Rally results

[apmaurosr]

Read about the overwhelming success of the the Mullica Hill rally below. See the photos at the links.

Thanks to all that attended. Thanks to the south jersey boys for putting together such a professional and well planned event. We are making our statement, people are paying attention, we are on the offensive, KEEP THE MOMENTUM!

Panter and Karcher are trying to hide from their bills on a daily basis - just read the comments.

See everyone on Oct. 28th. Learn more from our link: http://www.njoutdooralliance.org

Ant
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-2/11920002 ...

Hunters rail at changes to panel
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By Lucas K. Murray
lmurray@sjnewsco.com
HARRISON TWP. A room full of camouflage hunting hats and boating club T-shirts filled every room at Mullica Hill's Grange Hall Tuesday night as sportsmen from across the state rallied in protest of two bills that would change the makeup of New Jersey's Fish and Game Council.

"It is a bald-face assault on the people in this state who fish, hunt and trap," Anthony Mauro of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance said. "It's an attempt to take that right away."

The bills, A-3275 and S-2041, call for members of the council to be chosen based on their "knowledge of and interest in the conservation of fish and wildlife" without consideration of their address.

Current law states that the Fish and Game Council is to be composed of one farmer and two sportsmen representatives from three clusters of counties in north, central and southern New Jersey; a member of the public versed in land use management and soil conservation; and the chairperson of the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee.

The new bills would reduce the size of the council from 11 members to seven and its membership would be decided by the governor.

"Changing the people on that council obviously will lead to no more hunting and fishing in New Jersey, and I believe that's their goal," State Sen. Nicholas Asselta, D-1, of Vineland said.

Asselta addressed the group of more than 400, saying Gov. Jon Corzine, his administration and legislators in the northern half of the state have begun to erode South Jersey's lifestyle.

"We won't stand for North Jersey again attacking our way of life," Asselta said.

State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, D-3, of West Deptford said he didn't believe the debate is one of north versus south. He called the bills "misguided."

"It's a sportsman's organization, it's a wildlife bill," Sweeney said "Sportsmen should be on it because they care more about it than anyone."

In an e-mail to the Times, Assemblyman Michael Panter, D-12 of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, who sponsored A-3275, said opponents of the bill "grossly mischaracterized" the legislation.

"The intention of this legislation was not to ban hunting or fishing in any way, but instead seeks to provide council membership which is not controlled by any specific group," Panter said.

Still, organizers of the rally say the change effectively takes away the voice of sportsmen statewide in Trenton.

"It's an attempt to stomp it out," Mauro said. "This bill is malicious and vindictive and no other way to interpret that."

New wording of the code would delete the phrase "developing fish and game for public recreation and food supply" and replace it with "providing a properly managed and balanced system."

"You can no longer do those activities for recreational purposes or for food supply," Mauro said of his interpretation of the bill. "It's that succinct. He (Panter) knows exactly what he's doing."

Representatives from Gov. Corzine's office declined comment because the bills are still in the Legislature.

Panter said he has not been involved in efforts to ban fishing or hunting and that he'd be willing to have seats on the Fish and Game Council filled with members chosen by sportsmen's groups.

Still, Sweeney, vice chairman of the Senate Environment Committee, doesn't see much of a future for Panter's bill or its Senate counterpart.

"I promise you tonight, if that bill comes up, we're going to kill it in the Senate," Sweeney said to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

--------------------------------------------------

S.J. sportsmen up in arms

Hunters to rally in Mullica Hill in fight over gaming council

Wednesday, October 10, 2007


By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff

HARRISON
Upward of 300 men crammed the Mullica Hill Grange on Tuesday evening, while an additional 200 or so crowded around doors and windows to listen to the proceedings within.

Hunters and fishermen all, they were there to demonstrate that they are "mad as hell" at their treatment by Trenton and don't plan to take it anymore.

"For a long time we've waited on the sidelines," said Ed Markowski, president of the N.J. Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. "We no longer have that luxury."

"Ladies and gentlemen," rally organizer Ed Cuneo said at the start of the meeting, "you are making N.J. sportsmen's history tonight."

The sportsmen contend they are under attack from animal-rights activists. They pointed with particular ire Tuesday night at legislation that would change the way hunting and fishing in the state are regulated.

That bill, sponsored by two Monmouth County Democrats, would change the way members of the state's Fish and Game Council are appointed, depriving sportsmen of the control they are now guaranteed.

It would also change the language describing the council's mission in ways troublesome to the sportsmen, replacing references to "game" with the word "wildlife."

The bill also would delete a provision that refers to "development of fish and game for public recreation and food supply," while adding provisions designed to encourage "eco-tourism" and "nonlethal alternatives for dealing with wildlife conflicts."

"What a stupid bill," Assemblymen John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, told the rally. "Something that's been working for 60 years and we're going to fix it?"

"This has been brewing for some time," said Bill Riestle, a 70-year-old hunter and fisherman from Logan. "Now it's coming to a head."

After allowing bear hunts in 2003 and 2005 to cull the growing population of black bears in the northwestern part of New Jersey, the state Department of Environmental Protection last year canceled a scheduled hunt and has no intention of resuming it this year.

Sportsmen consider this a foolish policy motivated more by an anti-hunting bias than any scientific approach to wildlife management.

Tuesday's rally attracted a number of state legislators from South Jersey and their opponents in next month's election. The rally was organized by the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen and the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance.

State Sen. Nick Asselta, R-Cumberland, said he is a sportsman himself. "Growning up in Vineland I understand how important our way of life is," he said.

Asselta accused North Jersey politicians of trying to "erode our way of life in South Jersey."

"This is where we need to draw the line," Asselta said.

State Sen. Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, made it clear he would oppose the change.

"I promise you tonight, if that bill comes up we're going to kill it in the Senate," Sweeney said.

State Sen. Ellen Karcher and Assemblyman Mike Panter see their bill as an attempt to bring broader representation and a wider mission to the fish and game council.

Under current law, the Fish and Game Council is composed of 11 members, six of whom are appointed on the recommendation of the Federation of Sportsmen, and three of whom must be farmers.

Under the Karcher-Panter proposal, all seven members would be appointed by the governor, with two of the appointments reserved for farmers.

Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071 ...
_________________

[apmaurosr]

Below is a quote cut & pasted from the article that follows. It is the reason we need a contituitonal amendment to fish, hunt, and trap. Spread the word to the masses to attend Oct 28th - Battle of Monmouth! This woman is articulating exactly what is in the Panter / Karcher bills!!! She also belongs to a group that finances the Panter / Karcher campaign.
Ant

*****Janet Pizar, director of the Bear Education And Resource Group, said recently that, having won a court battle over the bear hunt, the next move would be "to outlaw the killing of our bears." Then, she said, all hunting would be next.*****

http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/article32589.htm


Wednesday, October 10, 2007 (newton herald)
By BRUCE A. SCRUTON bscruton@njherald.com
In film, he can appear as a dancing, friendly and bumbling friend — voice supplied by Phil Harris — or a bad comedian whose best friend is a frog. There was also the time he was somewhat closer to character, a dim-witted individual, carrying a club with a hankering for rabbit stew.

Most people's views, and concepts, of bears is what they see in "Baloo," from "Jungle Book," "Fozzie," from the "Muppets" or "Br'er Bear," from "Song of the South." There is the real, live animal seen in Gentle Ben, or Grizzly Adams and, of course, more true-to-life short features, like "Bear Country" of the 1950s, that introduced many to the natural world.

But real bears don't stand on stage and get a custard pie thrown in their face. They won't cuddle up at night under the covers. And, except those trained for zoo or circus acts, bears don't dance a jig or wrestle with the human television star.

"We have them in zoos and images of them around us," said Margaret J. King, director of Cultural Studies & Analysis in Philadelphia. "We make art objects out of nature. It's a very primitive and cultural thing."

King is among those who have written about what is being called the "Disney effect" — how Disney films, whether animated, live action or "nature documentaries" have influenced not just filmmaking, but public attitudes toward animals and the environment.

Anthromorphism is the clinical term to describe how humans ascribe human-like qualities to other species. "Bears are large game and competitors," she said of the long cultural fascination humans have had with bears. "They also stand on their rear legs, bipedalism, and look like us."

Put in the middle of a New Jersey political fight, bears are being made into an image by both sides. Is the elevation of bear to near-human status, based on true feelings or political leanings?

People grew up cuddling "Teddy" or hugging Winnie the Pooh, whose only bad habit was trying to steal honey, so "cute" and "timid" are words easily ascribed to black bears by those against hunting. They take pictures of bears eating from a human's hand or "playing" in a hammock.

In the wild, young animals practice skills they will need as adults. They chase their mother's tail; roughhouse with each other, mocking a "kill" or fight for a chance to mate. Is it really play and do they even know what "play" is?

Janet Pizar, director of the Bear Education And Resource Group, said recently that, having won a court battle over the bear hunt, the next move would be "to outlaw the killing of our bears." Then, she said, all hunting would be next.

On the other side, some have described bears "waiting in ambush" as if the individual animals could read a timetable or calendar and know that the garbageman only comes Tuesday mornings. "It's only a matter of time until someone gets killed," goes the mantra. They point to self-proclaimed bear "expert" Timothy Tredwell who studied Alaskan grizzlies for more than a dozen years. He was killed and eaten by the bears.

In reality, naturalists say bears are creatures whose nature is to find something to eat. They have a place in the natural world and it's not on our cultural pedestal.

King, whose business "decodes how consumers determine value in products, concepts and ideas," said the bear's place in our world "is very evolutionary" and based on our cultural background. The ancient Greeks named two constellations after bears, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Eskimos revere the polar bear, but it doesn't stop them from taking one in a hunt if they can.

Other Native Americans also worshiped the bear and lived beside them.

Today, King said, more than 90 percent of our day is spend inside, in optimum conditions that we have created for ourselves. "We don't like exposure to nature," she said. "We have evolved in nature to have as little to do with Nature as possible. We have taken nature and stylized it."

"There are a million misconceptions about bears," said Gary Alt, a noted wildlife biologist who ran Pennsylvania's bear management and deer management plans until his resignation three years ago. "People generally fall into two categories — they want to cuddle them or kill them."

Alt said the black bear population across the country is growing tremendously. In California where he now lives, the bear population has doubled to an estimated 32,000 since 1982.

In New York the bear population is still expanding and this year the state is reverting to a previous policy of opening the bear hunt in the Catskills on the same day the deer hunting season begins, effectively expanding the season by a week over the past few years.

In the 1990 hunt, 77 bears were taken in the Catskill area. During the 2005 hunt, there were nearly 500 bears killed in the Catskills and last year, the state said 365 bears were killed.

While some point to those numbers and note that even with hunting, bear numbers are increasing — an argument not to have a hunt — Alt said a well-managed hunt is not meant to decrease any population, but to provide a balance.

"If you really want to drop the population, you just say, 'Go get 'em!' Bears are more easy to overhunt than deer," he said.

In a healthy deer herd, does can begin to breed at about six months and have offspring each year. Bears don't start to breed until three years of age and have cubs every two years.

Jamie O'Boyle, senior analyst at Cultural Studies & Analysis said that while "both bears ("teddy") and deer ("Bambi") are big stars in our cultural Pantheon of anthropomorphized nature, bears trump deer because they are more like us. We can see a clumsy, more clownish, and therefore harmless, version of ourselves."

And there is an additional element — perceived rarity. "There is a simple equation in marketing, perception of rarity = higher value," he said. "End result; we instinctively lean towards encouraging bears but controlling the deer."

Alt said being the most densely human populated state, "New Jersey is at the frontier at human-wildlife confrontation and what to do about it."

This great experiment, he said, is tipped in the bears favor for now, but the balance will swing quickly towards bear population control.

"When it starts will just be getting the right bears doing the wrong things," he said. "It will require some sort of injuries. That will be the spark to set off the gas, then it'll blow.

"New jersey is ripe and ready for it," Alt said. "New Jersey will test the waters as to how far you can push this."