Bugler

I'm not going to crucify Chris. I've known him to be a decent guy. However that being said anyone involved in this bill being attempted the way it was did so for a reason. Are we all to believe that the emergency legislation was attempted because an anti hunting org is at the door and we face losing it all tomorrow morning? No. Is our way of life under attack all the time? Yes . That's why we have a legislature and folks like norm freeman in the commission. To keep watch at their level and let us know when it's time to raise holy heck with those In office . Chris has done a lot of great things for wildlife here. I do not know his reasons for supporting the bill but I will say this about people involved deeply. Sometimes influence,wealth, notoriety and even ego can cause people to do things that they wouldn't normally do had they taken some time to think it out and realize the consequences. As I've said before. Az is a different state and the folks here are a tad more passionate about their hunting. After USO I think the sportsmen and women here are not gonna stand for ANY tag grab. You wanna ask for a few maybe you get em but there's no chance in the pit of hades that anyone will get them by deception or hidden agendas. We must ALL work together within our orgs to raise the money to be effective in conservation and that means working with azgfd as well. We may have experience some type of pain in our efforts as with any growth. But not what the sfw tried to do. Chris I will be honest, in order to make a very strong statement is to leave out the guesswork. Something like this. Although I believed conceptually with the ideas involved in the bill I cannot support the sfw nor the board of directors any longer due to the extremely negative way in which this bill was tried to be introduced. I realize now that to have done that was a betrayal of the sportsmen and women of AZ. That would've left all with no doubt where you stood bud. I hope we as AZ sportspeople can overcome all of this later when it's for sure dead and buried. There are still issues for us to face. We need to work together to solve them. Thanks My .02

It actually worked. Im not as computer illiterate as i thought. LOL Bugler (1172 posts) Mar-03-12, 07:47 AM (MST) "Meeting with Senator" Good morning from the top of the Rim. I would have posted last night but when I got home after Meeting with Senator Allen i was pretty mentally wasted. Its alot of information to try and get out to one person in a short amount of time, but i did my best and hope I did not fail. I am confident however that the message was well received. Thank you all for your E-mails, letters etc. I painted a bright picture for her to understand what and who is behind this bill and what their motives are as far as many of us can see.How this is nothing more than a financial gain for those trying to push it forward. I exposed alot of truths to her about those involved and although im sure they would want me executed at this point it was the absolute right thing to do. Our tags our ours, each and every citizen of this state. WE ARE NOT represented as a whole by one group but my many !We do have a say in the process. Now what i was told. This bill had absolutely no traction when it was brought in under emergency legislation by Jerry Weirs. None. Thanks to game and fish and others it was brought to the attention of many in the house that this bill was toxic for the state. I was told that She does not see this moving forward as it is very unpopular, however...... As mentioned before a strike everything bill could be initiated. It could go something like this, a bill introduced covering toilets for the capitol or state buildings G&F etc. Then on line 10 or whatever down in the bill all the verbage for 2072 would be written, this bill would have a different number than 2072 but all the same language....! Isnt politics just wonderful made me sick to my stomach really. I had to ask her how she dealt with it. So she, Senator Sylvia Allen, told me that she would definately be watching for the bill as things start to trickle into the senate, but she doesnt think it will due to it being largely unpopular with constituents and Game and Fish. I salute the AZGFD for standing up for the citizens of Arizona. Just so you know Senator Allens Husband was seated to my left and was a great guy, I could tell just by speaking with him, sometimes you justy know. And he is a hunter. She mentioned how hard it is to draw a tag in Arizona, i agreed. I metioned that this bill DOES NOT follow the North American model and explained the Kings Deer type model to her. I pointed out that the bill would cost G&F to start it and that as of right now the G&F gets all of the money raised from Auction tags like the ADA Commisioner tag etc and that if the bill would push through they may lose Govt grants and funding etc etc. She laughed at the "legislator" tag thing and said wow i guess thats our buy off or something to that effect like the AZSFW was placating them by naming tags after the legislators. This is a shrewd woman and she is an AVG Joe type.I really enjoyed my meeting with her and expressed to her again that the SFW does not represent the AZ Sportsmen except in their own mind. She was impressed by the wildlife federations statement as I gave her a copy and I gave her a list of all the organziations that have stepped away and denounced the SFW and SFW c and the bill. I loved that part to be honest. So that was the gist of it. It went well and she will be talking to others at the capitol. I expected to find a mansion or something when I rolled up in the ole pickup but it was a nice farmhouse on a dirt road. Now when I say nice it was a regular home but nice. This Senator gets it and understands the private land thing as well. She definately said to keep our eyes on it and if the bill gets introduced again into the house or Senate to start calling your rep. to let everyone you know in on the bill and start burning up the phone lines and keyboard to get the message across that this will not be tolerated. After all a politician wants to keep their job. SO thats it, thanks to Norm Freeman for starting the website I ask that you take a look at it I dont have the link right now but its easy to find here on MM if someone would post that link. Im not sure if Jerry Weirs is gonna try and put it forward again, Don Martin said he wouldnt and I was told by the senator that she didnt think he would either. I want to add that Don has done alot for the good of Arizona and that he did not support the bill and I believe he was in the dark about it just as you and I when his pal put it through. I think it would have been smart for his buddy to get the pulse of the people through Don before jumping into the pot but thats his business. We all have friends and i know that if they made a mistake you wouldnt agree but would still be there for them if they were mobbed. Im not defending Weirs one bit, im just saying Don has done good works and we need to mend wounds and go forth to defeat the SFW and their bill. BTW I have not talked to Don. So in closing I ask that we keep hyper vigilant on this and watch closely very closely and sound the alrm when we need to. Thanks

Good morning folks. I posted the results of my meeting with senator Sylvia Allen yesterday, on the MM site. This is my first on CW as i rarely visit these things but started doing so recently, although I read this site alot. Thanks JD