Secretary of Interior Reports Economic Impact of National Wildlife Refuges
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton on October 6 released a report that shows recreational use on national wildlife refuges generated almost $1.4 billion in total economic activity during the 2004 fiscal year. The report, Banking on Nature 2004: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation, was compiled by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service economists.
Learn More http://www.fws.gov/refuges/policyMakers/BankingOnNature.html
Even if the cost of leasing permits were increased, the grazing use of public lanad can not generate the money that is generatied by recreational use of public lands.
If we were to return these grazing lands back to the wildlife Refuges they were intended to be to start with, the money generated through Nature Based Tourism would surpass even the money generated from the recreational use alone.
Nature Based Tourism on Public Lands would result in several hundred times the revenu of grazing permits and would not require the constant reperation of public land areas.|W|P|113002187224286915|W|P|Most Beneficial Use of Public Lands|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
Republican Pete Domenici says, “"Opening ANWR is sound public policy that would serve the country well many years into the future"
Lets mine the coal from the land of the Dine’, Drill the for oil in the AANWR and take gold from the Black Hills. Pillaging Americas Natural Resources is not what the “People” of America want. Nor is it in their best interest.
It is in the best interest of those who wish and have wished for long years to fill their pockets with fortunes stolen from the people of America.
They tell us this is the only way we can live. Yet they have over the years prevented several viable optional fuel sources, which would have taken the profit flow from the pockets of the auto and petroleum industries pirating executives, from being brought to fruition.
So Americans, lets sit like knots on a log while we are being robbed and do nothing. Lets allow the thieves dressed in political clothing to take what belongs to our grandchildren and allow them to industrialize our Nations Parks and all other protected Pub Lands. Lets allow them to lie to us in order to make themselves wealthy. They seem to think we are to ignorant to notice, shall we prove them correct?
I for one do not believe that we should sit idly by. It is not in our best interest to do nothing.
If we allow this to happen, we can say goodbye to the America that we all love so much. Talk a long last look at the National Forests as you drive through them. Their numbers are up. Soon they will be barren clear cut land. Soon the only wildlife in America will be in zoos, wildlife refuges or stuffed in museums.
Do we Americans truly hold nothing other than the dollar sacred any more?
Do we now simply bow the great green god of greed and say take it all?
There is no lie that can be told which will justify what is happening now.
If we sit idly by and allow this to happen, then we deserve to have nothing. If we are not willing to protect the things that we hold dear and sacred, then we do not serve to have them. If we do not raise our voices in a resounding cry of anger right now before it is too late, if it is not too late already. If the oil rigs are not already moved into the ANWR, then we will never again see America as it is seen right now.
The Senate Energy committee does not have control over the Public Lands of America. This land is controlled by the BLM. So who indeed is in charge of what in Washington? Or is there anyone who still actually knows the answer to that question?
Jim Windwalker|W|P|112978032186532341|W|P|Pillaging America|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
This causes me to have a number of questions. The first Being,” When was the Bison herd tested for brucellosis and who did the testing?”
While the Bison were being tested were they vaccinated as well?
Where did the Bison contact brucellosis?
It would be obvious that had the cattle ranchers not infected the Bison herds with brucellosis by exposing them to infected cattle, there would not be an existing brucellosis problem among the Bison.
What percentage of the Bison herd is infected with brucellosis?
When the Bison are rounded up and killed, are only infected animals killed?
Why is the endangered species act not being enforced concerning the Bison?
Are the Bison being killed on private lands or on public lands leased by ranchers?
Are the “threatened” cattle ranging on private land or on public lands leased by ranchers?
It seems that the only interest being considered in this situation are those of the ranchers.
Since it is most probably that the Bison(if indeed they are infected) were infected by the cattle grazing on public lands, then it would be the responsibility of the ranchers to pay for the vaccination program to begin to eradicate brucellosis in the Bison herd.
Rather than killing the buffalo the migrating buffalo should instead be tested and vaccinated for brucellosis. Since the limitations on the market are for the sale of infected cattle and the buffalo will not be sold, then it is more than in the best interest of the Buffalo and the People of the United States who indeed would prefer to have Buffalo roaming on our public lands than cattle, for the vaccination program to be in place.
The ultimate solution would be to get the brucellosis problem in Bison (if indeed there is one) under control and remove the cattle of private ranchers from the Public Lands which belong the all of us. This would prevent the possibility of future re-infection of our Bison herd.|W|P|112957221340583497|W|P|Yellowstone Bison Herds still being slaughtered.|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
When asked how they felt about the price increase, petroleum executives stated that Americans should be happy they have gas.
Many citizens feel the gas prices already in excess are way out of line. Many vow to get gas-x and beat the gas problem.
Petroleum Companies however are not concerned about any resistance from Americans over gas prices. Americans only gripe they never act stated one Petroleum Executive.|W|P|112935147982341951|W|P|Petroleum Price Hikes|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
In this day and time the ammount of seats available are restricted only by your ready cash flow.
So step up and join the American Dream, buy a politician.
This is actually a good investment since the people of the United States no longer matter to politicians, which are duly elected to represent the interests of the people rather than the interests of the corperations. Since people vote rather than coprperations, political seat investment is the most viable resaloution to the long term problem.
Larger companies who have no intentions of obeying any environmental laws should also consider buying a President and Vice-President package as well, at an additional fee of course.
Once you have purchased your Senate, Congressional and or President and Vice- President package, your corperation can breath freely once more. Or at least breath as freely as possible through the filters of gas masks which are now required to breath air in the United States. Oh well, gas masks are a small sacrifice when you consider the enormous profits available from the harvesting of all national resources.
It may be in the interests of some larger corperations to buy the complete package with the Homeland Security options which allow you to have your opposition and loud mouthed citizens arrested or assassinated.
Remember, the bottom line is profit, profit, profit, no matter what the cost nor who has to pay it, as long as it is not your Corperation.|W|P|112934819553000750|W|P|Senate and Congressional Seats for sale|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
Richard Pombo, (R-Calif.) had decided that we no longer need our National Parks and Public Lands and desires to sell them off. Richard W. Pombo , who has sought to revamp the Endangered Species Act for more than a decade, said “the bill would make the landmark 32-year-old law more effective”. And he would like us to believe this is going to work how? I see we are going to sell off our public lands in order to save species which will then have no habitat to remain on. And the saved species will live where Mr. Pombo? On ranch land? On timber land that has been clear cut by your logging friends?
Destroy the habitat, destroy the animals. There are absolutely no improvements to the endangered species act that can save or prevent any species from becoming extinct which does not include the protection of habitat.
It would seem that any moron would know that, however it seems that there is at least one moron who does not know that.
It is all about money. It is not about money for the people of this country, it is about money for big business interests. Our once loved and cherished National Parks, one of Americas greatest treasures and resources will be destroyed by oil companies, mining interests and logging operations, as well as cattle barons who already control Public Lands which they should not control.
There are those who would sell out America to the highest bidder. Pombo is one of those. In my opinion this man is nothing more than a land pirate who seeks to use his time in office as a means to stuff his pocket with the resources of our National Parks.
He obviously has neither interest nor concern for neither the endangered species nor the people of this country. His singular concern is his own undying greed for profit. This is a criminal act and should be prosecuted as such.
Until We The People of America come to understand that our National Park Ranges must be forever protected, then we are in the race for the end of our wilderness resources.
These forests are not just standing timber. They are required to provide clean air for us to breath. They are all that stand between us and Pombo and his corporate cronies who pump our air full of pollution and then chop down the trees which are required to filter the air.
Call me a tree hugger if you please, but even grade school students are aware of the photosynthesis cycle and the importance of this function to our live. The problem is that people like Pombo simply do not care.|W|P|112925058721283040|W|P|Theft of National Parks and Public Land|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
In making wildlife management decisions, often the people responsible for making the decisions are the ones with the least knowledge and experience with wildlife.
We have long since either eradicated or reduced the ability of predators to do their part to control our eco system.
Man as a predator is far from being effective and will eventually if left to his current applications, destroy all wildlife.
Man predates from the top down. This allows the lower side of the gene pool to breed without competition. The stronger animals are killed the weaker ones find no resistance to their place in the ranks.
This leads to a reduction in disease resistance, Animal size is reduced, mortality rates become volatile and the entire eco-system is effected by any individual species in the same way. Population explosions occur, over feeding on the eco-system deprives other animals of needed food and thus it goes .
No predator at all has the very same effect as the scenario above. With no natural predators and no hunting at all, everything still dies. Ultimately both have a devastating effect on the eco-system.
If man is not going to allow predators to keep the weak animals out of the gene pool and stimulate competition for breeding ranks among herding animals, then he can expect to see the eventual demise of all of our wildlife. It is only a matter of time.
With man as the primary predator, he must learn to predate from the bottom up. Trophy hunting is not the answer to the issues at hand, nor are there viable arguments to validate management ideas that do not conform to nature.|W|P|112907578071877763|W|P|The Absence Of Predators|W|P|windwalker@defendthewolves.org
Virgil|W|P|I agree completely. Way back when I was a boy and we had no choice but to hunt to survive living in the Ozarks, I can remember aways watching to purposely NOT take the strongest and best, but the young ones. Too many people want that many-antlered head on their wall to somehoe prove what? Their manliness? Ha! I have no respect for that. I never enjoyed taking life, would wait hours for the right shot so that the animals would never feel it and go down instantly in one shot to the head, And I was taught to respect the spirit and be thankful for the sacrifice in order that we might live. I am glad that my lifestyle now requres no taking of animal life and that I can save lives instead of take them. And I fight to save many more, especially the wolves, as they hold a special place in my heart.
Predators DO need to be re-introduced where they belong. Ranchers should not be calling the shots to the detriment of Mother Nature. Man is not a god. We shouldn't act like one. I fully support what ou are sayng.