has become a champion of extreme gun control measures that only serve to increase crime. He has supported radical interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, and he encouraged, if not actually designing, Clinton's presidential decrees to create a host of new National Monuments that banned huge tracts of land to hunting. He is part of an administration that doesn't believe the Second Amendment relates to an individual's right to own firearms -- and opinion only held by about two percent of constitutional scholars. Clinton infuriated me. Al Gore frightens me.

Under Gore, more guns will be banned, for no good reason. Hunting, which is already too complex and costly with our licenses, fees, and application systems, will get even more difficult. Piece by piece. Fee by fee. Regulation by regulation. We could end up like Australia or, worse, England where hunting and gun ownership are largely a thing of the past. Fishing will slowed be phased out in National Parks, and perhaps even National Forests, and huge ocean reserves will become off limits to anglers. That is the Gore vision for America's sportsmen and gun owners.

I'm not sure I agree with George W. Bush on a lot of issues, but any man who can take an evening out of a busy campaign in early September to hunt doves and have jalapeno dove breasts for dinner is a guy who -- in my mind -- is at least squared away on what is important. And I do agree with the Bush-Cheny campaign on a lot of issues that affect the Second Amendment and outdoors sports so near and dear to my heart.

For example, Bush signed a bill to ease concealed-carry gun laws in Texas. While you never read this in major newspapers or hear it on the evening news, crime in down in Texas. Just as in all other states enacting laws making it easy to get a carry permit, crime drops dramatically, especially violent crime. Crooks don't want to get shot, and statistics show that concealed carry gun owners make fewer mistakes and shoot fewer innocent people than police officers. Bush appointments to the Supreme Court will assure that we don't get judges who will ignore parts of the Constitution that they believes are pass‚ or outdated.

In Texas, Bush's Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department is a model that we would do well to follow in California. Their staff actually help enhance its state's fisheries, and their license fees are a fraction of our California fees. Texas coastal waters are sensibly managed with the sportsman in mind.

Dick Cheney, who would rather be flyfishing and hunting than living in Washington D.C., has already said that a Bush administration would look at all of the new National Monuments created by Bill Clinton, many that have locked hunters out of public lands throughout the West, and consider repealing their creation, allowing for more local input into how these lands should be managed.

These two guys are fellow sportsmen who understand our needs and concerns, and while I realize there are a lot of other issues in this election. I worry about the environment, but I'm heartened by the fact that some of the most far-reaching and important environmental legislation has come out of the White House during Republican administrations who were willing to work with Congress. For eight years, there has been no important environmental legislation because Gore and Clinton have been unwilling to slide down off the high horse.

Pardon the pun, but I don't want to get Gored this election. Sportsmen have been discriminated against for the past eight years, and I hope that you will take the time Nov. 7 to vote your sport, your passion. It might be a first step in actually making things better for hunters and fishermen in this nation.

DEER DECLINE: IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS -- matthews outdoor column 25oct

It started out as a single file. Over two decades ago I scrawled “Mule Deer -- Population Decline” on manila file folder and shoved a couple of deer harvest graphs from Southern California and a press release into the folder and stuck it into the cabinet. The single file has expanded into the better part of two drawers, and there isn’t a Western state that is not examining the long-term mule deer decline that has spanned 30 years and doesn’t seem to be turning around significantly.

Mule deer may not be going extinct, but the big-eared deer are certainly at lower levels than they have been in this country since perhaps the turn of the last century. Virtually every biologist, ecologists, and hunter I know has his own theory, and all of them probably hold a part of the puzzle. The prevailing belief is that the biggest factor is the loss of sagebrush/bitterbrush habitat through conversion to either grassland -- due to repeated fires thanks to introduced grasses -- or to pinon-juniper woodlands through vegetative succession -- due to fire suppression. That may seem contradictory, but it’s really not. We have more mature forests and more grassland in the West than we’ve had in 50 years, and deer are a successional species that rely on the brush. A Utah biologist told me recently that his state had only about five percent of the sage habitat they had just 25 years ago.

Predators are also pegged as a major factor, especially when populations are down, and pioneering work done in recent years actually supports the idea that predators can have a major impact on wildlife species -- something that was pooh-poohed just a decade ago. Of course, the studies that said that predators didn’t have an impact on wildlife were done when federal, state, and county governments were killing every predator it could with traps and poison to help ranchers, when fur prices were high and trappers worked every nook and cranny in the West, and when everyone and his brother shot every predator they saw. Those early studies were done when there weren’t near the number of predators we have now, and recent work is bearing that out. Predators can hammer a deer population -- especially a low deer population.

Now, I’m fairly certain that habitat and predators are major factors in the Western deer decline in varying degrees of importance for individual herds and populations of mule deer. It is also likely that highway mortality, poorly timed and excessive hunting seasons, and pressure on deer populations from other human-caused factors (like motorcycles in fawning areas) play roles. But it seems to me, at least here in Southern California where our deer live in chaparral and along the mountain tops in forests, that even where our habitat is in pretty good shape and most other factors haven’t changed much in decades, our deer numbers are still dismal.

I spent two days in the chaparral recently. One day in the Wrightwood area and one day along the crest of the Santa Ana Mountains. Both areas had burns recently. Both areas only had one main road through the country, the same as it’s been for 40 years. In fact, both areas had several roads closed. Predator numbers are probably not any higher than they’ve been for that same period of time. But vast areas in both mountains didn’t have any deer sign. No tracks. No droppings. It didn’t used to be that way. It wasn’t that long ago when you had to be careful not to run over deer coming down the roads at night. Now, if you see a deer, you marvel and tell your neighbors about it.

What is different? I marked up my maps where I found deer sign on these outings and poured over them pretty thoroughly. I found deer sign where there was water. Deer need to drink every day when its hot. They can’t get too far from water, especially with fawns. There were deer around springs.

Water, and good feed in decorative shrubbery, is why there are so many deer in the suburban foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Foothill golf courses attract deer because there is water. Hillsides adjacent to valley citrus orchards still are where the best deer populations are in the inland valleys. Water.

On both stretches of main road in the national forests where I drove and hiked, perhaps five or six miles worth of road in both cases, there were four water tanks and collection facilities that once had open water for wildlife. All were dry or had no open water. Eight former water sources. On a bench below one of the roads there is an old cattle pipeline that moved water to a series of at least four stock watering tanks, all now dry, too.

I don’t want to imply that water is the only factor, and that the hills would come alive with wildlife again if we simply turned on the spigots, but this is one thing that we can do to improve habitat where it still exists for wildlife.

When touring the huge burn area in the San Bernardino National Forest last year with a host of wildlife and plant specialists, I asked if plots of native buckbrush and bitterbrush could be planted to benefit deer and help the burn recover. In a typically fatalist way, I was told by a government biologist that it would be very labor intensive and that only 20 or 40 acres could be planted this year in the thousands and thousands of acres burned. Basically, he said it wasn’t worth doing. But if we put in 40 acres this year and help increase the deer herd by four or five animals, and then plant 40 acres next year, and 40 acres the year after that, and more in the future, pretty soon there is some significant, measurable benefit.

Just like fixing a few water sources here and there and keeping them working. Every little bit helps. We’ve seen what every little loss can do. Every predator kill, every new housing tract on the edge of deer habitat, every lost half-acre of sagebrush has added up to create the West’s tragic mule deer decline.

Now, we’re so intimidated by the big picture that we don’t do the little things that would help turn things around over time. That needs to change. I would bet that in just five years, we could do enough in Southern California with little, simple projects that the deer herd would grow enough to double the buck harvest.

This is a gauntlet, a challenge. Hunters and wildlife enthusiasts must pressure the federal and state agencies charged with habitat and wildlife to make things happen. There’s a lot of talk these days about merit-based pay for teachers. How about merit and performance pay for wildlife and habitat managers who meet wildlife population goals? They could and should meet this challenge.

BIRD OPENERS AND NEUROTIC DOGS -- matthews column 18oct

The three Labrador retrievers have been looking in through the sliding glass doors at me in my office this week with expectant faces. I balefully glare back at them. Someone has been telling them that bird seasons are opening, and they're looking forward to tearing around in the field. They are wonderful dogs most of the year, but then hunting season comes along and they expect me to take them along on my trips. Since that is the excuse I use to have the animals, it is assumed I will take them along. I can't be honest and say I don't want to take them along because they ruin my hunting trips as effectively as they've ruined the backyard. That would not fly well around the Matthews' house.

It's not that my charming wife, Becky, doesn't like dogs, but she would like to have a nice backyard, too, and could do without the dogs being in the house all the time and leaving big dollops of hair all over the carpet and family room couch. So it weighs heavily in the dogs' favor for them to be my prized hunting dogs -- even if "prized" is really a slight exaggeration. Well, maybe a pretty gross exaggeration. The dogs are my buddies. They genuinely like me (well, two of them do, the other would probably bite me if she thought she could get away with it), and they show me more respect than my children. I like them for that. So we get along pretty well here around the office when everyone else is away at school or real jobs. I talk to them and they listen attentively. I can still out wrestle them. They like to sort through hunting and fishing tackle with me. They lay on my feet and keep my tootsies warm in the winter.

But when we actually go hunting, I've come to realize that we've developed a rather unique breed of dysfunctional Labradors. My old yellow lab, Sandy, has had two litters of puppies over the years, and we've kept one pup from each litter. Tanka, the huge female from the first litter, and Jack, the big male from the last litter. People who know Labradors will tell you they are wonderful people dogs, easy to train, and have natural field abilities. Since I have hunted with other Labradors over the years, and had an exceptional Lab as my first hunting dog, I am still convinced this is true even though my recent experiences would suggest otherwise.

Sandy has growled and barked at every one of my hunting buddies since she was a puppy, which can be disconcerting in a duck blind. She will seem to calm down and sit by my side, eyeing the other hunter nervously. But if my partner makes any kind of suspicious movement -- you know, like hunkering down or suddenly tensing for a shot as birds start to come over the decoys -- she will fly out of the blind barking wildly. The fact that she has survived as long as she has is a great testament to my hunting buddies who have only threatened to shoot her because of these antics. The ducks sometimes flare when she does this routine. Actually, more often than sometimes.

I must say she is a wonderful retriever when she sees the bird go down, but she figures her job is over when she brings the bird out of the water, or, in the case of upland birds, she carries them only until she can see me. She then drops the bird and wanders off to hunt on her own, which she does frequently. She is a wonderful pheasant dog, and I have seen her put up birds after trailing them at a dead run for over 1/4-mile. That is a little out of range for my shotgun. She doesn't have a clue what the words, "come," "sit," or "stay" mean, and she doesn't much like sitting in one spot. So frequently she sneaks out of duck blinds and starts nosing around for shorebirds or pheasants. I'm the guy you see out there at the state wildlife areas yelling at his dog to come. I push the birds your way. Oh, and Sandy is only her name around the house.

Tanka was the biggest puppy in the litter, and we called her the Sherman Tank before cleverly naming her Sandy's Shermane Tanka. She is a classic lap Lab. Sleeping on the boys beds as a puppy, she has always assumed she was a house dog and owned the furniture. If you pet her, she puts a paw up on your knee. If she isn't reprimanded immediately, she assumes you want her in your lap and licking your face. All the aversion training in the world has not dissuaded her from that trait. When guests have overstayed their welcome, I let Tanka in the house.

Labradors instinctively use their noses to find things. As untrainable as Sandy is, she uses her nose extraordinarily well. Tanka is a sight dog. I can't remember a single instance of her actually sniffing to find a bird. She is the best sky-scanner I've ever seen, and if she sees a bird go down, she will bring it back to me proudly. If she can see it. In heavy cover, if she doesn't find the bird right away by sight, her interest wanes and she comes back to me and starts looking in the air for more birds.

Tanka also doesn't much like hunting upland birds. She's the submissive female in our pack and, since she doesn't use her nose, she finds wandering around in brushy county pretty boring. She walks at heel and panics if she loses sight of me and tears around through the brush whining. However, she loves to sit in duck blinds or on a dove field, perched right next to me getting her head scratched and trying to climb into my lap constantly. She usually spots any incoming birds first and rushes out to meet them. The birds sometimes flare when this happens. Actually, more often than sometimes.

Jack was my great new prospect. Early on he showed all the traits of my first Labrador, Joe. Joe was a wonderful yellow lab that could make 200-yard blind retrieves in water, follow hand and whistle signals, and could smell a covey of quail from 1/4-mile away. My hunting chums called Joe "the wonder dog." They just wonder about Jack. My vet calls Jack, "Jack (the) Lemon." She's pretty funny, my vet. He grew so big, so fast as a puppy that he had some developmental problems: one dysplastic hip and a bad hock on the same leg. A dislocating knee of the other back leg was fixed up with surgery, and my vet says he'll always be a good three-legged dog, even when the hip and hock start getting arthritic when he gets old. To delay that, Jack is on daily medication to keep the joints loose and the pain down. My wife calls him "Jack, the vet's goldmine." She says our boys' braces dig into the family budget less than Jack costs us.

In spite of Jack having good field skills and generally minding, I don't like to take him out much because I worry about hunting him in rough terrain with the hip and all. He also doesn't much like swimming, which is something I can't figure out because all Labs like water. So I don't hunt ducks with him much, using my other two crack waterfowl dogs for those tasks. But Becky makes me take him on other hunts because he howls pitifully when I leave without him this time of year, so I mostly stay in easy places with Jack while my hunting chums bust brush, climb steep slopes and get birds while I have nice walks with Jack and Tanka in gentle terrain. Who knows where Sandy is?

When I met up with hunting chums later I borrow their birds and throw the for Jack to retrieve or hide them, and Jack is getting pretty good at blind retrieves and following hand signals. He can find just about anything my hunting buddies bring back and I hide for him. Maybe this year, I'll actually run into a covey of quail or chukar out on an open flat somewhere with Jack so he can show his stuff.

The three of them are sprawled around my feet here in the office now twitching, dreaming about it all.

NEWS: FOREST SERVICE OPENS ROAD INTO DEER AREA -- 18oct00

FAWNSKIN -- The San Bernardino National Forest opened a main access road through the forest north of Big Bear Lake in the D14 hunting zone this past weekend, the opening of the deer season in this area. The road had been closed due to the massive Willow Fire last year, but the road was opened on weekends-only to give hunters access to one of the most popular hunting areas in the San Bernardino Mountains.

The road, 3N14, runs from Fawnskin north through Coxey Meadows and out into the high desert near Apple Valley. All spur roads off 3N14 were closed with hunters required to walk from this access road. The road was opened as a test this past weekend, and because there was good compliance from hunters, it will be opened again each weekend of the deer season, according to Ruth Wenstrom, a USFS spokesperson in San Bernardino. Jim Davis, a Department of Fish and Game biologist, said that between the DFG, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management checks, there were approximately 18 deer and one bear taken by hunters using this area opening weekend of the season.

"Apparently the decision to open the road was made at the last minute," said Davis. "I wasn't notified until Friday evening, and that was the only drawback." Davis said there were supposed to be Forest Service personnel or volunteers at gate the upper end of the road at Big Pine Flat and at the lower end of the road where it enters BLM land down on the desert. The staff were to hand out flyers and explain that only the main road was open and that all spur roads were closed. District Ranger Allison Stewart, who worked diligently to get the road opened on even a limited basis for hunters, pulled off the opening at the last minute, even though there were many USFS staff who were concerned about the possible damage. She emphasized that the road could be closed if there is poor compliance.

"The area is still very fragile and we're still extremely concerned about the potential for vehicle damage. Regrowth is just beginning in many locations, and the area remains highly susceptible to erosion. Even the slightest vehicle use off of designated roads could set back the fire recovery," said Stewart. The road was tentatively slated to be open again this weekend from 9 a.m. Friday through 9 a.m. Monday and closed during the week. Hunters can call the San Bernardino National Forest's Arrowhead Ranger District office at (909) 337-2444 to find out the status of the road in coming weeks. Hunters with cell phones can also call this number to report off-road vehicles or motorcycles violating the vehicle closures. The D14 deer season will close Nov. 12.

PHEASANT SEASON OPENER NOV. 11 -- 18oct00

Pheasant opener should be good in the Imperial Valley

The Nov. 11 pheasant season opener should garner more attention for Southern California hunters this year thanks to good production of the big birds in Imperial County, according to the Department of Fish and Game staff. "I've been in Imperial County since 1980, and there's more pheasants this year than I've ever seen," said Lt. Joe Brana, state Department of Fish and Game warden in El Centro. He said the Imperial County pheasant population has "sky-rocketed" during the past five years. "It's not uncommon to see 400 pheasants on a morning patrol, just driving the roads," said Brana.

Brana attributes the sudden rise in pheasant populations to a five-year shift in an agriculture industry preference from primarily lettuce, melon and alfalfa crops, to asparagus and suddan grass, enhancing considerably both cover availability and quality for birds. The new crops expand habitat in which pheasants conceal themselves from predators. "Until recently, I never saw pheasants on the north end of the county near Brawley and north of Holtville, but they're there now," Brana said. Pheasants can presently be found throughout the valley south of the Salton Sea, with largest concentrations located in fields south, west and east of El Centro.

Brana suggested hunters scout alfalfa and other crop fields situated adjacent to asparagus and suddan grass crops, for best results. He noted that locations posted "no hunting" or "no trespassing", fields under cultivation, and fenced property require written landowner permission before they can be hunted. Fenced lands that contain livestock are most always closed to hunters as well. "Most landowners will give permission, especially to those who stop by prior to the season (and ask)," said Brana. Most all suitable pheasant hunting habitat is on private property, so preseason scouting and written permission is nearly always a must. Come hunt-day morning, Brana advises hunters to avoid driving about, creating a stir just prior to the 8 a.m. legal hunt start time.

Brana said such early arrivals encourage birds to vacate with haste those fields where they feed at night and where hunters have access, and scurry to the relative sanctuary of asparagus and suddan cover, crops off-limits to visitors. "People are spooking the birds ahead of shoot time by driving around. They need to park their vehicles a good distance away, and then plan to walk quietly to the hunt field so that they arrive at 8 o'clock," said Brana. Pheasants can hunker down in thick cover with the best of upland game birds, and a good hunting dog can make a profound difference, contributing significantly to hunter success. Those with K9 assistance might also try the miles of canals that ribbon Imperial Valley, where pheasants hold up in thick vegetation.

"With a dog, you can coax the birds out of those tight brush stands where they hide," Brana said. He advised make lodging plans well prior to the Saturday, Nov. 11 statewide pheasant season opener to assure a place to stay. The sudden pheasant hunting popularity in the valley has caused motel reservations to fill quickly for opening weekend. By law, only rooster pheasants can be taken. Shooting hens is illegal, and Brana warned that if a warden cannot identify the gender of a bird in the bag, a hunter can be cited for violation of Fish and Game Code Section 3660, "possession of pheasant carcass that sex or species cannot be easily determined."

To avoid this common error, Brana suggest when cleaning birds, hunters leave the head attached until meal preparation time so that wardens can always identify gender. Brana said additional pheasant hunting violations wardens encounter each year include shooting with an unplugged shotgun, hunting without an upland game bird stamp, and possession of a loaded gun in a vehicle. Brana reminded hunters that a "loaded gun in a vehicle" can mean a loaded gun laying on the hood or leaning up again a door, both unsafe practices for which wardens can issue citations.

Littering is a significant contributor each year as well, to not only the citation count, but also the closure of future hunting access granted by landowners weary of cleaning up trash and feathers from cleaned birds left by thoughtless hunters in local fields and canals. Pheasant bag limit rules are a bit different than with most game birds. Only two male birds can be taken for the first two days of each season, then three rooster pheasants daily are allowed during the remaining 28 hunt days. Possession limit is twice the daily bag limit. Hunting ends at sunset each day, and pheasant season concludes Sunday, Dec.10.

Pheasants Forever barbecue, fundraiser set for Nov. 10

EL CENTRO -- Pheasants Forever is hosting a fundraiser barbecue on the eve of this year's pheasant season opener in Imperial County. The event will be held at Rio Bend RV Park at Interstate 8 and Drew Road in El Centro beginning 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 10. Cost is only $10 per person for the carne and pollo asada barbecue buffet. Hunters must make reservations no later than Nov. 3 by calling (619) 447-1340 or sending an e-mail note to muscat@earthlink.net. There will be a raffle for a Browning BPS 12-gauge shotgun and other items, and hunters can also purchase tickets for the Pheasants Forever President's gun raffle to be held at its March 3 annual banquet. This gun is a Fabarm Classic Lion Grade 12-gauge. Hunters who plan to stay at the Rio Bend RV Park for the pheasant opener are also encouraged to make reservations in advance by calling (760) 352-7061.

WATER FOR WILDLIFE -- matthews column 11oct00

With the National Park Service threatening to remove desert water sources from the East Mojave National Preserve and drought drying up guzzlers throughout Southern California, there is a critical need for action within the state to improve the water situation for wildlife. I have a couple of modest proposals that would help solve the problem in the short term and keep water sources brim-full well into the future.

First, the Department of Fish and Game and sporting groups should work to get legislation passed that mandates there be “no net loss” of desert water sources for wildlife on public lands in the state, including the East Mojave National Preserve. Since the park service is being rather bullheaded in working with the state agency in drafting a management plan that works with the DFG on hunting and management, statewide legislation would force the Park Service’s hand in allowing for the maintenance of all the guzzlers and historic stock watering devices in the East Mojave that have made this region a wildlife Mecca. It would assure that windmills and cattle tanks will remain in place for all wildlife.

It would also give the Forest Service an incentive to make permanent its funding for a pilot program, funded with Adventure Pass money, that is inventorying and performing maintenance of all wildlife water on the four Southern California forests. It would also encourage the DFG to work cooperatively with federal agencies to maintain the water. Just on the San Bernardino National Forest, a joint DFG/USFS effort had surveyed 58 water sources this summer and found that a third needed major maintenance. That work was being scheduled. Minor work was completed on another third, and the remaining third were in good condition.

Second, the DFG needs to adopt a mitigation policy that will allow developers, who all must file and pay for environmental assessments, the option of purchasing mitigation in the form funding the construction of a big game or gamebird drinker on state-owned or federal land. This would be similar to mitigation measures in place for large developers who purchase other lands to mitigate for where they are developing. But it would allow the DFG and wildlife to benefit on smaller, rubber-stamp developments. The DFG would get more than paperwork and lost staff time out of these development approvals.

All developments, especially in the desert, should have a provision for adding wildlife water. For example, for approval of powerline corridors or annual repair and maintenance of these areas, groups like Southern California Edison should be required to install water tanks along the powerlines on public lands that provide water for wildlife. For a very minimal expense to those projects, the benefit to wildlife would be huge and help met the requirement to mitigate for wildlife damages -- past and present.

There is no question that for wildlife in the southern half of the state, permanent water is the No. 1 factor in the distribution of wildlife, and season water -- rainfall -- is the critical factor that determines volume of wildlife, especially gamebirds. The more permanent water, the more coveys we have. The more rain we have, the bigger the coveys. The state and its state agencies need to get back into the “water for wildlife” business in a big way.

In my own bird scouting this year, I have repeatedly found quail and chukar around or near water sources. But I have also found dozens of old DFG and USFS guzzlers or developed water sources that are dry. Those places once held birds, but there are none there now. In the Cleveland National Forest, I found four old water collection systems, probably originally for fire fighting, that were largely still intact, but the wildlife component of the system wasn’t functioning. Two had full tanks of water, but none of it was available to wildlife simply because the systems were in disrepair. An old cattle pipeline that moved across a span of 10 miles of the San Bernardino National Forest with watering tanks every mile or so is dry since the cattle lease was dropped. All of these things can affect deer and gamebird populations.

If we can maintain campgrounds and hiking trails and put signs up to direct travelers on dirt roads, we can certainly maintain water for wildlife.

QUAIL AND CHUKAR FORECAST FROM THE DFG -- 11oct00

LONG BEACH -- Based on August Fish and Game field personnel reports, southland quail hunters will need a clear roadmap to find birds during this year's quail hunting season which kicks off Oct. 21, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

"We're looking at two years of little production because it's just been so dry." -- Andy Pauli, DFG wildlife biologist, Victorville. "According to the National Weather Service, we've had the driest winter on record followed by the driest spring on record, so the quail are slim to none this year." -- Warden Tom Jackson, Needles. "The desert is about 90 percent dry. I've never seen it this dry." -- Warden Rusty McBride, Winterhaven.

Perhaps the following DFG synopsis of the situation can provide useful guidelines to finding quail during what promises to be a difficult season. Last year's somewhat lackluster quail hunting results are, it appears, a precursor to a similar 2000 year season set to open this year on Saturday, Oct. 21 for both quail and chukar. The season will run through Jan. 28, 2001. The limit is 10 per day for quail with 20 in possession, and the chukar limit is six per day with 12 in possession.

Exceptionally warm, dry desert weather conditions for two years running foretells marginal quail hunting opportunity at many traditional locations. But there is no valid reason to stay at home and mope this season. While DFG observers in August bemoaned, shortly after the year's brood results became evident, a continuation of last season's marginal results, all is not entirely lost. A number of locations are expected to provide fair to good hunting opportunity, and most department field folks expect hunters will harvest quail during the 2000 season, although few daily limits are likely to show in shooters' bags.

Observers largely agreed that ample February rainfall at select southland locations was sufficient to trigger a brood period soon thereafter, but subsequent May and June showers were not forthcoming and second and third clutch brooding was largely bypassed. The following is a where-to guide, hopefully pinning those general locations on the map where quail are likely to be found, along with traditional areas deserving avoidance this season.

Best bet for western San Bernardino County area hunters is the high elevations of eastern Mojave Desert mountains -- the New York Mountains, Mid Hills, Providence Mountains -- where rainfall may have occurred. Look for green areas where bird production is likely to have taken place. Expect poor pickings in low desert locations, however. Wildlife biologist Andy Pauli, said summer survey results were disappointing with the average Gambel's quail brood in east Mojave Desert pegged at three to five chicks per, and a chick-to-adult ratio of just 1.9.

He reported no chukar evident during the east Mojave Desert survey. Chukar answered the call only in west Mojave locations -- the Red Mountain/Rand Mountain/El Paso Mountain complex near Randsburg. "I saw only two chukar broods of two young each during a five-day survey period, but I did see 160 adult chukar which means there are quite a few hold-over birds," Pauli said. N e a r b y t h e S a n Bernardino/Riverside county line, unusually plentiful numbers of paired-up mountain quail were evident in the Seven Oaks area of the San Bernardino National Forest, located north of Yucaipa within the Santa Ana River drainage off Highway 38.

But be forewarned, birds there are situated in thick manzanita cover, so be prepared for rough going. A well trained retriever would be of value here. Also, hunters are reminded to heed posted private property in the area. The Badlands area above Moreno Valley, east to San Timoteo Canyon and the Beaumont region contain valley quail embedded in thick brush, and hunters should scout the Lakeview Mountains located north of Highway 74 and east of Highway 215 where birds can generally be found. But again, hunting will not be easy going. In past years, lots of coveys could be found in the Mission Creek area off Highway 62, but this year is not likely to be as productive.

“If you hike high enough up (Mission Creek), there's a chance of getting all three: valley, mountain and Gambel's quail,” said warden Rick Fischer of Yucaipa. A long-shot Riverside County hunting spot is the hills between the department's San Jacinto Wildlife Area in Lakeview and nearby Lake Perris State Recreation Area. But hunters must rove the hills to find quail, as birds are not often seen in the nearby flat lands. Also in Riverside County, young birds were spotted east of Sage and at Bautista Canyon near Hemet. But be aware, bird locations are patchy in these areas and early scouting is required for best success.

Reports from San Diego County are mixed. Quail have been spotted in the Ramona, Cuyamaca, and Mount Palomar areas, and there are second-hand reports of birds in San Felipe Valley and near Jamul. Primarily young but large birds were evident, an indication that early nesting was largely successful where February rains produced green feed at exactly the right moment to set off a brood cycle. “Everything people are reading is that we had a light rainfall year and everything is popcorn-dry. But the fact for us is, we had a late winter with good, strong rainfall,” said John Massie, DFG wildlife biologist in Ramona. The outlook farther south in the Pine Valley area is not quite so optimistic. Very few birds have been seen, and no chicks. “And that's uncharacteristic for this time of year,” said warden Lt. Bob Turner of Pine Valley.

In Los Angeles County, a good population of mountain quail can be found in the Wrightwood mountain area, “but boy are they scarce in the desert.” Warden Dick Phillips said Dawson Saddle and Troop Peak always seems to hold mountain quail, but most small, high-country springs will show bird concentrations in the morning hours this season. Larry Sitton, wildlife biologist in Long Beach, said he has seen good numbers of valley quail near Forest Service roads on Alamo Mountain and Mutah Flats in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County. Fair numbers were also found near water sources at the department's Davidson Ranch property near Gorman, southwest of Quail Lake. A number of artificial wildlife drinkers installed by the U.S. Forest Service in the Liebre Mountain and Sawmill Mountain areas also hold birds.

Perhaps bleakest of all this season are the traditional Colorado River area quail hunting locations. With the driest conditions in several years prevailing, birds are scarce as pinecones in most all desert locations from Needles to Mexico. The only Gambel’s quail seen by department observers along the river was near alfalfa fields in the Blythe area. Hunters are reminded to remain clear of row crops where no-hunting signs are posted and to practice a good-neighbor policy with regard to trash and firearms use to assure those locations now open to hunters remain in the future.

In July, quail were seen concentrated in Palo Verde vicinity “buffer zone” brush areas between alfalfa fields and desert habitat. Gambel's quail were also seen farther south in the Winterhaven area along the All American Canal and the Colorado River but not many were located inland. Warden Rusty McBride tipped that much of the best quail habitat is found on Indian reservation land where hunt permits are required. Contact the tribal Fish & Game office at Indian Hill, or telephone (760) 572-0562 for hunting information.

THE SOCAL WATERFOWL ROUNDUP -- matthews 4oct00

Duck hunting season in Southern California opens Oct. 14 with the goose opener to follow on Oct. 21st, and state and federal wildlife officials are predicting another good waterfowl season. The question in Southern California is simply "will the weather cooperate?" The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that some 90 million ducks will be filtering down the various flyways this year. That includes 11.3 million mallards, down considerably from last year's record high of 13.6 million. Although the overall fall flight number has decreased from last year's 105 million birds, 90 million is still a very high index, according to officials at Ducks Unlimited. Prior to last year's record-breaking number, the record index was 92 million in 1997, making this year's fall flight the third highest on record.

Last year's record number of birds did not translate into record waterfowl harvests in Southern California, however, with most areas reporting a reduced take due to a mild winter that kelp many species of birds further to the north and generally dismal, blue-bird hunting conditions throughout the season. The continued one-pintail limit also did not help matters, even though pintail numbers have been up in California, and pintail numbers at the Salton Sea have been impressive. "As much as I love watching the birds work and being on the marsh at dawn, it hardly seems worth the effort for a single pintail -- especially when there are so many around. But I keep coming out," said a long-time Wister hunter.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that green-winged teal numbers reached record highs this year, while slight declines were observed for other surveyed species. Northern pintail populations also fell slightly and remain 33 percent below their long-term average, which is why California continues to have a single pintail bag limit. American widgeon populations fell six percent from last year's surveys, and northern shovelers were down nine percent. The breeding population of canvasbacks remained essentially unchanged at about 700,000, while redhead populations fell five percent to 926,000. The continental scaup population, which includes both greater and lesser scaup, declined nine percent from last year's increase, and remains 25 percent below its historic average.

According to preliminary estimates of waterfowl harvest and hunter activity gathered during the 1999-2000 season through the National Waterfowl Harvest Survey, hunters harvested nearly 15.8 million ducks last season, a seven percent decrease from the previous season. Persons buying duck stamps for hunting averaged nearly nine days afield and harvested an average of nearly 10 ducks, down eight percent from the previous season's level. The limit will again be seven ducks this year, including no more than two hen mallards, two redheads, one canvasback, four scaup, and one pintail. The goose bag limits will be the same -- three light geese and two honkers. New hunters and long-time waterfowlers are reminded that most of the hunting on public wildlife areas is done via a state-run application system. Applications must be in Sacramento at least 14 days prior to the desired shoot day, which means time is past to get in applications for opening day on Oct. 14. The system is relatively simple but time consuming, and all of the information and application cards and forms should be available at outlets that sell hunting licenses.

Department of Fish and Game wardens also remind hunters that hunters must have both California and federal duck stamps and they must be signed across the face to be validated. Only non-toxic shotgun ammunition may be possessed in the field while waterfowl hunting. The following is a list of organized public hunting opportunities in the southern part of the state. Less formal hunting for waterfowl is also available for the hunter who is willing to scout out areas throughout the eastern Sierra Nevada, along the Colorado River, and at the Salton Sea outside the boundaries of the refuges and state recreation area.

The premier hunting area for Southern California waterfowlers is the WISTER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA and the UNION TRACT of the SONNY BONO SALTON SEA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE on the southeast end of the Salton Sea. Area manager Pam Cherny said she though that around 100 sites would be ready on Wister for opening day this year. She and her staff have been doing an extensive amount of work on the area.

Units Y15A and Y15B have been reworked extensively with massive salt cedar removal. The ponds also are producing a large amount of swamp timothy, which will attract ducks in big numbers. "They should shoot really well this year, though there won't be very much cover on the dikes," said Cherny. Just a partial list of other works done this year includes: Unit 514A has been reworked again to have water grass and green feed. Unit 515B has reworked fields broken into four cells. Unit 515c had one of its ponds reworked. Unit 513A had extensive cattail control to open it up for birds (and hunters). Units 312A has watergrass and units 312B and C had extensive cattail removal. Unit 115A has watergrass and 115B has new channels. Unit 15A has two green feed cells and it is adjacent to Y14 (a closed zone) that also has green feed this year. U10 and T10 also have green feed this year.

Cherny said they are leaving more nesting cover for resident ducks and pheasants on the better units (with good soils and more fresh water) that will continue to improve the area for birds. She said they were in the process of flooding up 14 fields and filling ponds, and she expects a good opener. "I flew just before the opener last year and there were 10,000 birds using the area. I expect it to be as good this year," said Cherny. Wister and the Hazard Unit (Union Tract) of the federal refuge are open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system and a daily drawing for sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The state manages the waterfowl hunting program for the federal refuge. For more information, contact the unit at (760) 359-0577.

The FINNEY-RAMER UNIT of the IMPERIAL WILDLIFE AREA on the Alamo River south of the Salton Sea is open to hunters seven days per week under a self-registration system. It is an ideal spot for a hunter with his own small duck boat or scull boat. While the numbers don't show it, the area can be very productive for a hunter who scouts the area and hunts it intelligently. For more information, contact the Wister Unit at (760) 359-0577.

The SAN JACINTO WILDLIFE AREA, located in western Riverside County near Lake Perris is perhaps the second most popular hunting area next to Wister. Area manager Tom Paulek said there will be from 30 to 35 blind sites ready for opening day, including at least a couple of sites on Mystic Lake, even though the water level is falling. "Last year was the worst year in 10 years," said Paulek of the area 1.25 duck average. "The trick is keeping the birds on the area, and I don't see us doing that [again this year]." Mystic Lake acts as a refuge area and birds leave the wildlife area's ponds early in the morning and raft on Mystic. However, the ponds have very good feed again this year and the birds are already showing up in good numbers. The first three shoot days of the season are always good to exceptional at the area, and the days with rain, fog or strong winds also produce well.

San Jacinto is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system or a daily drawing for remaining sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are also permitted throughout the shoot day. Shoot days are Wednesday and Saturday. For more information, contact the wildlife area at (909) 654-0580.

There is hunting at nearby LAKE PERRIS STATE RECREATION AREA is a sleeper spot for hunters in western Riverside County. Hunters are allowed to hunt until noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Only hunters with boats and motors can hunt the area, and the check-in station is at parking lots 11 and 12 at the jet ski launch ramp inside the state recreation area. (Until last year, the hunt was run out of Bernasconi Beach). Throughout the early part of the season, Perris is a very productive spot for mallards. Hunting in the flooded willow trees in the east end can make this reminiscent of hunting timber mallards in Arkansas. Good callers are often very successful here. Perris is open on a first-come, first-serve basis each shoot day and its blind site quota never filled last year, even on opening day. For more information, contact the San Jacinto Wildlife Area at (909) 654-0580.

At RAAHAUGE'S DUCK CLUB in PRADO BASIN, there are a minimum of 15 blinds open daily to public hunters on this club. The 2000 fee is $125 for a two-person blind. To encourage hunters to bring juniors, hunters with a junior hunting license can hunt free on these sites when accompanied by a paying adult, who has to shell out only $50. All of the duck ponds are already being flooded, according to Mike Raahauge, and birds are already showing in the area. Raahauge's, because of an extensive nesting box program run by the California Waterfowl Association and Southern California Ducks, is one of the best areas in the state to shoot a wood duck. Shoot days are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. All reservations are already filled for opening weekend, but there are openings for all other dates. For more information, call the club at (909) 735-7981 or check the club's web site at www.raahauges.com.

At the SAN DIEGO CITY LAKES, hunting is allowed at BARRETT LAKE, OTAY RESERVOIR and SUTHERLAND RESERVOIR. Barrett and Otay are open Wednesday and Saturdays, while Sutherland is open Thursday and Sunday. Because of falling water levels Barrett will have only 13 sites this year, down from 18 last season, but Barrett always provides the best hunting of the three city reservoirs. Last season 636 hunters bagged 1,669 ducks for a 2.62 average. Lower and Upper Otay are managed together and the Lower lake has good water levels this year and will have 20 sites, while Upper Otay will have just two sites. Last season 508 hunters shot 888 ducks for a 1.75 average. Sutherland has 10 hunting sites but few birds use the lake. Last year 59 hunters shot 75 ducks. It will only be open on Thursday until Nov. 26, when Sundays will be added to its weekly schedule. For information on the City Lakes waterfowl program, call (619) 668-2060.

LAKE HENSHAW is a scull boater's dream. The San Diego County water holds a good number of geese each year and a wide variety of big ducks. While hunters using decoys from shore or boat have good shooting, it is one of the best places for a hunter in a scull boat. The lake traditionally opens to duck and goose hunting later in the fall, usually around Dec. 1. Hunt days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The fee has been $25 per hunter per day. For more information, contact the lake at (760) 782-3501.

Also in San Diego County, LAKE CUYAMACA has a late, short waterfowl hunt. Usually opening around Dec. 1, there are 20 to 22 blind sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. A two-person blind site reservation was $500 last year and entitled hunters to six hunts. Hunters are rotated through the blind sites. Reservations for the 2000 season will be taken in October. Shoot days are Wednesdays and Sundays until noon. For more information on reservations, write Lake Cuyamaca Waterfowl Hunt, 15027 Highway 79, Julian, CA 92036, or contact Hugh Marx at (760) 765-0515. The website address is www.lakecuyamaca.org.

The Colorado River has three major national wildlife refuges, all open to hunting, and miles of Indian Reservation lands, also open to hunting with appropriate license. Two of the three refuges are also completing significant improvements for waterfowl, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation between Blythe and Parker is considering some improvements in off-river wetlands (more in WON on that in the future). Here's a quick summary of the river refuges, from north to south.

The LAKE HAVASU NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE has daily hunting on portions of Topoc Marsh. There are three access points on the open marsh areas. The Topoc Gorge area from Castle Rock to Lake Havasu is also open to hunting daily. This is all a boat-hunting operation, but the area holds a good number of birds and can provide excellent shooting. There is also normally a limited-entry, drawing hunt at Pintail Slough, but that hunt has been suspended this year while major rehabilitation work is done, according to refuge manager Greg Wolf.

The refuge staff has been working on the planning and funding of the project for two years. It is a cooperative venture between the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and Ducks Unlimited. The Pintail Slough project includes: expanding manageable seasonal wetland to 99 acres, adding 88 acres of riparian habitat, and rehabilitating 117 acres of agricultural land. Also, it will include the installation a new concrete irrigation system. "A most important facet of this project will be our ability to manage water at will. We will be able to flood and drain any of the slough or field units any time of year, and that will result in production of higher quality and more abundant natural foods and agricultural crops for waterfowl," said Wolf. For more information on hunting the refuge, call (760) 326-3853 or you can log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/havasu.html.

At the CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE on the Colorado River near Blythe, hunting is permitted from the farm field goose pits on a drawing held the morning of the hunt. There is also duck hunting on the open portions of the refuge, including the island unit which has been dramatically improved over past years with more ponds, cleaned backwaters and flooded fields. The refuge typical hosts over 20,000 honkers in the winter, and the duck hunting is very good but almost completely neglected. For information, call (520) 857-3253 or log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/cibola.html.

The IMPERIAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE sits on the lower Colorado River just north of Yuma. It offers miles of untapped duck hunting in hundreds of backwater potholes and lakes and along the main river. Outside of a handful of hunters in Yuma who would prefer this secret not be let out, there is almost no hunting pressure on this stretch of the river. For more information, call (520) 783-3371 or log on to the refuge's web site at: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/arizona/imperial.html.

The KERN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is a popular destination for hunters who travel to the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. Refuge manager Dave Hardt said he and his staff were still trying to work out some water issues to flood additional acreage for this year, but he expected a minimum of about 1,000 acres in Units 1 and 1a to be ready for the opener. "We've got great habitat out there, if we can just get some water on it, it will be a very good season," said Hardt. He said the refuge's ability to have more water in the late summer has allowed them to grow far more vegetation, which is a two-edged sword. It does produce more green feed, but it makes for more brushy shorelines.

Kern will be hosting its Second Annual Waterfowl and Wetlands Expo on Sept. 30. This event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and feature presentations on marsh management, hunting dog demonstrations, bird identification, waterfowl hunting equipment use, a bird banding demonstration, a discussion on waterfowl diseases, and Hardt will give a presentation on water management issues that affect the refuge. Waterfowl hunting at Kern is allowed on Wednesday and Saturdays through the state reservation system or a drawing for leftover sites after all reservation holders are admitted to the area. Refills are permitted. At least half of the sites available for opening day will be reserved for walk-ons. For more information, call (661) 725-2767 or the hunter's hotline at (661) 725-6504, which is normally updated after each hunt day.

One last place to know about is BALDWIN LAKE, in the San Bernardino Mountains. When this lake has water, it is open to waterfowl hunting through the state reservation system early in the season, and then on a first-come, first-serve basis after a couple of weeks. The lake is open only to hunters with hand-launchable boats on Wednesday and Saturday schedule. Plans for Baldwin to have a permanent water source are still in the works and would improve the hunting opportunities here. For information on hunting Baldwin and its status for this year, contact the DFG office in Long Beach at (562) 590-5158. The bottom line is that opportunities abound for waterfowl hunters in Southern California, and we have some of the best and most diverse hunting available, but it requires a little bit or effort and planning. The time is now to start that planning process.

NON-TOXIC AMMUNTION ALTERNATIVES -- matthews 4oct00

When lead shot was banned nationwide for waterfowl hunting in 1991, hunters whined about the change. "Steel ammunition is too expensive." "Steel loads cripple waterfowl -- it doesn't kill the birds." "My old shotgun will be destroyed by shooting steel loads." Well it's time to quit whining. The newest non-toxic ammunition -- available now in an almost dizzying array of loads -- is better than lead, and there is now effective steel ammunition that costs about the same as lead waterfowl loads did back in the 1980s -- if you make adjustments for inflation. There is even ammo available that can be shot from ancient, skinny-barreled shotguns.

The new, budget steel loads from Federal and Winchester are on the market this year for less than $10 a box of 25 shells. These are high speed loads that kill ducks very effectively out to reasonable shooting ranges. If you need something more powerful or lethal, the wide array of bismuth and tungsten loads are fully the equivalent of lead, and many of the tungsten loads are actually more effective. Federal's Tungsten-Iron loads and specialty Hevi-Shot loads will kill ducks and geese well beyond ranges where most guys can hit the birds. We can be thankful the stuff is $2 to $3 a shot because it's cost alone discourages sky busting. At realistic ranges, there has never been an ammunition that crumples geese better than these tungsten loads. The hard tungsten shot penetrates better, breaks bones more effectively, flies truer, and patterns far better than lead. Yes, they are expensive, but for goose hunters who can only expect to shoot a few times, the cost of this ammunition is tiny when compared to what they will spend on gasoline, decoys, and all the other costs associated with effective hunting.

Most exciting this year are the lower-cost steel loads. Winchester has come out with a line of steel in it's Xpert line and Federal has a new steel Duck and Pheasant load. Both ammunition will sell from $8 to $10 a box in most retail outlets and hunters may find it sale priced even lower. The ultra speed steel loads, those topping 1,450 fps, are now being made by virtually all of the major makers -- Federal, Winchester, Remington, PMC and Fiochi -- along with many of the smaller specialty companies. These loads generally cost from $14 to $22 for a box of 25, depending on the company and configuration. These are the loads that have changed most hunters minds about how effective steel shot can be. They simply hammer birds. Federal had also reached out to the duck hunting market with a load that combines its tungsten-iron shot with a steel load. The "studs," as they have come to be called, feature No. 2 steel paired with No. 4 tungsten at high velocity. They are priced mid-way between the premium, high-speed steel and the pricey tungsten or bismuth loads.

The cream of the ammunition crop for dedicated duck hunters and goose fanatics are the top end, the tungsten and bismuth waterfowl loads. Several companies are making loads in this high-end market. Federal makes both tungsten-iron and tungsten-polymer loads, Kent makes a great tungsten-matrix load, and the Bismuth Cartridge Company makes a huge line of ammo in all gauges. These loads cost $15 to $25 for a box of 10 shells.

Whatever you shoot this fall for waterfowl, the time is over for pining about the days of lead shot.

ROAD CLOSURES, BIG BULLS, MONSTER STRIPERS -- Matthews column 27sep00

Deer seasons throughout much of California will kick off Oct. 14, which also happens to be my eldest son's birthday. I was thinking about taking him hunting in the D14 zone in the San Bernardino Mountains, but thanks to last year's massive Willow Fire, all of the roads in the best hunting area on the national forest are still closed.

It wasn't supposed to be that way. The road closures were supposed to be lifted after one spring's growing season in most of the fire area and access to everyone restored. Thanks to U.S. Forest Service inaction the roads aren't opened and are not likely to be open. Not even a couple of the main roads through the burn. The whole area is open to foot traffic, but the Forest Service staff is still concerned about people getting into the fire area and riding around off road, which is illegal whether or not there was a fire, which would cause problems with or without the fire. So they put the public behind locked gates, punishing the innocent for what hasn't happened and probably wouldn't happen in any significant way.

Some have suggested that foot traffic in this area is adequate (they see the area as a defacto wilderness that shouldn't have vehicles). The closed area is 14 miles wide and half that tall. Many of the better hunting areas are five to six miles, as the crow flies, from the nearest road access right now. In real terrain, that can be six to 10 miles of actual hiking. Since most of the hunters I know cover a lot of ground, away from roads, they don't have a problem with walking. But this is a little extreme. Hunts that could be made in one-day, when you left the truck at 3 a.m. and hiked for three hours in the dark to be on a ridgeline glassing at dawn, now have to be made into multi-day trips. A lot of guys simply don't have the time for that these days. For them, this is effectively a hunting closure.

I was assured that forest staff wanted to get those roads opened, but that it would take all kinds of legwork and effort to make it happen by hunting season. So instead of actually making that effort, they're going to wait until next year. Why is that? I don't want to think that people are just plain lazy, or maybe biased against hunters, but time and time again it really looks like bias. The East Mojave National Preserve draft management plan was a shocker, lambasting the group (hunters) who most use that desert and fought for the passage of the Desert Protection Act. And now the U.S. Forest Service can't even unlock a couple of gates for hunting season. It is almost as though the staff would prefer there weren't hunters out there, even though we buy more Adventure Passes than any other group.

One road. Most of the D14 hunters I know would settle for one road across the middle of the Willow Fire opened up (Forest Road 3N14, if you care to know). It's not too much to ask, and I'm not buying into the sales pitch that it would take monumental effort. If the staff is really sincere about "getting the hunters out there," as I was told, it could and should happen. The reality is this: We have two weeks to figure out how to unlock a couple of gates. All the bureaucratic and paper work excuses are just that, excuses not to do what they told the public they would do over a year ago. One road. It would be a nice present for my son, and a lot of other D14 deer hunters. We're going to be walking plenty of miles as it is, we don't need a bureaucrat to arbitrarily add to the distance.

Bear tags are a hot item this year with the sales tally at 17,925 tags as of Monday. Until this year, there had been a quota on bear tag sales at 15,000, which never made much sense because the season was closed each fall when the statewide bear harvest hit 1,500 animals. That number has been reached each year for the past several years and biologists estimate the bear population is still growing. So the only real difference between this year and last year is that more hunters will take to the field after bears and the DFG will pocket at least $80,000 in tag fees more for its game management programs. Good job DFG.

Stripers that weigh 50 pounds are not very common. When two of them that size are caught within days of each other at one location, something is up. This past week, Allan Cole, the legendary designer of the A.C. Plug, and Jerry Rago, both of Boulder City, caught striped bass in the Willow Beach area that tipped the scales at or just above 52 pounds. There has been a flurry of big fish caught at Willow recently. What's up with that? First, Arizona and Nevada have been planting the Willow Beach stretch with rainbow trout almost weekly this year. Lots of food. That's first. But second, flows are falling as Lake Mohave's water level is lowered to do boat ramp construction at Willow and Cottonwood. The result is that the trout are forced out of traditional shoreline cover into the main river channel making them more available to the stripers. Don't be surprised to see a new record striper from this area in the coming weeks. I wouldn't be shocked by an 80-pounder.

The Boone and Crockett Club has a record book for all North American big game animals, and the scoring system for deer and elk is based on length, circumference, and spread of an animals' antlers. A bull elk that scores over 400 points is about 100 times as rare as 50-pound striped bass. Maybe a 10,000 times. Bakersfield hunter Brad Peters shot a bull Sept. 11 that scored 436 points. It didn't come from Arizona or New Mexico, where most of the really big bulls are being taken today. It wasn't a Nevada bull or one of the remnant monsters from Idaho or Wyoming or Colorado.

The bull came from the Tejon Ranch in southern Kern County here in California. The 280,000-acre Tejon is only two hours' drive from downtown Los Angeles, but it is really closer to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1900 than it is to Los Angeles today. To visit the Tejon is to step back in time and see California in an earlier era. It is hard to believe there is a huge, wild population of elk that close to this urban center, and it is even harder to believe that animals that size still exist. It's little things like this -- actually a very huge thing in this case -- that make me love California.

State record bull elk taken on Tejon Ranch

LEBEC -- A state record Rocky Mountain bull elk was taken Sept. 11 on the Tejon Ranch by Bakersfield hunter Brad Peters, and the tremendous bull is expected to be in the top five of the all-time record book kept nationally by the Boone and Crockett Club. The bull was rough-measured at 436 points (or inches) in a complex measuring system that combines length of all antler tines, circumference at certain points, and spread. With that score, the bull is easily the largest ever taken in California, and even after the required drying period, it should place in the top five of the record book for non-typical antlered elk. "It's basic frame is just a huge bull," said Don Geivet, the game manager on the 280,000-acre ranch located in southern Kern County. "I can't begin to close my fingers on the main beams of this bull. It's just a massive animal and everything is long."

The previous record bull taken on the Tejon was a 377-point animal with a couple of broken tips on antler tines. The Tejon Ranch elk herd has undergone massive growth in the past few years, jumping from a low of less than 40 animals to over 400 now, according to Geivet. There are three types of elk in California, the tule elk, the Roosevelt elk and the Rocky Mountain elk. The Tejon herd is an introduced population of Rocky Mountain elk. Rocky Mountain elk also occur on Mt. Shasta in northern California. The Rocky Mountain is the largest of the elk species in antler size.

D17 zone deer tags sold out this week

SACRAMENTO -- The D17 deer hunting zone, which encompasses the East Mojave Preserve, sold out its 500 tag quota Monday this week, but most other Southern California deer zones continue to have tags available, according to the Department of Fish and Game's license and revenue branch. Two other deer zones are approaching their quotas. The D14 zone, which includes all of the San Bernardino Mountains, had only 564 tags remaining in its 3,000-tag quota as of Monday, while the D19 zone, which consists of the San Jacinto Mountains and surrounding areas, had 616 tags remaining in its 1,500-tag quota.

All other Southern California zones and special archery hunts still have tags. The following is a statewide list of the zone, its quota in parenthesis, and remaining number of tags as of Monday this week: D3-5 (33,000) 7,976, D8 (8,000) 2,124, D10 (700) 130, D11 (5,500) 2,819, D13 (4,000) 1,618, D14 (3,000) 564, D15 (1,500) 1,085, D16 (3,000) 1,563, D19 (1,500) 616. The following are archery-only hunts: A22 (1,000) 257, A23 (500) 201. All other general zone and special rifle, muzzleloader, and archery deer hunts have filled quotas. Hunters are also reminded there is no quota on bear tag sales this year, but the season is closed when the harvest is 1,500 animals statewide. In the past, there was a 15,000 tag quota which usually filled in early October. So far this year, 17,925 bear tags have been sold.

Utah mule deer hunt could be the best in eight years

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah Division of Wildlife biologists are predicting this fall's deer hunting season in that state could be the best in eight years because of a series of mild winters and good deer production. Utah's 2000 general rifle hunt for mule deer runs Oct. 21-29. Nonresident permits for the southern part of the state have sold out, but permits for the northern, central and northeast areas (known as the Northern, Central and Northeastern regions) remain available. "Deer numbers are as high as they've been since 1993," said Steve Flinders, big game coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Utah has enjoyed many mild winters since a severe winter in 1992-93 reduced many of the state's herds. Since that winter, the state has seen a slow but steady increase in mule deer numbers. The state's mule deer population was estimated at about 320,000 deer this past winter. "We had a very mild winter, so we sustained almost no overwinter loss of deer this year," said Flinders. Even though they've had to endure a summer drought, most of those deer will be around this fall. Good numbers of bucks also remained after last fall's hunting season. Many of the state's herds had at least 15 bucks per 100 does left after the hunt. Utah's mule deer rifle hunters enjoyed a statewide success rate of 33 percent last season.

License fees for out-of-state mule deer hunters total $204 ($198 for a deer permit, and $6 for a Wildlife Habitat Authorization license). California hunters make up the largest block of hunters coming to Utah from other states for deer season. Out-of-state hunters may purchase a Utah nonresident mule deer permit any of the following ways: -- Over the Internet. Because it takes 14 days for a permit to arrive in the mail, hunters must use this option no later than the first week in October so their permit will arrive before the start of the season. Hunters who have a MasterCard or Visa credit card may use this option by logging onto the Division's web site at www.nr.state.ut.us/dwr/dwr.htm. To access the section of the site that allows you to buy a permit, click on the trout in the upper right hand corner of the home page.

-- Hunters may obtain their permit through the mail. Permit request forms are available at the UDWR's web site (www.nr.state.ut.us/dwr/dwr.htm) or by calling any of the UDWR offices. -- Hunters who'll be visiting the state may buy their permit over-the-counter by visiting UDWR offices in Ogden, Salt Lake City, Springville, Vernal, Price or Cedar City. The offices are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, with the exception of the Salt Lake City office, which opens at 7:30 a.m.

Out-of-state hunters can learn more about hunting mule deer in Utah by obtaining a copy of the 2000 Utah Big Game Proclamation. The proclamation may be viewed on the Internet by visiting the UDWR's web site at www.nr.state.ut.us/dwr/dwr.htm. Hunters also may obtain the proclamation, and ask questions about hunting mule deer in Utah, by calling any of the following UDWR offices: Northern Region office (801) 476-2740, Central Region office (801) 489-5678, Northeastern Region office (435) 789-3103, Salt Lake City office (801) 538-4700. Free information about lodging and travel in Utah may be obtained from the Utah Travel Council by calling 1-800-200-1160 or via email at www.utah.com. For a fee, topographical maps for various areas of the state may be obtained from the DNR Book/Map Store in Salt Lake City. The store may be reached by calling (801) 537-3320 or by email at nrugs.geostore@state.ut.us.

Youth shotgun clinics are slated for Oct. 15, Nov. 5

NORCO -- Youth shotgun shooting clinics are now being offered monthly at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises here. The next session is Sunday, Oct. 15 followed by a Nov. 5 clinic. The sessions are taught by well-known local instructors and shooters Bob and Carol Collins. The one-day clinics cost $40 per student, including lunch, and the class is open only to those 17 and under. Reservations must be made at either Raahauge's or any Turner's Outdoorsman location. All youths must bring their own ear and eye protection and three boxes of ammunition for their gun. Loaner guns in 20-gauge are also available for youths who do not have a firearm. For more information, call (909) 482-1434.

MEXICAN HUNTING FEE SCAM -- matthews outdoor column 20sep

Bird hunting in Mexico used to be a dream. Now it's a nightmare -- an expensive nightmare. Once upon a time, a hunter who was willing to overlook the horror stories about traveling in Mexico's backcountry could get himself a shotgun permit and a Mexican hunting license without too much trouble and head south. What they found were friendly farmers and ranchers and tremendous hunting. Add in Mexico's liberal limits and it was a dream. The dreams started to dissolve seven years ago when the Mexican government, under pressure from outfitters groups in Mexicali, added a guide requirement.

Non-residents suddenly had to hire the services of a guide, but most regular hunters had many Mexican friends. It was a simple matter for a farmer to get a guide's permit and allow his friends from north of the border hunt his fields and ponds, usually for very modest fees. In many instances, California hunters bought the permit for the farmer. So the dedicated worked their way through this problem. The price of the licenses and gun permits also continued to rise. A little as 20 years ago, a hunter could get the whole deal for under $200. This year, the gun permit and all-encompassing hunting license (which includes doves, quail, pheasants and waterfowl) was closer to $650.

The plot thickened this year when several Mexican outfitters located in Mexicali, virtually the only source of licenses for Baja Norte, told hunters they would be charged an additional fee for each one-month period they hunted doves in Baja. That fee has been quoted at from $65 to $90. The "dove tag" or "environmental tax," as the different outfitters are calling the fee, apparently wasn't a requirement from Mexico City, it was a created fee, thought up by the Mexicali outfitters. Hunters were also told they could also only hunt with the outfitter's guides (for an additional fee) this fall. "[We] tried to get the documentation from Mexico City but they wouldn't send it to us," said George Chaves, a long-time Mexico hunter from San Bernardino. "All the hunting in Baja Norte is controlled by the outfitters, and [hunters in our group] think they've come up with this on their own. It's not out of Mexico City. Maybe it's the old government trying to get everything they can before the new regime takes over."

What it has done is cost the outfitters money and reduce rural tourism that helped support hundreds of Mexican families in popular hunting areas. Chaves said the nine hunters in his group that usually hunt in Mexico aren't going this year. He knows of other hunters who have canceled license and permit orders. Joe Gobster, a Costa Mesa hunter, said he demanded the outfitter refund his entire license money. "The outfitters turned on us this year at the last minute," said Gobster. "They pulled this crap right at the very end."

Virtually to a man, all of the regulars who hunt in Mexican related roughly the same story about the problems this year: 1) The outfitters have increasingly moved to control more of the non-resident hunting opportunities by making restrictions that mandated hunters work through them, increasing their profits. 2) The fees charged increased dramatically and each permit and guide fee added to the cost of hunting in Mexico. 3) They didn't get the licenses out in time for the Sept. 1 dove opener because they were concocting additional fees.

In typical Mexico fashion, the power is brokeraged to benefit a few. All the outfitters are licensed through Mexico's equivalent of our U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, called SEDUE. In Baja Norte, the state's manager of SEDUE is apparently the wife of one of the outfitters. That has led to all the problems. Through the outfitters' manipulation of the laws and fee structure, hunters from the United States can no longer simply buy a license and find places to hunt on their own. They must buy licenses through outfitters (they were once available directly from the Mexican government), they must hunt with the outfitters' guides on the outfitters' leased lands, they must stay in the outfitters' motels.

It is now set up so only the well-to-do can afford to hunt in Baja Norte. It is a private hunting club for those with money, thanks to the ignorance and greed of outfitters in Mexicali. The tragedy that the greedy outfitters don't understand is this: Baja Norte is a huge state that could support their exclusive upscale hunting operation that caters to the wealthy, and it could support the weekend hunter who drives across from Southern California, Nevada, or Arizona. One group will line the outfitters' pockets with money, and the other will spread money -- albeit in lesser amounts -- throughout the rural communities where he hunts.

"All I know is that our poor guide won't have the $1,000 or so our group usually pays him [over the course of the six-month hunting season] because we don't go down there this year," said Chaves. Hopefully, the hundreds of hunters who are not going to Mexico this year will have an impact on the outfitters' pocketbooks, too. Maybe they'll have to skip a few expensive competitive pigeon shoots or sell a couple of their $10,000 Perazzis.

Friends of the NRA banquet set for Saturday in Victorville

VICTORVILLE -- The High Desert Friends of the National Rifle Association (NRA) will hold its 6th Annual Banquet and Auction beginning 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum here. Proceeds are used to promote youth firearms safety, conservation, and the shooting sports in the High Desert. Auction and raffle will include dozens of fine prizes, artwork, firearms, and sporting goods. Seating is limited to 250 and reservations are required. For ticket information, call (760) 243-4201 or (760) 240-0067.

Youth shotgun shooting to be held Saturday

NORCO -- Youth shotgun shooting clinics are now being offered monthly at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises here. The first class in the series will be held this Saturday, and the sessions are taught by well-known local instructors and shooters Bob and Carol Collins. The one-day clinics cost $40 per student, including lunch, and the class is open only to those 17 and under. Reservations must be made at either Raahauge's or any Turner's Outdoorsman location. All youths must bring their own ear and eye protection and three boxes of ammunition for their gun. Loaner guns in 20-gauge are also available for youths who do not have a firearm. Upcoming dates for clinics are Sunday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 5. For more information, call (909) 482-1434.

Three Free Fishing Day events planned in Los Angeles County

LONG BEACH -- Three special Los Angeles County, Free Fishing Day events are scheduled to take place this Saturday, according to Jackie Kourassis, state Department of Fish and Game wildlife interpreter here. Kourassis said the department will stock 800 one- to three-pound, hatchery-raised channel catfish at Puddingstone Lake in San Dimas, and like numbers at El Dorado Regional Park fishing lake in Long Beach, and Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles, just prior to Free Fishing Day this Saturday. Free Fishing Day is a statewide, twice-annual event whereby anyone can fish that day only, without the requirement to purchase a fishing license. The purchase of a California Sportfishing License is normally required to fish state waters.

During all three events, DFG volunteers and interpretation specialists conduct a series of learning stations designed to instruct children and adults alike in angling techniques such as hook baiting and casting, fish ecology, fishing rules and ethics, and angling safety. Kourassis said free bait is provided all anglers, and limited sets of rod, reel and tackle gear are available for loan to those without equipment, with identification required for security. Anglers who own gear are encouraged to bring their equipment along. The Puddingstone Lake event extends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (catfish often take the bait best at night). In conjunction with the event, a blind-bogey catfish derby is planned. While admission and fishing is free, there is a $5 entry fee for adults who wish to enter the derby, and a $6 per-car parking charge is required.

The blind bogey derby begins with a fish caught before the contest begins, and then contestants who land fish that come closest in size to the bogey fish will win. Derby prizes include trophies for youngsters first through fifth place. Participants need not be present to win either event. Puddingstone Lake is located in the Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, 120 E. Via Verde Drive, San Dimas, located at the intersection of Interstate 210 and the I-10 freeway. For information, telephone the County of Los Angeles, Department of Parks and Recreation at (909) 599-8411. El Dorado Regional Park is found at 7550 E. Spring Street, Long Beach, adjacent to Interstate 605 at the Spring Street offramp.

Kourassis said the El Dorado Free Fishing Day event extends from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Area 3 where the fishing lakes are located. In addition to fishing, the special Free Fishing Day event features train rides, and food and beverage sales. A $5 per-vehicle parking fee is required. For additional information, telephone Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine at (562) 570-1771. A third Free Fishing Day event is set for Echo Park Lake located at 1632 Bellevue Ave., Los Angeles. Telephone (562) 590-5164 for additional information.

Turner's Outdoorman hosts duck hunting seminar and all-day duck extravaganza

CHINO -- Turner's Outdoorman and Hunter Specialties are hosting two educational duck hunting seminars this month, according to Andy McCormick, head of public relations for the chain of Southern California stores. One seminar will be held beginning 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at the San Marcos Turner's store, and the second event will be an all-day affair starting 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises in Norco. Both events will feature J.R. Keller, a Hunter's Specialties Prostaffer and champion duck caller, and the all-day event will also have John Vaca, also with Hunter's Specialties, who is a champion goose caller.

The San Marcos seminar will last approximately 1 1/2-hours and feature a slide show and demonstrations on calling techniques. The California Waterfowl Association will also be on hand to provide information on local duck hunting opportunities and news from local chapters. The Norco event will feature both Vaca and Keller giving calling and waterfowl hunting informational sessions. In addition, those attending the event can attend retriever dog training demonstrations, pattern their shotgun with steel ammunition they bring or that provided by Federal, shoot the five-stand clay target course, and tour the duck ponds at Raahauge's. For more information or to make reservations for the San Marco event, call the San Marco Turner's at (760) 741-1570. For information on the Norco event, call Raahauge's at (909) 735-7981.

MOJAVE MANAGEMENT PLAN OUT -- matthews column 13sep

The recently-released general management plan and environmental impact statement for the East Mojave Preserve is prejudicial against hunters and fails to protect all the man-made desert watering sources that have made the East Mojave an oasis for wildlife.

The preferred alternative of the plan calls for the elimination of hunting from February through August, it would end to predator hunting, it suggests that all man-made water could and probably should be removed, and its language insinuates that hunters are somehow a lower class of preserve visitor. While there are many parts of the plan that trouble me, I am most concerned about four things.

1) First, I am outraged by the use of language that somehow suggests that other visitors are more appropriate and deserving to use the preserve than hunters. The document suggests that all hunting should be eliminated from the preserve from February through August and that huge one-mile rifle hunting buffers are set up around campgrounds and other visitor areas so "non-hunting visitors would experience fewer disruptions and greater safety."

The reality is that safety is not an issue. State law requires only a 150-yard buffer from a road or occupied dwelling. In fact, there is not a single incident that I have been able to find where a hunter's bullet has injured a hiker or camper. There are hunting accidents where a someone shoots another hunter or themselves (usually in a vehicle being stupid, but those numbers have steadily declined thanks to hunter safety training), and there are reports of one or two incidents in the East where a bullet goes through a rural home's window and kills someone (which I suspect is murder and not a hunting accident), but there's not a single incident that I can find that would justify the one-mile buffers.

I am most offended, however, that non-hunting visitors are somehow more important than hunting visitors. How is it that disruptions of their activities are deemed more important than non-hunters disruptions of hunter's activities. In fact, non-hunting visitors are far more likely to disrupt hunters by their presence than the other scenario. Hunters typically staff off trails and hunt areas of little activity because that is where wildlife is located. Is the National Park Service staff willing to close the park to everyone else except hunters during the hunting seasons to make sure we would "experience fewer disruptions?" This is simply prejudice, either way, and the wording should be removed from the document and from the staff's mindset.

2) The attitude and ignorance the park service staff shows toward hunting and its relationship to wildlife in its bias against hunting predators is frightening. It is willing to allow -- as required by the legislation that created the preserve -- hunting for deer and sheep and quail, but predators are somehow sacred. The management staff "feels very strongly that killing of predators is inconsistent with our mission of preserving a naturally functioning ecosystem." So hunter harvest of deer or quail doesn't interfere with that system but shooting a coyote does? They are so out of touch with reality, this one defies logic and common sense. The law requires that they abide by the state-mandated regulations and predator hunting should be allowed.

3) The preserve's staff attitude toward man-made desert water sources is profound, and I think reflects its bias against hunters and probably all visitors. Guzzlers and stock tanks has made the East Mojave a wildlife oasis by adding water throughout the region and allow animals to use habitat that would otherwise be inaccessible because the one essential ingredient was missing -- water. It is striking how much wildlife this desert has when it has access to water. This is not just about game, either. It is about all wildlife.

But it is clear the staff who wrote this document would like all the man-made water sources removed -- wildlife be damned. Hunters need to encourage that the final document mandate that all water sources be considered not just necessary for wildlife but also preserved and maintained as part of the cultural resources of the desert. Guzzlers, windmills, and water lines from springs that feed miles of water tanks across the desert need to be preserved and maintained for their historical and wildlife values. This is a preserve that calls for the protection of the human heritage here, too.

4) Finally, the park service will be mounting an all-out effort to remove burros from the preserve. It will probably end up costing millions of dollars and the animals are likely to reinvade the park from outlying areas. While I agree the numbers should be drastically reduced (which has already been done through captures), I believe the preserve should combine its exemption of the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act with its mandate to allow hunting and issue permits to hunters for shooting burros to keep the population in check.

This would serve a multitude of purposes. It would keep the numbers at a low level where they don't further damage the habitat, while keeping a few around to delight visitors and retain the long heritage of burros in the desert. More than that, it would bring in money to the park to manage burro numbers instead of having to pay money to have them removed. If the park were to sell 500 to 1,000 permits a year at $20 to $50 each, it would allow a pool of money to be accumulated to do captures if the population rose above objective levels or build burro exclosures at springs and big game guzzlers. Why not let the burros and hunters finance their management?

East Mojave hunters should make sure they view copies of the plan and comment to make sure the final management accommodates hunters fairly and maintains the great wildlife resources in the region.

EAST MOJAVE MANAGEMENT PLAN OUT -- matthews news story on plan 13sep

The National Park Service has released a new draft General Management Plan for Southern California's East Mojave National Preserve that includes a number of restrictions on hunting and opens the door for possible removal of some game species in the future.

The comment period on the new draft of this plan extends through December 8 this year, and there will be a series of public hearing throughout Southern California beginning in late October. The preferred alternative outlined in the plan, which was released August 30, will eliminate all hunting from February through August, eliminate take of coyotes, foxes, and bobcats, and hints at eventual efforts to remove all chukar from the preserve and encourages studies to see if the present population of mule deer is non-native. The plan suggests that elimination of man-made desert watering devices for wildlife -- guzzlers, stock tanks, and wind mills -- could and should be removed if natural springs are restored -- even if it results in an overall reduction in desert wildlife.

While the enabling legislation that created the National Preserve specifically requires that hunting shall be permitted on preserve land and that all "regulations closing areas to hunting... shall be put into effect only after consultation with the appropriate State agency having responsibility for fishing and wildlife," the park staff in writing the document has emphasized a portion of the legislation that allows establishment of "periods when no hunting... would be permitted for reasons of public safety, administration, or compliance of applicable law." Without supporting evidence supplied in the document, the park service recommends that several areas be closed to hunting with rifles for public safety reasons, and that the February through August closure should be implemented.

"Non-hunting visitors would experience fewer disruptions and greater safety with the restriction on the [hunting] seasons, species, and areas where hunting would be allowed," according to the plan, but the same consideration is not given to hunters who's activities might be disrupted by non-hunting visitors to the park during the hunting season. The park service has also taken a very adamant stand against hunting of predators. In replies to its comments on the 1998 draft plan, it makes it clear that its staff will not support predator hunting. "The National Park Service feels very strongly that killing of predators is inconsistent with our mission of preserving a naturally functioning ecosystem.... We believe these species should be preserved as an essential component of the ecosystem."

The park service has also taken a hard line on the issue on "artificial water" inside the Preserve. There are 130 small game guzzlers and six big game drinkers along with over 100 stock watering devices, all which support wildlife populations. All of these wildlife watering sources would be retained only "if necessary to replace water lost due to actions taken by previous human activities." This could be taken to mean that guzzlers that merely extend the range of birds over the area and increase their numbers by opening up additional habitat could be deemed "unnecessary" and removed, even if it resulted in a loss of wildlife. As grazing permits are retired, the stock water provided for cattle would also be removed and the plan admits that would impact wildlife negatively.

All maintenance and inspections of water sources inside of wilderness areas would need to be done on foot or horseback, and motorized access "to guzzlers in wilderness would be considered extraordinary and would not be routinely allowed unless circumstances warranted it." The plan later makes it quite clear that there are really no circumstances that would warrant entering the wilderness in vehicles for guzzler work. The plan also opens the door and hints that if future studies show the deer in the East Mojave are non-native, they could be removed. Chukar, which are certainly a non-native species, are targeted for removal by hunters through a suggestion that the limits be increased during hunting season. The plan leaves the door open for future removal of these two species.

Burros are also targeted for complete elimination from the preserve, and over $500,000 is budgeted for 2001 to begin this task. Sportsmen who would like copies of the plan to comment on the restrictions suggested by the park service are available by writing or calling the East Mojave National Preserve, 222 E. Main Street, Ste. 202, Barstow, CA 92311, (760) 255-8801. The plan is available in either printed form or on CD-ROM. It can also be downloaded off the Internet at the following address: www.nps.gov/moja/planning/mojaverevisedplan.

Public workshops and comment meetings will be held on the following dates and locations: Oct. 27 at the Barstow Community Center, Oct. 30 at the Pasadena Sheraton Hotel, Oct. 31 at the San Bernardino Radisson Hotel, Nov. 1 at the Needles Senior Citizens Club, Nov. 2 at the Las Vegas Enterprise Public Library, Nov. 3 at the Baker Senior Center, Nov. 13 at the Amargosa, Nev., Longstreet Inn, Nov. 14 at the Furnace Creek Death Valley Visitor's Center, Nov. 15 at the Bishop East Sierra Fairgrounds, Nov. 16 at the Long Pine Boulder Creek RV Park, and Nov. 17 at the Ridgecrest Kern County Library. Many of these meetings are early afternoon events. You can get times and directions by call the East Mojave National Preserve headquarters at (760) 255-8801.

DOVE OPENER REPORT -- matthews 6sep00

LAKEVIEW -- Throughout the southern half of California, the opening day of dove season proved much better than most hunters felt it would be after a week of rainy, windy weather just prior to September 1. Field reports from Paso Robles to Yuma, Ariz., all seemed to agree: the weather was unseasonably cool and pleasant, but the hunting was just fair to good for those who had done some pre-season scouting or were tipped off to a hot location. Many hunters had a tough go of it. "It was one of the coolest, nicest, most comfortable openers in memory," said Richard Sprague, at Sprague's Sports and RV in Yuma, Ariz. "We had a lot of cloud cover. It was just pure pleasant. The only thing missing was the smell of pine trees -- at least that's what I was thinking, it was that nice.

"The dove hunt went very well the first day. I'd say it was an excellent hunt, albeit a little slower than normal. I heard no sad stories," said Sprague. He said the hunt was progressively slower each day into the holiday weekend. Rich Holland of Western Outdoor News hunted his usual spots on the Cocopah Indian Reservation south of Yuma and reported that while "most hunters scratched limits the first day," Holland said the place was "totally zooed out" with hunters. Sprague backed up the idea that more hunters were in the area this year, saying he sold more licenses (1,000-plus) and had more customers than normal. Rick Oefinger, skipper of the New Del Mar in Marina del Rey, also hunted the Yuma region, and he found a secluded spot with lighter hunting pressure and managed to limit out by 9 a.m. open day with his .410. The next day, he also shot a limit of birds.

There were 172 entrants in Sprague's 12th Annual Big Breast Contest. The winner was Stephen Bachman of Garden Grove with an 84.1-gram (nearly three ounces) breast. Greg Bradford of Phoenix was second with an 80.1-gram breast, while Norman Payne and Daniel Lohgry, both of Yuma, tied for third with 79.5-gram breasts. All of the birds making the top of the leader board were mature whitewings. They also had a new all-time record for smallest bird at 26.2 grams. Sprague said that, ironically, there were fewer crowds on the California side of the border in the Bard-Winterhaven area, and that hunters there reported good hunting beyond the first day. Further upriver in Blythe, Wayne Pinkerton at B&B Bait, said he thought the unseasonably cool weather pushed probably 75 percent of the birds out of the valley before the opener, but that "everybody who knew were to go had a real good hunt on the first day, but by the second evening it fell off drastically."

Pinkerton said the areas that held up through the weekend were both on the Arizona side of the river. The area on and around the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge and the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) reservation between Parker and Interstate 10 were good throughout the opening weekend. Pinkerton said the Quail Mesa area of the CRIT reservation was the hot spot. Ed Zieralski, the outdoor writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, reported that most of the hunters at the Cibola Sportsmen's Club near Palo Verde had limits or near-limits. The Imperial Valley was a mixed bag, with some hunters reporting excellent shooting and other hunters have a very difficult time. Zieralski said warden Bill Whiteley, who coordinated the DFG's warden staff in the valley, reported 1,000 hunter checks by noon opening day with an average take of three to four birds -- about half the norm.

Zieralski said wardens reported there were two hotspots in the valley. The first was an area south of Brawley near Keystone Road and the railroad tracks, that cranked out 65 limits opening morning, and the two mowed safflower fields on the Finney-Ramer Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area. Of the 200 hunters checked at Finney-Ramer, the average was eight or nine birds per hunter. The East Highline Canal near Nelson Pit Road was also productive and very crowded. Curt Stanworth, Sea Witch Marine, sales manager, his son Tyler, and Bill D'Andrea, all shot easy limits just south of Brawley. "Tyler got to hunt for the first time and shot his 10 very quickly. For a 13-year-old who has been shagging my birds for six years, he was dying to give it a try himself. The weather couldn't have been any better, very cool, cloud cover but a little windy. The wind made the going away shots very exciting, but the birds were coming from every direction so there were plenty of birds flying into the wind -- a bad mistake," said Stanworth.

In contrast, Jason Mathiot, Jon Woods and Carl Jones, all San Bernardino, hunted hard for three days to collect a total of 30 birds, which included a good number of whitewings. "I've hunted this area (along the East Highline Canal) and I've never seen it like that. There were people everywhere. But after the opener, they were gone," said Mathiot. "The hunting was definitely tougher than last year." Lee J. Hoots, the editor of Petersen's Wing & Shot magazine, hunted the Wister Unit and also had a poor shoot opening morning. "There just weren't that many birds flying," said Hoots. The north end of the Salton Sea in the Indio area was fair to good for hunters who found open hunting areas. As with many areas, the best fields have been posted the last season or two, but Elva Perez at Poor Richard's in Thermal said she saw quite a few hunters opening morning who had limits of birds. Bill Hinz and his son Mathew, both of Brea, had "an excellent shoot" south of Indio off 66th Avenue. "We both limited out by 8:15 in the morning and we even had one whitewing." But another hunter called the Indio area "a waste."

While most of the inland valleys have turned into housing tracts, there were over 60 hunters who visited the San Jacinto Wildlife Area opening day, and there were at least three limits posted by 9:30 a.m. by hunters at a safflower field. Several other hunters had near-limits. Bo Matthews, a 15-year-old from San Bernardino, finished his day with five birds after a tough start in the morning when he shot a box of shells for a single bird. By the second evening, however, the bird numbers were whittled way down at San Jacinto and the shooting was pretty poor. Clif Jackson, of Clif's Specialized Fishing and Hunting in Moreno Valley, and Jerry Vander Meulen of Gavilan Hills, both limited out hunting in San Timoteo Canyon opening day, and Jackson returned the next day and had another good shot in this area. "There's really good feed in there. A lot of guys have been hunting the area, but there were a lot of birds," said Jackson.

The worst reports came from the high desert area of Victorville out to Barstow. With the exception of a pretty decent shoot along the railroad tracks near Barstow and to the east around Camp Cady Wildlife Area. The high desert area had most of its birds clear out the two weeks prior to the opener. The desert springs that traditionally have good shooting held very few birds because wet weather didn't tie the birds to the water and they were widely scattered. August Harden of Cross Country Outfitters out of Paso Robles said the opening day was good throughout the Central Coast, with most hunters reporting a very good shoot in spite of cool temperatures. "I have five guys I set out at one of my primo spots and they limited in an hour," said Harden. He said the second day of hunting was about 1/10th the action as opening day, however.

The first half of dove season continues through September 15.

Deer tags selling rapidly for SoCal hunting zones

SACRAMENTO -- The sale of first-come, first-serve deer tags increased this week. Hunters are now allowed to apply for all D-zone tags with a second-deer tag application. Prior to Sept. 1, hunter had to apply with first-deer applications. At least two zones filled their quotas on Tuesday this week, the first day second-deer tags were processed. Zone D6 in the western Sierra and zone D9 in the southern Sierra both sold out this week. D9 had over 370 tags available a week ago in its 2,000-tag quota, and D6 had over 1,600 tags in its 10,000 tag quota. The C zone in northern California sold out its quota last Wednesday. Zones with tags in short supply include the south Sierra's D10 zone with 276 of its 700 tags still available, while the D17 zone, in the east Mojave desert, has a quota of 500 tags and only 69 still remain.

All other Southern California zones and special archery hunts still have tags. The following is a statewide list of the zone, its quota in parenthesis, and remaining number of tags as of Monday this week: A zone (65,000) 29,878, B zone (55,500) 31,575, D3-5 (33,000) 18,145, D7 (9,000) 772, D8 (8,000) 4,691, D10 (700) 276, D11 (5,500) 3,657, D13 (4,000) 2,238, D14 (3,000) 1,184, D15 (1,500) 1,193, D16 (3,000) 1,944, D17 (500) 69, D19 (1,500) 940. The following are archery-only hunts: A1 (500), 146, A2 (1,500) 183, A15 (150) 2, A17 (300) 238, A18 (350) 317, A19 (120) 103, A22 (1,000) 453, A23 (500) 266. All other general zone and special rifle, muzzleloader, and archery deer hunts have filled quotas. Hunters are also reminded there is no quota on bear tag sales this year, but the season will be shut down when the harvest is 1,500 animals statewide. In the past, there was a 15,000 tag quota which usually filled in early October. So far this year, 13,756 bear tags have been sold.

NWTF banquet set for Sept. 16 in Paramount

PARAMOUNT -- The South Bay-Redondo Beach Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will have its annual fundraising banquet beginning 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Compton Hunting and Fishing Club. Tickets, which include dinner, annual membership in the NWTF, door prizes, and a special membership drawing, cost $50 per person or $75 a couple. Junior tickets are $25, and dinner-only guests pay only $25. The event will include a live auction and raffles. For more information, contact Joe Coleman at (310) 379-7039.

DOVE OPENER -- matthews column 30aug00

I've heard it more than once the last few days: Dove opener should be a week earlier.

The theory is that this would make the hunting season start before thunderstorms and cooler evenings ran all of the birds south of the border for our annual September 1 dove season opening day. But the birds aren't all gone. They never are. In spite of a week of nearly constant thunderstorms, winds, and cooler weather, there are still doves for hunters in Southern California -- probably more here than just about anyplace in the West. Listen to these voices from the field this week. Gary Weiss, Department of Fish and Game biologist in Newberry Springs: "You should have called two weeks ago. It was wonderful then, but with the thunderstorms and winds, I'd say 90 percent of the birds are gone from this area."

Andy Pauli, DFG in Victorville: "I was up in the Owens Valley over this past weekend, and I was surprised at the lack of doves there this year. Around here (in the West Mojave), there are some doves along the Mojave River and at the desert springs, but not near as many as other years for opener." Wayne Pinkerton, B&B Bait in Blythe: "Shoot, I was really hoping for a good opener, but it just doesn't look like it's going to fall into place. The birds are still here, just not as heavy as they were, but that's typical for this time of year. The stronger areas are still holding birds, and we'll have a good opener, but I just don't know if we'll have enough birds to back it up for a few days." Jim Brown, San Diego hunter: "I was out in the Imperial Valley this weekend, and I've never seen fewer doves." Brown admitted he found a couple of places where the whitewings were thick, but overall he said numbers were down.

Billy Jewett, hunting guide and dog trainer in Yuma, Ariz.: "When we talked last week, there were doves everywhere, but I'm getting nervous because I'm not seeing as many today," said Jewett Wednesday. It was raining and the sun was shining while we spoke. Richard Sprague, Sprague's Sport and RV in Yuma, Ariz.: "Everyone is taking a wait and see attitude about the rain this week. I've talked with a couple of farmers in the valley who came in to get supplies today (Wednesday), and they said there wasn't as much activity, but there's still jillions of doves in their cut fields. "Yuma in a drizzle on opening day is better than most places on their best day. Even if it turns into more than a 30-minutes shoot, where guys actually have to hunt a little bit, well, that's OK too," said Sprague. I second that.

The further south you go this time of year, the more birds you'll find. The dove migration is like a wave that starts in the north and moves south with each passing day. Yes, the bulk of the birds could be gone from the San Joaquin Valley and high desert areas by opening day, and that makes it tougher to find concentrations of remaining birds. But there will be guys who will hunt stock tanks on the Carrizo Plain who will scratch down a limit of birds. No, they might not see the 200 or 300 doves they saw two or three weeks ago, but they'll see 30 or 40 birds, if they've done their scouting. Dove like heat, and in the hotter locations, the easier the dove scouting effort will be, and the better the hunting. Those who hunt the southern deserts around Blythe, Yuma, and in the Imperial Valley, are spoiled. They get accustomed to seeing 400 or 500 birds in a harvested melon field, and when the first migrations thin that number down to just 100, there is the tendency to wonder if the sky is falling.

Even if 75 to 80 percent of the birds leave town, there are still lots of birds. Sprague, and other Yuma residents, use small gauge shotguns during the early season -- .410 or 28 gauges -- because there are just so many birds. It makes the shooting more challenging. For too many hunters, the only thing that matters on the dove opener is getting a limit of birds. For some of us, whether it is shooting .410s in places with lots of birds, or hunting desert washes where we don't see a person outside our group, dove season isn't about big numbers any longer. It is about a couple of mature whitewings taken amid their native desert habitat of palo verde and mesquite, or watching a young hunter take a high, incoming bird after a half-dozen misses. It is about desert sunrises, chiding hunting partners about their shooting, and watching excited dogs work the scent in brush for the first downed bird of the fall.

If you stay home because you don't think you'll whack a limit of 10 doves in the first 30 minutes, that's fine with most of us who plan these trips a year in advance. We go for more than the shooting.

Lots of birds or just a few birds, there's no such thing as a bad dove opener.

Deer tags selling rapidly for SoCal hunting zones

SACRAMENTO -- First-come, first-serve deer tag sales are continuing at a rapid pace and many Southern California deer hunting zones are on the verge of selling out, according to the Department of Fish and Game. The D12 zone, the popular desert hunting zone along the Colorado River, sold out it's 950-tag quota August 7.

Zones with tags in short supply include the south Sierra's D9 and D10 zones with 374 and 381 tags available respectively. The quota in D9 is 2,000 tags, while the D10 quota is 700 tags. Zone D17, in the east Mojave desert, has a quota of 500 tags and only 149 still remain.

All other Southern California zones and special archery hunts still have tags. The following is a statewide list of the zone, its quota in parenthesis, and remaining number of tags as of Monday this week: A zone (65,000) 31,138, B zone (55,500) 34,764, C zone (12,000) 370, D3-5 (33,000) 21,656, D6 (10,000) 1,636, D7 (9,000) 2,224, D8 (8,000) 5,492, D9 (2,000) 374, D10 (700) 381, D11 (5,500) 4,067, D13 (4,000) 2,831, D14 (3,000) 1,592, D15 (1,500) 1,264, D16 (3,000) 2,299, D17 (500) 149, D19 (1,500) 1,118. The following are archery-only hunts: A1 (500), 147, A2 (1,500) 206, A15 (150) 2, A17 (300) 238, A18 (350) 317, A19 (120) 103, A22 (1,000) 576, A23 (500) 291.

All other general zone and special rifle, muzzleloader, and archery deer hunts have filled quotas. Beginning Sept. 1, hunters may use a second-deer application to apply for all D zone hunts which have not filled. Until that time, only first-deer applications may be used.

Hunters are also reminded there is no quota on bear tag sales this year, but the season will be shut down when the harvest is 1,500 animals statewide. In the past, there was a 15,000 tag quota which usually filled in early October. So far this year, 12,778 bear tags have been sold.

DOVE SEASON OPENER -- matthews column -- 23aug00

BLYTHE -- There are two things very apparent in Blythe during the late summer: heat and doves. It was 109 degrees well before noon, and there were about a dozen whitewing doves within 100 feet of the truck. They were pecking through a harvested melon field, seemingly cool as an arctic seal's nose. I had found the place by following flying doves from some citrus fields west of town. I would watch the direction birds were flying with binoculars, drive that way, and then watch other birds. Looking across the field with binoculars, I could see that it had at least a couple of hundred birds in it. Maybe more. There were a lot of young birds. Young whitewings have skinny necks and remind me of a gangly teenager. The young mourning doves seem to fly confused and have shorter tails than their elegant adult counterparts.

I dumped a bottle of cool water over my head, glanced at the sun, and thought to myself that it was going to get really hot later in the day. But that is perfect weather for doves. They clear out if it cools off too much. How much it has to cool off or what other factors drive them south is hotly debated among avid dove hunters, which means we really don't have a clue what starts their southward migration. But it happens every year about this time.

A little as a week before the September 1 dove hunting opener, field reports from throughout the southern half of California suggest there are great numbers of doves. Then there is fog on the Central Coast and southern San Joaquin Valley. The first cool evenings of the summer hit in the coastal valleys. And tropical storms send fleets of thunderclouds across the deserts, rain falls in random locations like water coming out a spigot, and howling winds whip up massive dust storms. Like happened down here Tuesday. And then the doves leave. Not all of the doves, but the big numbers from a week or two ago go someplace else. South, mostly. Gone.

My theory is that is has nothing to do with the weather. I came to this conclusion after talking with dove hunters all over the West. My chums in Montana lament that their doves leave the end of August when the first frost of the fall hits. That invariably happens before Sept. 1. In Idaho, it is August thunderstorms and night temperatures that get below 50 degrees that move the birds south. In Arizona, it's the tropical storms and evening temperatures below 80. Those are the stories I hear. Since the first pintail show up in the Central Valley and at the Salton Sea about mid-August. They arrive from where ever they have nested in Canada, and I figure the first doves start heading south about the same time. It's a sunlight-on-the-pituitary-gland-type thing. The days are getting shorter therefore it must be time to head south. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

What you can count on is this: For whatever reason, by the new moon at the end of August (next Tuesday), the majority of the doves will be migrating. Up north, the vast majority of the birds will be moving because they have further to go than the birds down here. My hunting chums in Idaho and Montana will loose most of their doves. For us in Southern California, it means the whitewings mostly will be gone and mourning doves are thinned out pretty well. But even if half the doves are gone by opening day, the melon field out my truck window in Blythe will still be holding a lot of birds. There will still be a lot of doves coming into the desert springs and flying the mesquite-filled washes where I prefer to hunt in relative solitude. A guy will still be able to find some whitewing stragglers along the Colorado River thickets or in Imperial County on a plowed wheat field. There will be lots of birds for the guys, like me, who've bothered to do a little pre-season scouting to find a few good spots.

We'll put up with the increasing number of posted signs. We'll sigh about an increasing number of people who simply don't understand our passion for hunting these little gray birds. We'll grouse about how there aren't as many birds as there were last week or last year or -- depending on our age -- 10 or 20 years ago. But for all the guys like me, who have spent several days scouting during the past two weeks, driving dusty dirt roads in 105 to 110 degree heat, peering intently at the horizon looking for the familiar flight characteristics of doves, it marks the beginning of fall and hunting seasons when a part of us that has been penned up inside gets to roam free again.

I can smell that it is almost hunting season when I wake up in the mornings now, the slight moisture in the air carries the scent. Just like there are genetic triggers that send the doves south, the stirrings in me grow stronger each day. I'm reading nature's subtle signs with senses I sometimes forget I have. On the first scouting trip into the desert heat, I asked myself what I was doing. By the most recent one, the doubt was washed away. It was time to intercept the migrations of game. It was hunting season, and I could feel it.

NEWS: DOVE FORECAST -- matthews 23aug00

BLYTHE -- Doves are one of the most populous birds in North America and beginning next Friday, September 1, hunters from across the nation will take to the field in the largest single opening day event in hunting. Dove hunting will open simultaneously in the 37 states that have a season, and more shotguns ammunition will be expended during the opening weekend of this season than will be shot at all other gamebirds combined the rest of the fall. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that approximately 25 million doves will be taken this fall by hunters out of a population that is 400 million birds. There will be about 1.5 million hunters who pursue doves this year, most of them in the field next Friday.

The USFWS reports that while doves are well below their historic numbers in the West, the 10-year trend in the population is stable, indicating that the steep declines of the 1970s and 1980s has bottomed out and that the population is stable again, albeit at a lower level, according to David Dolton, with the USFWS in Denver, Colo. "In looking at the trends, for the past two years and for the past 10 years, there has been no significant change in the dove population in the Western management unit," said Dolton. "I'd like to say the dove population is a lot higher, but it's very similar to last year," said Cliff Feldheim, with the California Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. Early reports from the DFG suggested that the dove numbers could be up significantly for this year, but the agency has been using incomplete data in computing its early estimates.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UPDATE: Reports from all of Southern California this week are good. Most areas have a lot of birds, but changes in the weather may move birds south in droves before the opener. August Harden, a wild hog guide and avid bird hunter, in Paso Robles, said there "were thousands of doves" in some of his favorite fields this past week, but he was fearful that "just like every year, we get some cold fog and the birds move out." In the southern San Joaquin Valley and high desert spots from Palmdale to Barstow reports were on just modest numbers of birds, with apparently a lot of movement already taking place.

Tom Paulek, with manager of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area in western Riverside County, said he and his staff were "seeing some doves" in the valley, and he expected a decent opener for the 100 or so hunters he estimates will hunt there opening day. Paulek said safflower was planted as feed for doves and other birds at the area this year. It is the lower deserts, along the Colorado River and in Riverside and Imperial County, where most of the dove hunting takes place in this region, and virtually all of the reports were positively glowing until this week. Why the change? Massive thunderstorms and wind storms whipped through the whole region, potentially scattering birds and sending them south across the border. Most remained positive, however.

"We had a little storm yesterday," said Wayne Pinkerton of B&B Bait in Blythe Wednesday. "But it was the first one all year, so I don't think it will move all the birds out." Mary Bradley at the Yellowmart in Blythe said that several grain elevators still had grain and that doves were still all over the south end of the valley. "It has been fantastic, especially on the south end of the valley," said Bradley. Steve Miyamoto, a wildlife biologist at the Imperial Wildlife Area in Niland near the Salton Sea, said there were a lot of doves in the valley, with a seemingly high number of young birds. He said winds scattered the birds in the past two weeks, but that "if weather cooperates, we should have a very good shoot." Both the Wister and Finney-Ramer units of the Wildlife Area were planted with safflower this year to attract doves, and Miyamoto said there was a lot of volunteer sunflowers on the area.

ARIZONA UPDATE: Bill Kerekas of Mesa Sports in Yuma reminded hunters coming to Arizona that hunters must have a $3 HIP (Harvest Information Program) stamp attached to their three-day ($38) or season (($85.50) non-resident hunting license. He said the prospects for dove hunters look very good again this year in Yuma and across the river in the Bard-Winterhaven area. There is a fair amount of wheat and melon crops in the area this year. "There are a lot of both mourning and whitewing doves down here, and the Arizona Game (and Fish) Department has worked out a deal down here with a number of ranchers where they leave plowed grain fields unplowed for a while. There are lots of birds around," said Kerekas.

A sleeper spot for doves is the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge south of Blythe, according to Bradley at the Yellowmart. Since steel shot is required on the refuge for all gamebirds, most hunters do not hunt Cibola. Grain planting on the Island Unit make it a good place with fewer hunters.

LEAD SHOT AND DOVES: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting a survey with doves to access their exposure to lead through the eating of lead shot, much like waterfowl. The preliminary results of the survey, expected to be completed this year, show that about one percent of sampled birds had lead shot in their gizzards (from eating the pellets) and in testing of livers, three percent had been exposed to lead. Depending on final data collection and analysis of the information, a significant number of doves could be dying each year from eating spent lead shot.

SEASONS AND LIMITS: The dove season in California and Arizona is split. The first half runs from Sept. 1-15 in both states. The limit is 10 birds per day, with 20 in possession after the first day. In California, hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. In Arizona, there is only half-day hunting, from one-hour hour before sunrise to noon.

Dove season seminar set for August 26 in San Marcos

SAN MARCOS -- The San Diego Chapter of Quail Unlimited and Turner's Outdoorsman are hosting a three-hour dove hunting seminar Saturday, August 26 at the Turner's Outdoorsman store here. There will be at least four speakers to talk about the upcoming season, hotspots, hunting techniques, guns and gear, and use of GPS and mapping software. Ed Zieralski, the outdoor editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune will be the master of ceremonies and give a presentation on mourning and whitewing doves in Imperial. Zeke Awbrey, a DFG game warden and avid hunter, will discuss what he's seen in the field in his patrol area in Imperial County.

Jim Matthews, the guns and hunting editor of Western Outdoor News and publisher of Western Birds, a Southern California bird hunting newsletter, will talk on maps, mapping software, GPS units and the importance of water sources in desert dove hunting, and Turner's Outdoorsman will have industry experts on hand to talk about decoys, dove loads, and shotgunning techniques. David Preddy, QU's San Diego Chapter president, will also give a presentation on the new arm of QU -- Doves Unlimited -- and talk about habitat work being done by the group in this region. There will also be a drawing for a framed Joe Garcia dove print among all the new QU signups. The seminar is free, but hunters are encouraged to call the San Marcos Turner's to reserve a seat. The number is (760) 741-1570.

This special story is from the Summer Issue of the CALIFORNIA HOG HUNTER newsletter due to be published next week. Copies of the newsletter will be available at all Turner’s Outdoorsman stores next week, but you can read the whole story here.

Hog Hunter Special Report. Lead bullet fragments in gut piles deadly to wildlife.

Expensive non-toxic ammo and other restrictions may be enacted if hunters do not work to implement the simple solutions to the problem.

By JIM MATTHEWS California Hog Hunter Editor

Successful big game hunters may be killing far more than their intended game. Lead hunting bullets and small fragments of those bullets left behind in gut piles or parts of game discarded in the field are poisoning a variety of species that scavenge on these remains. Behind the scenes, biologists are calling this “Project Gut Pile.” It is an effort to educate hunters about the dangers fired lead bullets and bullet fragments pose to wildlife. Most hunters are familiar with the requirement to use non-toxic ammunition when hunting waterfowl because ducks pick up the spent shot when feeding in shallow waters and die from lead poisoning.

But a huge body of scientific data shows the problem goes well beyond waterfowl. Very similar wildlife poisonings occur when carrion-feeding animals eat gut piles that contain bullet fragments left behind by big game hunters who have had successful hunts. The animals most affected by picking up bullet fragments in gut piles are some of our most majestic and — in some cases — endangered wildlife species: California condors, golden and bald eagles, ravens, vultures and hawks are most at risk. Other species that eat carrion may also be affected, including some of our most popular varmint and game species in California — ranging from squirrels to coyotes to black bears.

“It just blows me away how many times we have to keep proving lead is bad,” said Greg Austin, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s condor program in Ventura. Austin and his staff have been mounting an education campaign to explain the problem and its relatively simple solutions to hunters. “A lot of these guys want to do the right thing, which is really nice for us to know, but the word is still not getting out,” said Austin. The Death Toll: A number of condor deaths over the past 17 years have been directly attributable to lead poisoning caused by bullets or bullet fragments. According to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Recovery Plan for the California Condor,” three birds have died from lead poisoning since 1983. One of the birds had a fully mushroomed slug in its digestive tract, and the others were presumed to have picked up bullet fragments when feeding, probably on gut piles.

In June this year, three more condors in Arizona were found dead, and a fourth from the group presumed dead, all from lead poisoning. The recovered dead birds had lead shotgun pellets of two sizes (No. 4s and 7 1/2s) in their digestive tracts. Ten of the remaining 16 condors in Arizona have been trapped and tested for lead exposure. Eight have moderate to extreme lead toxicity levels. Six lead pellets were surgically removed from one bird. Currently, four condors are being chelated (treated with calcium, which bonds with lead) to lower their blood lead levels. These poisonings illustrate how susceptible the huge birds are to lead poisoning and that small amounts of lead can be lethal. While condors, because of their critically endangered status, are getting the most attention regarding lead fragments in gut piles, the overall amount of wildlife poisoned could be extensive.

“Condors, bald eagles, golden eagles, turkey vultures and other raptors to varying degrees are very susceptible to lead under these conditions. I really can’t tell you the affects on coyotes or badgers or other scavengers, but all living organisms — including humans — react to lead the same. The data is just overwhelming,” said Pete Bloom, a research biologist with the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology and former member of the Condor Recovery Team. In a study conducted by Bloom, he found elevated lead levels in 36 percent of 162 golden eagles’ blood samples he took from live-captured wild birds in condor range in California. Four had levels that probably indicated they were terminally ill, and many more of the other birds could have perished after being released.

Condors have taken up to six weeks to succumb to lead poisoning, which paralyzes the digestive tract making it impossible for the birds to eat or drink. Bloom said a single lead pellet, or perhaps even a smaller shard from a rifle slug because of its greater surface area, would be enough to kill a California condor. “Almost certainly” all of the lead in the tested birds, both condors and eagles, has come from shot or lead bullet fragments, said Bloom. There simply were no other sources identified for the lead in all of the studies conducted. Banning Lead Ammo: Because of its impacts on wildlife, lead has become a four-letter word in national politics and within the environmental community. Part of the reason for this is because the substance is so highly toxic to humans in even small amounts. Lead-based products used by humans are almost a thing of the past due to regulation.

The same may soon be true for wildlife. Even if the poisoning from big game bullet fragments is very limited in scope, the way is already paved to usher in vast restrictions on lead ammunition. “Lead is such a recognized toxin, I imagine one day it could be litigated [out of existence for ammunition] and non-toxics mandated,” said Bill Toone, a biologist with the San Diego Zoo who works on the condor program. “My fear is that it will come down to that, but none of us want to see that happen. Our tool is education.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in particular, doesn’t want to see lead big game ammunition banned. “The service doesn’t want to go through the same public relations and legal nightmare they endured after lead shot was banned for waterfowl. That could be completely avoided in this case,” said one current USFWS employee, who asked not to be named.

Lloyd Kiff, who formerly headed up the condor recovery program and is now the science director for the Peregrine Fund in Boise, Idaho (which raises endangered condors and Aplomado falcons for release back into the wild) is blunt in his assessment of what banning lead hunting ammunition would do. “It would just make matters worse,” said Kiff. “I know what the [hunter’s] reaction is going to be: a small number of these blue-collar guys will shoot the birds. We don’t want this to be characterized as a condor problem or an eagle problem. We don’t want these birds to be blamed if there is a ban on lead ammunition.” Kiff has worked diligently to keep the lead poisoning of condors and raptors as a background issue. “We’re not denying lead’s a problem, but banning lead ammunition would just create a bigger problem.”

Lawsuit Possible: In spite of the condor scientists’ hopes, they all recognize “there’s a loaded gun lying around out there. It may just be a matter of who’s going to pick it up and pull the trigger,” as Toone said about the mounting scientific evidence on the dangers of lead in animal gut piles. A lawsuit could force the issue, and a court order could ban lead ammunition in certain areas or even nationally. The Southwest Center for Biodiversity, through a lawsuit earlier this year, forced the U.S. Forest Service to initiate a number of measures to protect endangered species on its four forests in Southern California, including educate the public on the dangers of lead ammunition for condors. Toone said that if the agencies and sporting groups worked together to initiate a good education campaign, it could alleviate the problem and provide precedence for a judge to dismiss or mollify a lawsuit.

“People start out gently [on pressing for environmental change], but when there’s no movement, they come in with the axe,” said Toone. “It would really nice to be able to avoid the howling crowd.” The problem is that the lead-gut pile issue has been known for over a decade. Bloom said scientific papers written in 1990 recommended that some means of reducing the impacts of lead ammunition be implemented before condors were reintroduced back into the wild. That did not happen, and it is only now that hunters are learning the extent of the problem. “The sportsman has the opportunity to take the lead in the conservation effort in benefiting wildlife,” said Jim Davis with the Ventana Wilderness Society. “What we need is a sensible approach to protection, and I believe that hunters can provide that leadership. They only need to know what they can do to benefit wildlife for the future.”

Simple Solutions: The reality is that hunters could effectively eliminate virtually all lead poisoning in condors, vultures, raptors, and most other wildlife that feed on carcasses or gut piles. Alan Corzine, the director of research and development for Winchester ammunition in East Alton, Ill., cited a recent instance where the Japanese government was concerned about the loss of sea eagles to lead poisoning on one of their remote islands. It was determined the poisoning was coming from the gut piles left behind by subsistence hunting of sika deer on the island. Wanting to address the problem as quickly as possible while having a minimal affect on the residents there, the government looked at the source of the lead and recommended (and even provided) ammunition that expanded without leaving behind pieces of lead or those that were made of material that was non-lead. “There’s no reason that same tactic would not work here,” said Corzine at a recent meeting at the U.S. Forest Service office in Arcadia.

If hunters would exercise one of two options right now, sportsmen may be able to avert regulations that force sportsmen to use expensive, non-toxic hunting bullets. The first and most economical option is to continue to use traditional lead hunting ammunition for wild pigs and deer, but simply bury all gut piles so foraging birds and mammals do not get to the lead fragments left behind by this ammunition. Hunters should also make an effort to bury the guts out of the open so even the buried remains are more difficult for scavengers to find. The second option is to use one of the two bullets currently on the market that do not leave lead fragments behind when big game animals are shot. Those two slugs are Barnes X-Bullets, available for handloaders or in factory-loaded PMC-El Dorado ammunition, or Winchester Fail Safe bullets available in Winchester’s Supreme line of big game ammunition or as a component for handloaders.

While the Fail Safe bullet contains lead in it’s rear core, this is the part of the bullet that is completely encapsulated with copper jacket and almost always penetrates completely through the animal. The forward expanding portion of the bullet is made of copper (as with the X-Bullet), and pieces are not left behind in the game as with standard lead-core or lead-tipped bullets. With both of these bullets, hunters need to make sure there is both an entrance and exit wound. If the bullet has not exited the carcass of the animal, the hunter should attempt to find the slug and remove it. Both lead and copper are highly toxic to animals, and large birds like condors and eagles will often ingest the entire mushroomed slug and are likely to die from subsequent poisoning.

All other traditional jacketed lead hunting bullets on the marketplace leave lead residue or fragments behind in the carcass and gut piles of animals — even when they penetrate completely through the game animal. Hunters are familiar with how big game bullets mushroom and expand upon entering the body of the game. As the lead mushrooms, small pieces and fragments are left behind in the game or spun off to create wound channels of their own. When bones are hit, even more fragments are left behind. It is these tiny pieces, when left in gut piles or unwanted portions of game, that are eaten by predators and scavengers. As with humans, even small amounts of lead can have devastating effects.

Condor and eagle biologists would actually prefer that hog and deer hunters continue to leave gut piles out there. “It’s a shame we have to suggest that we cart it off or bury it,” said Bloom. “Hunters are actually providing a good food source for these birds.” As a result of the lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, deer, wild hog, and other hunters will increasingly hear about the dangers of lead left in game carcasses and gut piles. Flyers will be left on hunter’s windshields and personal contacts will be initiated both in the field and at sportsmen’s gatherings. The Ventana Wilderness Society will be visiting dozens of sportsmen’s clubs, hosting seminars in sporting goods stores, and making hunter contacts throughout the condor country over the coming year to educate hunters on the dangers to wildlife of lead bullet fragments in gut piles.

The question is simply will it be too little too late? Non-Toxic Ammunition: In a worst-case scenario, a lawsuit could force the federal government to mandate the use of non-lead or completely non-toxic ammunition throughout the range of the California condor — perhaps nationwide because of widespread poisoning of other species. Unlike with when steel shot was mandated, there are a number of alternative materials that could be introduced to the market quickly. If the requirement is for non-lead bullets, the Barnes X-Bullet already fits this requirement. If it is for completely non-toxic alternatives (copper is also toxic), the picture gets more difficult. Several makers have been experimenting with slugs made from tungsten or bismuth alloys. However, testing has shown they are simply not as effective as lead-based slugs. The materials are not malleable enough, even in a variety of allows, to perform like lead. The slugs either fragment into a powder on impact or they do not expand at all, similar to steel jacketed bullets. Both alternatives are poor for big game.

Even if the tungsten or bismuth slugs could be made to function, these alternatives are expensive, perhaps as much as doubling the cost of a box of premium big game hunting ammunition. “We don’t need to get to this point,” said Kiff, about the prospect of banning lead ammunition. “Certainly the people in the Fish and Wildlife Service don’t want to ram anything down the hunters’ throat, but that may be where we’re headed.”

HOG HUNTER EDITORIAL:

Getting the lead out of gut piles, and no more.

The biologists and scientists I spoke with for the main story in this issue on poisoning of wildlife from lead fragments in gut piles were not what I expected. First off, most were hunters. Second, the scientific evidence against lead is so compelling that I believe we need to work on three fronts to help educate hunters. If we do this, we can delay or stop the day when lead hunting ammunition is needlessly banned. Here are the steps I am advocating and have initiated through this newsletter to help end this problem.

1) Ammunition Rebate: I am approaching management at Winchester and PMC-El Dorado to encourage them to offer small rebates for deer and hog hunters in California on the Fail Safe and X-Bullet ammunition they load to help make it more affordable to hunters. Perhaps we can coordinate a federal grant or donation from the conservation/environmental community to make this an affordable option for these two companies. It could also be a great promotion to help advertise and sell these premium products because they are performers and environmentally safe.

2) Ammunition Flyers: I am encouraging all ammunition companies to include an information sheet in all ammunition shipped to California about the toxicity of lead in gut piles. All stores that supply ammunition to hunters should also give out these flyers with each sale, and they should be distributed at all hunter safety classes. I believe funding for this information sheet should and could be provided by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the California Department of Fish and Game. Perhaps they could also pay to have the flyer inserted into hunting magazines and newspapers distributed in California.

3) Varmint Lead Residue Study: I would like to see a study initiated that will document the amount of lead fragments or residue left behind in varmints shot by hunters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service condor recovery team has volunteered its portable X-Ray unit to use on carcasses to determine the amount of lead residue. This study should be designed, financed and conducted by the shooting industry and hunter-environmental community so a variety of standard varmint ammunition and loads are tested. It should be done in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I see this as a way of heading off attempts to ban small game and varmint hunting based on assumptions of lead poisoning.

If we don’t act now, someone will be acting for us.

-- Jim Matthews

Special DFG pheasant hunt application deadline Sept. 1

LONG BEACH -- As a result of tremendous public response to the Department of Fish and Game 1999 Special Pheasant Hunts program, 1,000 additional Chinese ring-necked pheasants have been added to the Southern California 2000-year hunts. Louise Fiorillo, Game Bird Heritage Special Hunts coordinator in Long Beach, said 4,000 pen-raised, rooster pheasants are ear-marked for 45 Family Pheasant Hunts, 12 Junior Hunts, and four Women's Hunts this season. The application deadline for these hunts is September 1. Geared primarily to accommodate new hunters, Special Pheasant Hunts also encourage a return to the field of former upland game bird hunters. Recent, first-time-licensed California hunters who earned hunter education certificates this year receive special passes for hunts, and anyone with a valid California Hunting License can enter drawings for hunts of their choice.

Two birds are released for each of 2,000 shooters expected to take part in this season's hunts, scheduled to take place in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and Imperial counties, said Fiorillo. "The hunts offer a great, memorable first-time hunting experience," said Fiorillo. "And volunteers are the backbone of the program. They offer expertise to novice hunters and trained field dogs to hunt over." Volunteers also release pheasants prior to each hunt, conduct safety clinics, and facilitate hunter registration, Fiorillo added. To obtain a special hunt application, contact DFG at (562) 590-5100, or visit the department office in Long Beach or San Diego. Applications can also be submitted via the department website at www.dfg.ca.gov.

Applications must be received by Fish and Game no later than Friday, Sept. 1 to be included in drawings. Fiorillo said late applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis once all on-time applications have been honored. Rocky Leivan of Huntington Beach and his 13-year-old son, Brian, participated in a Family Pheasant Hunt for the first time last season. "Our first thought was, 'The DFG is really doing something like this? Wow!' The people that were working the event were outstanding. They set out to make the event a low-key, family-oriented event. What a different image we now have of DFG," wrote Levin in an e-mailed message to the department.

DFG BUDGET INCREASE, WILDLIFE CUTS -- matthews column 9aug00

It is even worse than you could have imagined.

The Department of Fish and Game will see it's budget jump more than 30 percent this year, an increase of $58 million over the 1999-2000 budget, but game and fish management programs are getting the ax under mandate from Governor Gray Davis' office.

"It's the sportsman getting screwed again," said one disgruntled DFG employee. These cuts are coming in a most insidious way. While on the surface, it appears that the DFG is getting more money to implement both new and existing programs, that is not what is happening. The budget increase authorizes 204 new positions within specific programs in the agency, but to keep down the size of state government, the Governor told the DFG to redirect existing staff to 62 of those posts. That means that 62 people in existing jobs benefiting hunters and anglers will be reassigned. That wouldn't be too bad if the new positions were also doing work in game or fish programs, but not one of the staffing additions is in the wildlife management or fisheries management portions of the DFG, and it is certain that many of the diversions will come from traditional game and fish programs. Already several Southern California DFG staffers, formerly working on programs for sportsmen, have been reassigned to the new areas. Now that will directly benefit those of us who are paying the bills. This continues the DFG's gutting of major fish and game programs in favor of environmental assessment, endangered species, and non-game work.

I would be the first person to tell you that all of these program are critically important -- but certainly not more important than the game programs. While the bulk of the DFG's budget still comes from hunting and fishing license fees, an increasingly smaller fraction of its staff works in game and fish programs, even though this field work benefits the broad spectrum of the state's wildlife. Many sporting groups are arguing that the use of monies collected from license fees is being spent illegally on these other programs, and a simple reading of state Fish and Game code laws (sections 711 and 712) would suggest this is absolutely the case. With the budget just formalized, it was not clear where all the cuts would fall. Staff positions that were in limbo or at the end of their funding very quickly were reassigned to the governor's pet areas. But the ax was still to fall on other jobs.

"We're struggling now trying to fill those new positions," said James Trout, Deputy Director of Administration for the DFG. "We were told by the governor to redirect a significant number of positions to CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), timber harvests, and other programs. Where do we take people from to do that? Do we not plant trout? Do we not look at winter range deer habitat? What is it that we don't do to do this other thing? "All I can say is something isn't going to get done," said Trout. At least the DFG is owning up to the fact that it can't accomplish all the goals the legislature and governor are heaping on the agency. In the process of trying, however, the DFG is violating its legal mandate on how to spend funds in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund (mostly license fees) and other dedicated accounts. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The sporting community needs to sue the DFG over its inability to spend its funding as required by law. This lawsuit should attract all the fishing and hunting groups.

On a lighter note, a perennial trouble maker in the outdoor world, Phil Jay called this week to point out that all but one of the photos in the current issue of Tracks, a DFG publication on game management in the state, showed hunters in violation of state game laws. "The law says that game must be immediately tagged after harvest. Immediately! All of these guys are in violation. I called CalTip, figuring I'm up for a $1,000 reward per photo," said Jay. It's true. Only one hunter was shown with a tag on those antlers. Sadly, we know some wardens who might follow up on Jay's tip and cite these hunters using the DFG publication as evidence of the crime. After all, immediately means immediately. Taking time to shoot a few photos would mean you didn't do it immediately.

MORE ON GUN CONTROL -- matthews outdoor column 2aug00

The assault on gun ownership in California is reaching a fever pitch, and lawmakers are veiling the attack by calling their legislation "reasonable gun control measures." Reasonable? Here's an update on what's happening this week here in the Golden State. You tell me how reasonable this seems to you.

LICENSING AND REGISTRATION: Under pending legislation, AB 273, you could be forced to register and license all of your handguns. The legislation, written by Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Pasadena), would impose a number of restrictions on people who own handguns or want to purchase one. It would require that all handgun owners pass a written test of all firearm and penal code laws, be fingerprinted, pass a shooting proficiency test, and register all of their handguns. Fees could be astronomical for the process, excluding poorer people from owning these guns.

Thanks to a National Rifle Association mailing to gun owners throughout California, state assembly and senate offices have been deluged with telephone calls protesting this legislation. Spokespeople for State senator Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) and Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Rancho Cucamonga) said that they have been "overwhelmed" with calls. "The phones have been ringing non-stop, and we've yet to receive one in favor of that legislation," said a Brulte spokesperson.

A spokesperson at Scott's office said that they "were deluged with calls at both the district office and the Sacramento office." "Jack remains undeterred," said Wendy Gordon a press spokesperson for Scott. "His son, Adam, was killed by a careless gun user, and he and his wife, Lacreta, believe any measure that brings more awareness to the problem... is a good deterrent to senseless gun violence." Assemblyman Bill Leonard, calling from the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, said the legislation "will not achieve what it purports to do. It will not reduce violence or crime." Leonard said the legislation creates another bureaucracy that only affects law-abiding gun owners.

Scott says the licensing owners and the registering of handguns makes as much sense as the same requirements for automobiles, but Leonard said the analogy does not work. "I told Scott I'll do your car thing and go along with this, but I get to carry my gun and go anywhere with it, just like we can with our cars. He didn't like that at all.... "It's a misplaced faith in government regulation to solve all problems," said Leonard. This bill could go to the floor of the legislature as early as next week.

YOU COULD GO TO JAIL: The media and liberal politicians continue to call measures such as Scott's "reasonable gun control measures," the insinuation being that if you oppose them, you are not "reasonable." These same people then claim that gun owners have been crying wolf about the government eventually going to the extreme step of confiscating banned guns and imprisoning otherwise law abiding citizens. Well, now it appears the sky is falling. The wolf is at the door. Semi-automatic, centerfire guns with two or more features from a list of characteristics were banned in California this year. These are the so-called assault weapons. The California Supreme Court ruled on Monday that gun owners, who "reasonably should have known" they own firearms among those banned as assault weapons, can be sentenced to three years in state prison.

It is now likely that people who own military-looking, semi-automatic firearms will be jailed without ever committing a crime other than believing they had a right to own a gun in this country. Those who registered the guns before they were completely banned are likely to have an officer banging on their door, ready to take both gun and gun owner away. The law (and the court decision) has now codified discrimination against people who believe in owning firearms for recreation, hunting, and self defense and who've chosen to buy inexpensive, surplus military guns because they couldn't afford the more politically correct semi-automatics with walnut stocks and shiny, blued barrels. It is just more racism that will lead to increasing numbers of poor people, especially poor people of color, in our jails.

The most frightening part of the assault weapon ban is that it could get much worse at the whim of the attorney general. The AG could literally ban all semi-automatic centerfire rifles by merely arguing that all of these guns could qualify, with minor modifications, under the complex regulations. And since shotguns can fire slug ammunition, it could be also argued by the AG that they would also qualify as assault rifles.

No, that isn't likely to happen this year, but five or ten years ago, no one would have believed that a person could be sent to jail for merely owning a military-version of a semi-automatic rifle, one that is functionally no different than millions of sporting guns owned by people like us. Well people are doing time for this "crime" right now. The lawmakers who passed this legislation and the judges who ruled on the measure are finally showing their true racist colors. The law is about controlling people, not about reducing crime or violence.

The good news is that more of us, more blacks and more Latinos, will register to vote and then vote for pro-gun candidates in this election, and the NRA's membership ranks will swell with minorities and poor people who are finally seeing though the lies spewed by anti-gun fanatics about the benefits of "reasonable gun control."

DFG FUNDING, GUN IGNORANCE -- matthews outdoor column 26jul00

The Department of Fish and Game is on the verge of seeing its budget increased dramatically, perhaps more than doubled.

The state increased the DFG budget by nearly 30 percent, mostly from the general fund. This is the first time the DFG has received anything approaching this from the governor's office and legislature, even through both continually heap on additional work for the beleaguered agency without any additional money.

But an even bigger windfall is about take place in Washington, D.C., with the passage and signing of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), H.R. 701, which was passed in the House of Representatives earlier this summer and passed this week from committee to the floor of the U.S. Senate. This bill would create a $3 billion-a-year fund for 15 years to pay for an array of conservation and wildlife activities, from restoring beaches to creating urban parks to buying wildlife habitat. The money would come from oil and gas leases, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska.

Dirk Brazil, deputy director for the DFG in Sacramento, said the unofficial amount that would come to California through CARA is $324 million, and anywhere from a low of $17 million to perhaps more than half of that amount would go to the DFG to administer on wildlife, habitat, and outdoor recreation within the state. The state DFG budget has been less than $200 million until this year, so you can see what a windfall the DFG is facing this year thanks to politicians in Sacramento and Washington.

"I'd say that up until a couple of weeks ago, a vast majority didn't think this legislation would get this far," said Brazil. "Now it looks like it could actually be signed into law."

The legislation is supported by all the nation's conservation and environmental groups, including the traditional hunter-conservation groups like Quail Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation.

The bottom line is that DFG will no longer have any excuses for not devoting all of the Fish and Game Preservation Funds (hunting and fishing license dollars), deer tag fees, upland bird stamp monies, and all Pittman-Robertson funds (excise taxes on hunting and fishing gear) to fish and game management programs. Today, sportsman's dollars are being diverted -- probably illegally -- to threatened and endangered species, non-game programs, and environmental services work. As I've said repeatedly, those are all important programs, but they shouldn't be funded out of the sportsman's wallet. And they shouldn't be funded illegally.

DUMB DUNGAREES: I've worn Levis for years when hunting, but I won't be buying another Levi Strauss product until they end their ignorant support of the anti-gun campaign called "The Denim Wall," an effort to raise up to $25,000 to supposedly help end youth violence. The reality is the campaign is an ill-advised and factually-ignorant effort that "demands" lawmakers ban all semi-automatic firearms and initiate a licensing and registration scheme for all guns.

It's more Rosy O'Donnell hypocrisy: Don't show me the facts, our mind is made up. (Rosy: the ultimate ignorant hypocrite. She attacks Tom Selleck for being a gun owner, but it is OK for her to be a spokesperson -- at that time -- for Wal-Mart, which sells guns. She advocates banning gun ownership for you and I, but thinks it's OK for her to hire an armed guard for her child. We can't be armed to protect our kids in our own homes?)

Well, just like pressure from gun owners led to K-Mart dumping O'Donnell as a spokesperson, perhaps gun owners and hunters can again pressure a mega-company to change it's stand -- especially when the stand is so flawed. Big companies understand economics pretty well. If just one percent of the 60 million gun owners in this country stopped buying Levis, it could put a dent in their profit margins.

You can e-mail the company brass at levisstrauss@levi.com and tell them your intentions.

WARDEN COMPLAINTS: Increasingly, I have been getting complaints about Department of Fish and Game wardens. They write petty citations, harass hunters and fishermen, and are just plain rude to the people who pay their salary. You do have recourse. The DFG has a "Citizen's Report" form for both complaints and accolades. All complaints are supposedly investigated by the DFG, but I'm working with a couple of sporting groups in this region to keep a file on wardens in Southern California. Send me copies of your complaint forms and letters. The "Citizen's Report" forms are available off the Internet at the DFG's web site at the following address: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/complain.html.

SURFACE BASS -- matthews column 19jul00

I'm not sure I've ever seen a baby coot on a lake that has largemouth bass.

In the spring, you can hear the adults sounding their raucous alarm calls every time there is a splash deep in the tules where the birds are hiding, hiding their young. The splash is likely to have been made by a largemouth bass eating one of the baby birds. Maybe even an adult. Knowing that the birds get pretty loud in their complaining.

Largemouths like late spring and early summer because there is so much to eat. Young blackbirds are perching just over the water learning to fly. Dragonflies and damselflies are hatching in huge numbers, often getting blown onto the water in droves. Baby bluegill and crappie are coming out of their nests, schooling in numbers that seem to change the color of the water in the shallows. The school of baby fish looks like a single, pulsing mass that flows like a river through the lake shallows. And there are the baby coots, of course.

Bass fishermen like this time of year, too, because it is when you can consistently catch fish on surface lures. Chris Minnick, a Pasadena angler who has an annual fishing membership on the Tejon Ranch, had invited me to fish Tejon Lake with him from a kayak recently. Chris was throwing an imitation surface frog, and I decided to use the fly rod with deer hair and cork popping bugs.

The coots were noisy. Complaining. There was a lot of splashing going on in the tules. Dragonflies and damselflies were everywhere. The bass were looking up for something to eat, jumping completely out of the water here and there.

There are four types of surface strikes from a largemouth bass -- all of them exciting -- and they represent different types of feeding behavior and attitude. They can dictate an anglers approach to the game. That morning on Tejon Lake was saw all four types:

-- There is a delicate, trout-like movement where a bass leisurely takes an insect trapped and struggling weakly on the surface of the water. At one point, I could see a fish feeding on hatching damselflies at the edge of the weeds, gently puddling along. It was a three-pound fish acting like a four-inch bluegill. It promptly spooked out of the shallows when I splatted a big hair bug three feet from it. At other times, I have caught the bass on little dry flies with the fish coming up and gently sipping the fly off the surface.

-- There is a purposeful surge to the bait and hump in the water with the fish moving after a prey that is swimming on the surface. This is what Chris and I saw most of the morning as the bass mistook out baits for frogs and simply pushed up behind them and sucked them into their mouths. They were turned and heading down into the water when we would set the hook and try to turn their heads away from the brush or tules. A 3 1/2-pound bass and tow a kayak.

-- There is a complete leap out of the water, usually done by smaller bass, chasing hovering dragonflies or hummingbirds. We saw dozens of fish clearing the surface going after the buzzing insects. I remember a time my brother-in-law R.G. Fann and I were fishing a small flood control pond for 10-inch bass with light fly rods. The fish were constantly jumping out of the water trying to hit our small bugs before we plopped them on the water. Fly-casting involves waving the line and lure back and forth over the water to work out line (you saw it in "A River Runs Through It," remember?), so the lures were over the water as much as one the water. One bass actually caught R.G.'s bug in mid-air -- thwack! We laughed for an hour, and still have pretty good chuckles about it after a beer or two with fishing friends. The image and sound is still pretty clear in our minds.

-- And there is every bass fisherman's favorite -- an explosive eruption on the surface that makes you think someone threw a writhing rock into the water. No one really knows why the bass erupt so violently at times on live critters or lures. I have a few opinions. The bass may do it because they simply have an attitude. Maybe we disturbed them from a nap. Maybe its a way to show off to the ladies or establish territory. Maybe they just like to attack birds. Anyway, I call this type surface take the "coot strike," and I think the bass may do it to get the mud hens complaining loudly deep in the tules. They probably use the birds' noise to locate the next victim and the birds are too stupid to know what's up. But that is probably wishful thinking.

Harry Smith, a regular fly-rodder who fishes Oso Reservoir in Orange County, uses his own home-made fly patterns he calls "the bird." They are tied from fur and feathers to resemble a baby coot. The big, fuzzy flies really work well, and Smith has had bass break more than one fly rod. He grins telling stories about dapping them just inches off his rod tip and having bass actually get not only the fly, but the rod tip in their mouth. This noisy, vicious nature of the strike can cause coronaries in more than coots.

Now is the time. Try it. You'll like it.

DFG invites deer hunters to 'stakeholder' meetings

SACRAMENTO -- Hunters who want to help shape the future of deer hunting in California are invited to attend one of a series of "stakeholder" meeting being hosted at locations throughout the state over the next several months by the Department of Fish and Game.

The meeting will gather input from hunters about the deer tag drawing method and deer hunting in California. Are hunters satisfied with the tag drawing system? What type of hunting options do hunters want in the various deer zones? Those are the questions the DFG hopes these meeting will help answer.

"Through these meeting we hope to get input from hunters on which draw system to choose and what kind of hunting opportunities the majority wants," said Sonke Mastrup, the DFG's deer program coordinator.

Currently, California has 44 deer hunting zones, 27 area-specific archery hunts, 33 additional hunts, 68 private lands management area, and 10 fundraising deer tags.

"These hunting opportunities were shaped over many years, and it is time to evaluate what we have created and what changes -- if any -- are needed," said Mastrup.

Meetings already scheduled in the southern part of the state include the following: July 27 in Bakersfield at the East Bakersfield Veteran's Hall, 2101 Ridge Road; August 22 in Bishop at the Bishop Council Chambers; August 23 in Long Beach at the Fish and Game office; and August 24 in El Cajon at the Unity Town Hall, 311 Highland Avenue. Other dates and places will be added.

For a complete list of meetings statewide, hunters can log on to the DFG's web site at www.dfg.ca.gov. The specific web address for the stakeholder meetings is: www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/stakeholderwebsummary.html.

USFWS reports decline in breeding duck population

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Drier habitat conditions across much of their breeding range produced a slightly lower population of breeding ducks this spring, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's annual survey of key nesting areas for breeding ducks.

The total population of breeding ducks found by aerial surveys in parts of Canada and the northern United States that have traditionally been surveyed fell to approximately 41.8 million birds. That number represents a decline of nearly four percent from last year's record index of 43.4 million birds, but is still 27 percent above the long term average breeding population since surveys began in 1955.

"The decline in breeding populations of many species and the drier habitat conditions remind us that wetland conservation and restoration activities remain important to the long-term health of our waterfowl populations," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, director of the USFWS.

Breeding populations of mallards fell 12 percent to 9.5 million, but remained 27 percent greater than their long-term average. Blue-winged teal numbers, at 7.4 million, were essentially unchanged from 1999, but 69 percent greater than the long-term average. Green-winged teal populations were up 21 percent but most other surveyed species saw slight declines, with American widgeon down six percent and northern shovelers down nine percent.

Among other duck species, the breeding population of canvasbacks remained flat at about 700,000, while redhead populations fell five percent to 926,000. Scaup populations fell nine percent from last year's increase, and remain 25 percent below their historic average. Pintail populations also fell slightly and remain 33 percent below their long-term average.

The presence of water is critical to breeding success for waterfowl. This year, conditions in the traditional survey area were much drier than in any of the previous six years. Conditions were poor in much of Alberta, parts of Montana and western Saskatchewan, and only fair in many other areas. Only parts of northern Manitoba and the Dakotas had excellent habitat conditions.

Those dry conditions were reflected in a 41 percent decline in the number of ponds found during May surveys in prairie Canada and the U.S. The May pond survey fell to 3.9 million, from 6.7 million ponds last year, 20 percent below the 1974-99 average. In mid-to-late June, heavy rains that fell on much of the northern prairies may have improved breeding habitat in many areas. However, heavy rains in the Dakotas may have caused flooding that destroyed nests. July surveys of broods will help determine if the June rains came in time to help duck production.

According to preliminary estimates of waterfowl harvest and hunter activity gathered during the 1999-2000 season through the National Waterfowl Harvest Survey, hunters harvested nearly 15.8 million ducks last season, a seven percent decrease from the previous season. Persons buying duck stamps for hunting averaged nearly nine days afield and harvested an average of nearly 10 ducks, down eight percent from the previous season's level.

"We are committed to expanding hunting opportunities on the National Wildlife Refuge System and wherever waterfowl populations can support it. Hunters remain a strong ally in the battle to conserve wetland habitat, and the Service values their support," said Clark.

The traditional breeding duck survey samples 1.3 million square miles across the north-central United States, western and northern Canada and Alaska and estimates the approximate numbers of ducks in important breeding areas.

Habitat conditions in the eastern areas of Canada and the U.S., which are not part of the traditional survey area, were also generally better than in other surveyed areas. Habitat conditions were generally good in much of the east, with the exception of southern Ontario and southern Quebec, where low water levels resulted in fair-to-poor habitat conditions.

Total breeding duck populations in the eastern survey areas remained steady from 1999 levels at about 3.2 million birds. Populations of individual species in the eastern survey areas were largely unchanged from last year, with the exception of scaup and scoters which saw significant increases; and green-winged teal, which declined measurably.

This recently-developed survey includes the eastern provinces and northeastern states and is a part of the Service's effort to expand the surveys outside the traditional area. Annual survey results help guide the Service in managing its waterfowl conservation programs under the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Service works in partnership with state representatives from the four flyways -- the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific -- that waterfowl and other birds use during their migrations, to establish regulatory frameworks on waterfowl hunting season lengths, dates and bag limits.

The entire 2000 Trends in Waterfowl Breeding Populations report can be downloaded from the Service's Web site at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/reports/reports.html.

WILDLIFE COMMISSION CAPS NONRESIDENT BIG GAME HUNTERS

Colorado hunters will be guaranteed at least 60 percent of the deer and elk licenses issued through the computer drawings conducted by the Division of Wildlife each year, based on action taken by the Colorado Wildlife Commission Thursday, July 13.

The restrictions, which will go into effect in 2001, will also allow the Commission to guarantee an even larger percentage of the available licenses to resident big game hunters in premier units, where the demand for licenses is especially strong.

An unlimited number of bull elk licenses will still be available for both resident and nonresident hunters. The Commission action marks the first time in more than three decades that nonresidents will not have the same opportunity to obtain drawing licenses for deer and elk.

Representatives of sportsmen's groups have lobbied for limits on nonresident participation because, in some game management units, nonresidents account for more than half of all hunters. But outfitters, who provide hunts for many nonresident hunters, private landowners, who charge fees to allow hunters on their land, and business owners have all expressed concerns about the impact such restrictions would have on the state's economy.

Big game hunting pumps approximately $500 million into Colorado's economy annually, and nonresidents typically spend more than residents, especially for the services of outfitters, lodging and the purchase of equipment.

After lengthy testimony, including calls by some hunters to limit nonresidents to only 20 percent of the available licenses, the Commission agreed with the Division's recommendation to guarantee 60 percent of licenses to nonresidents, with the added caveat that the Commission may increase that percentage in some units.

In units where resident hunters apply for fewer than 60 percent of the licenses as their first choice on the application, the extra licenses can go to resident applicants. The restrictions do not apply to "private land only" licenses or to Ranching for Wildlife public hunts, which are only available to resident hunters. Division budget analysts estimate that license revenues could drop by more than $750,000. Beginning next year, nonresidents will pay $450 for an elk license and $270 for a deer tag. Residents pay $30 for an elk license and $20 for deer. Resident license fees have not increased in more than a decade.

Whirling disease policy postponed

The Commission postponed action on a new whirling disease policy that would require that trout stocked in salmonid (trout and salmon) habitat test negative for the whirling disease parasite. An interim Committee of the Colorado Legislature will conduct hearings on wildlife issues this fall, including trout stocking and whirling disease management. The Commission agreed to postpone final action on the new policy to allow the Legislative committee to make recommendations based on hearings the committee will hold later this summer and fall. A final decision on the policy will be made at the Commission's August meeting in Dillon.

Division aquatic managers are recommending that trout from hatcheries that test positive for the parasite only be stocked in lower elevation reservoirs that don't support natural reproduction of trout or salmon or are not considered salmonid habitat. Examples include Cherry Creek Reservoir southeast of Denver and Highline Reservoir in Grand Junction.

Under the proposed policy, the Division would be required to produce or purchase negative trout for stocking in most waters, including nearly all reservoirs and streams on the Western Slope. The Division of Wildlife is in the midst of a multi-million dollar hatchery renovation program that has already rid five hatcheries of the parasite. Several more hatcheries could become negative within the next two years. But even when those hatcheries come on line, there will still not be enough negative fish for stocking.

Whirling disease is a parasitic infection introduced from Europe more than 40 years ago. It has been found in throughout the west and has had a major impact on naturally reproducing populations of rainbow trout, a non-native species that can reproduce in some Colorado streams. Populations of brown trout, natives of Europe where the parasite originated, show little effect.

But Division aquatic managers say research is showing that even brown trout populations can show high levels of infection. "This is a major concern, and a primary objective of the proposed policy is to reduce the levels of infection in streams that are already positive for the parasite by eliminating the stocking of infected trout," said Eddie Kochman, the Division's aquatic wildlife manager. "Our current research strongly suggests that it's possible to reduce levels of infection by ending the stocking of infected trout."

Sage grouse hunting prohibited

Hunting for the Gunnison sage grouse, recently declared a distinct grouse species, will be prohibited in game units 54, 55, 66, 67 and 551 around Gunnison. Sage grouse hunting will also be closed this fall in units 2 and 301 in northwest Colorado.

The Commission closed unit 301 to grouse hunting in response to local concerns that the birds in this area may be a separate population from others in Moffat County and therefore need more protection.

The closures in unit 2, in northwest Colorado, and the units around Gunnison reflect spring counts indicating that population growth did not meet the minimum criteria for fall hunting outlined in recovery plans.

Though hunting accounts for only a few percent of overall grouse mortality, Division game managers said the closures were appropriate as part of the overall conservation efforts for the birds. Weather and habitat conditions are the primary cause of mortality for the grouse.

Black-tailed prairie dog discussions

The Commission also discussed a Division proposal to protect black-tailed prairie dog populations, the native prairie dog in eastern Colorado and areas of the Great Plains from Canada to Mexico. Earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that the black-tailed prairie dog was "warranted, but precluded" from listing under the Endangered Species Act. That decision will be reviewed annually and the federal agency will consider actions taken by states to protect and restore the species and its habitat as part of that review.

The Division proposed four specific steps designed to protect the prairie dogs including a ban on hunting, a permit system for the use of poisons, cash incentives for landowners to protect prairie dogs, and a change in the approval process for moving the rodents within a county.

Though hunting has little if any impact on most black tailed prairie dog populations, the ban would be an important signal that Colorado is working to protect them, said Greg Walcher, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.

Walcher said taking these steps would show progress, making it less likely that the federal government would formally list the species. Adding the prairie dog to the federal list of threatened and endangered species could result in land-use restrictions and other steps that could restrict human activity, including ranching and farming operations.

He said there are two areas where Colorado needs to take action.

"First, we need better science," Walcher said. "We need to be sure the Division of Wildlife knows more than anyone else about black-tailed prairie dogs." That knowledge will give Colorado greater control over any decisions the federal government may make on formally listing the species as threatened or endangered.

"Second, we need to be able to demonstrate that we're making progress in areas mentioned in the recovery plan," Walcher said.

The proposed plan has won support from conservation and environmental groups.

Wildlife Commissioner Rick Enstrom said he supported efforts to protect the prairie dogs and avoid federal listing of the species. But he raised concerns about who will pay for the recovery.

"We are concerned that sportsmen are paying for this issue of statewide concern with their license dollars," Enstrom said. "Other funding mechanisms of these very important programs must be developed so the cost is shared by everyone."

YET EVEN MORE FISH AND GAME SCREWUPS -- matthews 12jul00

The flood gates are open and the calls about Department of Fish and Game mismanagement are pouring in. Read on.

DFG AND HUNTER SAFETY: One of the busiest times of the year for a hunter safety instructor is late July and August. Junior hunters, wives, and other first-timers are being enrolled in courses so they can get their hunting license in time for the September 1 dove opener. Many instructors increase the number of classes they teach this time of year to meet the demand. Recently the DFG sent out dozens of certified letters to instructors telling them not to teach any classes until audits of their records are complete. The DFG does not allow instructors to charge more than $10 per student per class unless they provide services greater than instruction. Some classes, like those offered through Turner's Outdoorsman at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, charge $35 to cover lunch, range fees, and the cost of promoting and administering the class. The instructors who teach the classes are unpaid volunteers.

Andy McCormick, a Turner's spokesman, said they have over a hundred students signed up for August classes, but no instructors to teach them because the DFG is auditing their instructors -- who are unpaid. You figure that one out. "What are we supposed to do? These people are jeopardizing the most successful hunter safety class in 20 years. It just doesn't make sense," said McCormick. He said the Turner's classes run between 1,500 and 2,000 new hunters through the program each year, generating large sums of revenue for the DFG through license and tag sales. "These people are morons. They complain that hunter numbers are down which affects their revenue, and then create a nightmare for guys who are generating new hunters for them. It just doesn't make sense. We all have a common goal -- to get people into the field -- or at least I thought it was a common goal," said McCormick. Apparently instructors throughout the region are also in a bind, having to cancel classes, while the DFG -- in its plodding way -- sorts through this non-problem.

MORE ON RANCHO JAMUL: Many of the calls coming in are from DFG staff members who are heartened by our reports about mismanagement and our call to get the DFG back on track. Sportsmen, who have been outraged at the DFG for largely excluding hunters from the new Rancho Jamul Ecological Reserve, should be heartened to learn that field staff in this region proposal allowing upland bird habitat work, regular upland game hunts for quail and dove throughout the season, and a management plan that would have enhanced the area for both game and non-game species. All were vetoed. All the DFG fingers point to one person who vetoed of all the plans: Ron Rempel, a top-level Sacramento DFG bureaucrat who is arguably anti-hunting. Apparently Rempel can make these decisions without consulting his staff or the DFG director, and apparently he can violate Fish and Game Commission policy at will. The decision to exclude hunting and not move forward on a management plan absolutely violates policy. We'll keep you posted on this one.

GUZZLER CREW UPDATE: The DFG is still dragging its feet about coming on board to assist the U.S. Forest Service with guzzler crews on all four Southern California Forests. If you missed the original news, the USFS agreed to use Adventure Pass money to fund crews on the San Bernardino, Angeles, Los Padres, and Cleveland forests to repair man-made wildlife water sources (guzzlers) that have been allowed to fall into disrepair over the years. The lack of water has dramatically affected wildlife numbers in many areas. The USFS wants the DFG to coordinate all the efforts in the region, but the DFG is shuffling its feet and can't seem to get off the dime on the issue. This could be a watershed in creating a cooperative wildlife management program between state and federal agencies on public lands, but the DFG can't seem to find the budget for the position or someone with the fortitude to make a decision to get this done. Excuse me, but there is a person in place without a job title right now that could take over this program right now. Dave Consoli, a DFG biologist, was in charge of a wildlife habitat crew Fish and Game put together two years ago and then ceased funding (for reasons no one can fathom). Consoli is waiting for reassignment, and he has at his disposal all of the equipment the DFG purchased to do the very work the Forest Service will be doing with their new water crews. He has the expertise to administer the crews and the equipment to facilitate the job.

Hello! Is anyone awake up there in Sacramento? Make this happen, now

MORE DFG SCREWUPS -- jim matthews outdoor column 5jul00

The more reporters and sporting groups dig into the Department of Fish and Game's fiscal and legal mandates, the more problems surface. A portion of this column was devoted to the DFG's failure to spend hunting and fishing license dollars as required by legal mandates. The agency's illegal allocation of funds to staffing and programs that do not fall under game- and fish-related work is just one of several outrages that should send sporting groups to legal offices to sue the state agency and to the steps of the legislature and governor's office to protest.

Here are more examples of potential legal failures -- and certainly failures to follow policy -- within the agency.

1) The DFG routinely has supported programs and spending that end up locking hunters (and to a lesser extent fishermen) out of public lands. This is in direct violation of the Fish and Game Commission's "no net loss" policy that was designed to assure that sportsmen do not lose access to public lands. Examples of where this has taken place occur throughout Southern California and the DFG's sell out has happened for years. The oldest and most glaring example of this program was when the Hidden Valley Wildlife Area in Riverside County on the Santa Ana River was handed over to Riverside County Parks decades ago. Hunting is not allowed on this state-owned land, even though it could have an active program for waterfowl, pheasants, doves, and wild pigs. It should be managed as a state wildlife area.

Also in Riverside County, the DFG knuckled under pressure from county and private groups and allowed the Santa Rosa Plateau to be managed under a joint agreement with the Nature Conservancy and the county without hunting for over a decade, even though the DFG is the majority landowner. The same thing is about to happen on the Shipley Preserve, a vast tract of land between Lake Skinner and the new Eastside Reservoir, and again, the DFG is one of the key landowners in this property. The most alarming example of this "passing off the management" of state-owned lands that could and should be used by sportsmen is taking place right now in San Diego County, where a multitude of state-owned properties are about to be turned over to San Diego County parks. The director of that county agency has flat-out told sportsmen's groups that hunting will not be allowed. Dove hunts and turkey hunting opportunities could end at places like Rancho Jamul.

2) Other state-owned properties are being left idle because the DFG doesn't have the staff to write basic management plans that would outline the hunting and fishing opportunities. Not only is this a violation of state policy on these purchases, but without the basic management plan, the public is often excluded and any work that would enhance wildlife populations is not done. This basic work is considered a low priority by the DFG, and it diverts its meager staff to write environmental assessments or work on non-game and endangered species, even through the funding to do this work is not provided by the legislature. Sportsmen are punished twice. First, they don't get to use state-owned lands their money helped purchase, and second, the money from their license dollars that is financing biologists that should be doing work to benefit game species is illegally diverted to non-game and endangered species work.

3) The DFG has bungled opportunities to purchase key tracts of land that would benefit sportsmen (and threatened and endangered species) because it has let environmental groups drive the debate on which lands should be purchased by the DFG's land acquisition arm, Wildlife Conservation Board. The most glaring example of this was the almost-purchase of Vail Lake, which could have been a premier wildlife area that would have benefited hunters, fishermen, and endangered species. We can only hope it's not too late to get this incredible piece of property. Even more alarming, most of these purchases are being negotiated and conducted in private without public knowledge and debate about which tracts are the most valuable. Often the people making the decisions on where this money should be spent have no background in the key wildlife species involved or reasons the property should be purchased.

4) The DFG has done a dismal job of documenting where is spending dedicated fund monies, and it is increasingly doing a worse job of spending the money where it has the most benefit for wildlife. Both the Hill Bill account (set up only for deer research and habitat work and funded by an increase in deer tag fees several years ago) and the Upland Bird stamp account (set up to provide money just for upland bird programs) have nightmarish record-keeping that make it nearly impossible to track the funds. There is almost no question that many of the funds from these two accounts have been mis-spent or wasted because of poor oversight, management, and dedication to the intent of the program. When the Hill Bill first passed, the DFG staff spend literally thousands of hours in helicopters the first couple of years doing needed annual deer survey work. The deer surveys are done with less frequency and poorer accuracy. Habitat and water work that was initially done has all but disappeared. Increasingly, the money has been used for staffing that a dubious benefit to wildlife on the ground. Part of this is due to the fact that the DFG has been illegally diverting staff positions (as discussed last week and earlier in this piece) away from wildlife management and into non-game or endangered species work.

A simple example of how the Upland Bird stamp monies are being spent less effectively and on fewer programs for sportsmen can be seen in two places. First, the number of special hunts run by the DFG this year. There are fewer family pheasant hunts, junior pheasant hunts, and special dove hunts run the DFG this year than just four years ago. Fewer birds are being bought for the release-bird hunts, and there are fewer of the special-opportunity hunts for wild birds on state-owned and private lands. Second, the DFG's habitat crew that was to develop opportunities on unstaffed state-owned lands (like those being turned over to San Diego to run) has been disbanded in Southern California. We don't have a clue where the money that was being spent on these programs has been diverted -- and we're not sure the DFG management has a clue either. Sportsmen are going to lose the tremendous hunting opportunities that exist in Southern California if they do not get involved in the political process and force the DFG to accomplish what is required by law and policy.

It is time that sportsmen and their groups get angry and start contacting their legislators and attorneys. The DFG has become a joke. The Sacramento brass panders to unfunded mandates, responds only to lawsuits, and ignores the constituency that continues to pay the bulk of its wildlife bills.