Outdoor Writer

I'm working on it, Bill. This has been an ongoing debate between myself and the folks at the AGFD for the last few years. In reality, we're lucky we got as much as we did on this case because several years ago, the department decided that providing info on poaching cases -- charges, convictions, etc. -- provided the wrong sort of publicity for hunting. To that aim, most of what you normally see is requests for information on suspected poaching incidents but little after-the-fact information if someone is nabbed. Also, when results are provided, the cases often involve another agency such as the USFWS, who doesn't have such a policy. Thus, I have urged the folks at AGFD to change its policy and do like most every other state does -- provide the outcome of such cases. Of course, all of the information is available if someone requests it because of the Freedom of Information statutes. In the case of someone being charged and yet not convicted, I'm sure the powers are concerned about litigation. BUT...revealing such would be no different than what occurs daily in the local papers when the names of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, etc. are printed when they are merely charged with the crimes. Anyway, hang loose on the names. I'll post them as soon as I get them. -TONY

Yup. Looks like it.

Mike is talking about not being able to upload smilies as attachments here without having them appear onscreen with the ugly black box background. (see below) I had tried the roach here as an attachment, but then I deleted it because of the BB. I then uploaded it to my personal web site and just used the URL here. And what do you have against roaches? They make great pets. -TONY

Geez, Kev, you don't wanna squish it. That'll mess up your monitor. You need to get a predator to take care of it. -TONY

Bingo! I was wondering how long it would take for someone to provide this info. The pheromones from deer subspecies differ little. -TONY

This is the bill the Terminator signed in Oct. The CA game commission "accepted" it on Dec. 10 and added rimfire ammo to it for the taking of any rodents, varmints, etc. Note the BOLD type and the non-mention of the possession of lead ammo in one's home, office, vehicle, on a shooting range or in Disneyland. -TONY LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 821, Nava. Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act. (1) Existing law regulates the taking of birds and mammals, and prohibits the taking of specified nongame birds. Existing law permits the Department of Fish and Game to preserve the California condor, and requires the Fish and Game Commission to establish a list of endangered species and a list of threatened species. Existing law generally provides that a violation of the fish and game laws is a crime. This bill would enact the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act to require the use of nonlead centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition when taking big game and coyote within specified areas. The act would require the commission to establish, by regulation, by July 1, 2008, a public process to certify centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition as nonlead ammunition, and to define nonlead ammunition by regulation. The act would also require the commission, to the extent funding is available, to provide hunters within these areas with nonlead ammunition at no or reduced charge through a coupon program. Under the act, a person who violates those requirements would be guilty of an infraction punishable by a $500 fine for the first offense. Because the act would create a new crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The act would also declare the Legislature's intent to protect vulnerable wildlife species, including the California condor, from the ongoing threat of lead poisoning. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act. SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature to protect vulnerable wildlife species, including the California condor, a federally listed endangered species and a state listed endangered and fully protected species, from the ongoing threat of lead poisoning. SEC. 3. Section 3004.5 is added to the Fish and Game Code, to read: 3004.5. (a) Nonlead centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition, as determined by the commission, shall be required when taking big game with rifle or pistol, as defined by Section 350 of the department's mammal hunting regulations, and when taking coyote, within the department's deer hunting zone A South, but excluding Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and San Joaquin Counties, areas west of Highway 101 within Santa Clara County, and areas between Highway 5 and Highway 99 within Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern Counties, and within deer hunting zones D7, D8, D9, D10, D11, and D13. ( By July 1, 2008, the commission shall establish, by regulation, a public process to certify centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition as nonlead ammunition, and shall define, by regulation, nonlead ammunition as including only centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition in which there is no lead content. The commission shall establish and annually update a list of certified centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition. © (1) To the extent that funding is available, the commission shall establish a process that will provide hunters within the department's deer hunting zone A South, but excluding Santa Cruz, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and San Joaquin Counties, areas west of Highway 101 within Santa Clara County, and areas between Highway 5 and Highway 99 within Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and Kern Counties, and within deer hunting zones D7, D8, D9, D10, D11, and D13 with nonlead ammunition at no or reduced charge. The process shall provide that the offer for nonlead ammunition at no or reduced charge may be redeemed through a coupon sent to a permitholder with the appropriate permit tag. If available funding is not sufficient to provide nonlead ammunition at no charge, the commission shall set the value of the reduced charge coupon at the maximum value possible through available funding, up to the average cost within this state for nonlead ammunition, as determined by the commission. (2) The nonlead ammunition coupon program described in paragraph (1) shall be implemented only to the extent that sufficient funding, as determined by the Department of Finance, is obtained from local, federal, public, or other nonstate sources in order to implement the program. (3) If the nonlead ammunition coupon program is implemented, the commission shall issue a report on the usage and redemption rates of ammunition coupons. The report shall cover calendar years 2008, 2009, and 2012. Each report shall be issued by June of the following year. (d) The commission shall issue a report on the levels of lead found in California condors. This report shall cover calendar years 2008, 2009, and 2012. Each report shall be issued by June of the following year. (e) The department shall notify those hunters who may be affected by this section. (f) A person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500). A second or subsequent offense shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more than five thousand dollars ($5,000). SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

Nice pix, Doug. I love that one of Rica all snowed up. -TONY

Probably the same thing as they now do if you possess shotgun shells with lead pellets in a home near a lake -- nothing. Me thinks the possession part means having them in the field in the designated "condor country," just like having shotgun ammo with lead pellets when waterfowl hunting is a no-no. -TONY

Superb job by all! Congrats to the gals. -TONY

Dandy looking pup, Jim. I really like the wagon wheel pix! -TONY

Thanks, Casey. BUT...I feel sad everytime I view that photo. See, it's a pix taken in Colorado looking north along the Vallecito River into the Weminuche Wilderness Area. The driveway to my lodge was about 75 yards to the left of those two rocks in the foreground. So I got to see that view every day for three years during the mid-1970s and spent many a day on horseback traipsing the trails in them thar hills. -TONY

That makes him even more of a cretin. -TONY

Amanda, Right. Sorry if I somehow implied it was connected to the CA ban. By "topic," I meant the lead ammo/condor connection. Like you, I thought getting the 85% VOLUNTARY compliance was an excellent start to short circuit any lead ammo ban. The guy you cited is merely an example of the typical cretin who will be the first to bitch if such a ban goes into effect, despite the fact he helped bring it about. Did you happen to notice his license plate origin? -TONY

Did you folks see the article Dewayne Smith wrote in yesterday's AZ Republic on this topic?? -TONY

It's neither a question of size or whether it's public or private. Free range means just that -- no UNNATURAL barriers in place to impede the movement of game. The 35,000-acre ranch where I hunted mule deer in Colorado two weeks ago is obviously private. The only fences on it are low two or three-wire ones to control cows, but even those were down in the low terrain and no where to be seen up higher where we hunted. The deer and elk there are free to roam where they choose, including the adjacent ranches and the nearby large tract of land owned by Larimer County that abuts the north end of the ranch with only a two-wire fence separating the parcels. The county land is closed to ANY public access. -TONY

Neat footage, Jim. -TONY

Actually, I can't understand why you asked all the blind experts. If they can't see it, how the heck would they know how to take it down?? Maybe you should repost the question for someone with good eyesight. Now, if it makes you feel any better, I have a small 2-man tent that likely folds much the same, and it usually takes me an hour to figure it out each time. And I can see! -TONY

Well...all you guys with sheep hunting fever are gonna have to wait until after I get MY permit -- no ifs, ands or buts about it. But... you are all welcome to come along and help glass. Most importantly, I'll need at least four guys to carry me up the mountain when we do spot my trophy ram. I'll let you all know when to start getting in shipshape. -TONY

Congrats to your dad, John. A super ram. -TONY

Doug, Probably won't do anything in regards to a waterfowl article but probably will use a photo or two to illustrate something. A deer article will likely run in RM G&F, however. Here are a few more pix. -TONY

Been meaning to post these for the last week. They are a few of the pix I took in Colorado when we hunted ducks and geese for a few hours one morning. -TONY Atkinson Expedition guide Brian Leffel Brian's yellow lady -- Lakota Sunrise over the decoy spead

Dear Mr. Ruble, Not quite. The buck is the one pictured on the back of How To Hunt Coues Deer (see below). Spread was 16.5." Not a monster but respectable enough for the wall. I had actually saved the frozen cape for a long time. Then a guy from Texas on another hunting site was looking for a cape. So I shipped him that one because I figured I wouldn't mount mine. -TONY