00:00:02 Speaker 1: From Mediators World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel. Steel products are available only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal Callahan. A leopard may not be able to change its spots, but a group of animal rights activists believes that all predators can change what they eat. Herbivorized predators is exactly what it sounds like. This nonprofit group based in England believes that the next frontier of evolution will see predators like tigers, wolves, and bears pass on the veal and say yes to the salad. The organization is led by an animal rights activist, a transhumanist, and something called a futurist, which sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, which I guess is what this is. A futurist, according to the Old Dictionary, is a person who studies the future and makes predictions about it based on current trends. This particular futurist is named Adam James Davis, and if this is the caliber of all of his predictions, I'm thinking he should get a refund from Future As School, and probably not visit Texas. Davis and his colleagues believe carnivores should be converted into vegans because quote, predation causes serious harms to sentient beings, including untimely death and pain suffering, physical and mental. They believe we have a duty to end pain and suffering, So instead of volunteering at a local food bank or visiting their grandparents, they've decided to pick lower hanging fruit. Their website, which I encourage you to check out at Herbivorized Predators dot org, is heavy on philosophy and light on science. They point to species like pandas to argue that their solution is possible. Quote. Given that this change has occurred without human agency, it likely will not be too difficult to modify via selective breeding and genetic engineering, all carnivorous species to evolve herbivorous diets because that's what the animals want. Genetic engineering to those who were he's such a massive ecological change would cause more suffering than it prevents. They argue that herbivorizing carnivores will happen in a controlled manner, slowly over many years. Population controls like immunocontraception, can make sure all these new herbivores don't decimate plant life, so we really don't have anything to worry about. Isn't that nice. It's a brave new world out there. Folks. Keep tuning in to Cal's Week in Review and I'll make sure you don't get left behind. This week We've got the public land's desk, legislative roundup, cattle calls, and so much more. But first I'm going to tell you about my week, and oh my goodness, where to start. HA went down to Cibolo Creek Ranch on the Texas Mexico border, which is south of Murfa, Texas. Just to lay this out, playing and simple. This is a spoiled kid adventure. My longtime friend Terry Huen, who is on his second career consulting with different operations setting up instructional and recreational shooting courses for pistols, car beans, and long range. This is after his first career, which lasted thirty years in the Navy, where he, among lots of other jobs, instructed at the sniper school. Anyway, he invited me down. He found the ranch through his new job and set it up so I could come down and bring a friend Kimmy Werner. Now, I selected Kimmy because she is a first time rifle hunter and just so curious as to set up a brand new beginner with very very limited experience with somebody who has an unbelievable, I would say, unattainable amount of experience for somebody who doesn't get paid to shoot. Anyway, we did a couple of days of shooting, punching paper, hitting steel, shooting box at various angles and distances. Then we went after oddad or barbary sheep, which is a really cool, absolutely non native animal to North America and places absolutely crawling with them. In regards to big game, this area of Texas was home to desert bighorn sheep, halina, the Carmen mountain, white tail, pronghorn antelope, bison, elk, and Coyle's deer. All this odd ad country is desert cheap country, but I saw no desert cheep. Did see havelina whitetail, and a private bison herd that was in very close proximity to three black willde beast, Yes, willde beast, which, in case you are wondering, are not native to this continent either. Suffice it to say Texas is and will remain a very different place. So much to tell you about, but I would really like to fulfill a dream of mine and get Havelina with my bow, so I must move on. You will be able to see this adventure in a future episode of callen Field only a the Meat Eater YouTube channel. New episodes coming out very soon. If you want to catch up on this more. I'll see you all very shortly in Missoula, Montana. Saint Patrick's Day weekend for the backcountry hunters and anglers rendezvous. Also shoot your rifles. Shoot your hunting rifles. Practice, practice, practice. It is amazing what some instruction and real range can do to get you back in the groove of shooting. It will pay off soon, only a few short months until we're back into the big game season. Speaking of tag application season has already begun. I went through TSA tags again this year, hoping some pro level planning can help me draw a tag to adventure someplace new. You're not in Kansas anymore, You're on Pandora. Moving on to the cattle desk. The US for a Service in the USDA have completed a campaign to gun down about one hundred and fifty wild cattle and the Helan National Forest sharpshooters flew in helicopters through the rugged mountainous train to find and eradicate the herds that the FEDS say pose a danger to both humans and the environment. The feral cattle and the Helo Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors. Grays year round and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation, said HeLa National Forest Supervisor Camille House. This action will help restore the wilderness character of the Helo Wilderness enjoyed by visitors from across the country. Not everyone is happy about the operation. New Mexico Governor Michelle Leuhan Grisham issued a statement criticizing the plan and accusing the Forest Service of refusing to engage with stakeholders. Ranchers are also upset. I saw initial reports that they were concerned about some of their own cattle being gunned down. They also said in court documents that the Service should have tried harder to round up the cattle instead of shooting them and leaving them to waste. It's also worth noting that if the Service is concerned about the safety of visitors to the HeLa, it's maybe not a great idea to leave over one hundred carcasses on the landscape. Dexter D from San Diego wrote in to ask Cal at the Meat Eater dot Com to wonder why the Forest Service didn't offer a controlled hunt to deal with the cattle problem. The Forest Service said that only the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has the authority to designate a hunt, which, if you ask me, sort of sidesteps the question. But they also pointed out that cows fall into kind of a Noman's land. They aren't game, non game, furbearer, or unprotected animal. So even if New Mexico Game and Fish wanted to call a hunt, the legal and logistical challenge is probably more trouble than it's worth. The cattle and the heila are the descendants of cows that legally graze the area in the nineteen seventies before the owner went out of business. Federal officials have made several attempts over the last couple of decades to remove the animals, including a similar shooting operation in twenty twenty two that took out sixty five cows in two days. In twenty twenty one, on the Forest Service collected about fifty cattle from the Heilo Wilderness and sold them at a livestock auction. It sounds like based on this previous experience, they decided that shooting the animals was quicker, easier, and cheaper than rounding them up. In their responses to public comments, they said it would be quote daunting to remove all that meat in a safe and responsible manner. They argued that since the cows are not vaccinated, the Forest Service would be unable to confirm that they are safe to eat, which is kind of a weird place to leave that one. Fortunately for everybody, there is a new Mexico Cattle episode of callen Field coming soon to the Meat Eater YouTube channel, and I'm just going to leave you with this, Aerial gunning is the way to go. We're not talking about big, beautiful beef. We're talking about wild as rank cattle. They do not know what hurting is. I'm sure we could interview a few more cowboys down there in the Heila that may have tried to round these cattle up. Big issue here is that wild cattle are not just a feral animal in New Mexico by default, an unbranded cattle belongs to the state right, which does make sense when you think about the way grazing allotments work. Okay, you pay a lease to graze the state's grass on state ground, right, national forest, same deal, BLM, same deal. So when that unbranded feral cattle comes in, typically under great protest and dress, the state or that entity would like to get some of that free grazing that it did cash back. Okay, so it goes to the state Livestock auction after being inspected by the brand inspector. Does it sound like a big wayte to meat? Hell, yes it does, but I get it. Moving on to the legislative desk, Pennsylvania State Senator Daniel Laughlin has reintroduced his Sunday Hunting bill from last year. This bill would remove all prohibitions on Sunday hunting and trapping throughout the entire state. In twenty twenty, to Game Commission began approving three Sundays each year for hunting, which have been successful and safe. This bill would open all Sundays to the same activities Wisconsin nights. We'll have a chance this April to tell the DNR what they think about spear fishing for northern pike. Advocates for dark house pike spearing, which include Meat Eater contributor Pat Durkin, point out that many neighboring states allow the activity and that spear fishing for sturgeon is already legal. They want Wisconsin to join Minnesota, Michigan, six other states in allowing this fun and effective way to harvest pike. Residents will have a chance to weigh in at this year's Wisconsin Conservation Congress Annual Spring Hearing. An online questionnaire will be available from April tenth at noon through April thirteenth at noon. There are dozens of other policy proposals on the questionnaire, so if you live in Wisconsin check it out. You can google Wisconsin Conservation Congress or visit the meat eater dot com forward slash Cow lots of good info. Also in Wisconsin, Senate Bill thirty would lift the requirement that the DNR impose a baiting ban when captive servants test positive for CWD. Current law requires the DNR to ban baiting for three years whenever a test comes back positive in any particular county. This bill would impose this requirement when a free ranging deer test positive, but not when a captive deer test positive. In Ohio, the State Wildlife Council is considering whether or not to reopen the grouse hunting season this year. Grouse are listed as a species of concern in Ohio, just one step below threatened, but in previous years the Council has allowed hunters a daily bag limit of one, with a statewide season starting the second Saturday in October and running through the Sunday after Thanksgiving on public land and through January one on private land. This year, the Columbus Dispatch reports that some commissioners want to close grouse hunting indefinitely until they can get to the bottom of the bird's population decline. If you'd like to weigh in on this policy, get in touch with the Ohio Wildlife Council. Down in Florida, state wildlife managers are again considering whether or not to call a black bear hunt. Florida's bear population isn't exceptionally large, but biologists say that about ten percent of the thirty two hundred bears in Florida can be killed each year, but the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is still a little gun shy about calling a hunt after what happened in twenty fifteen. That was the first bear hunt in Florida in twenty one years, and hunters harvested two hundred ninety five bears in just two days. They didn't exceed their statewide quota, but officials ended the hunt early after regional quotas were exceeded and hunters were harvesting at a faster rate than they expected. Animal rights activists got involved, and the state hasn't had a bear hunt since. If you want to get involved, get in touch with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Up in Maine, Representative Lynn Williams has introduced a bill that would significantly restrict kyote hunting. Thanks to Justin Spicer for sending this one in LD eight one four would cut the current year round daytime hunting season to just six months between October and March. The current nighttime kyote hunting season runs from December sixteenth Dougust thirty first, but this bill would shorten it by five months and end it in March. Folks, I gotta say it again, if your legislature is in session, if your Fishing Game Commission is making rules right now, you have got to be involved because I guarantee you, even though it's not here on the weekend review, there is something in your state that will affect you going on right now. Get involved, be a part of the process, or don't complain when some rule comes out or new law that you don't like. Moving on to the dog desk, Idaho Fishing Game reported last week that conservation officers had killed two pet dogs that were harassing and killing elk. A conservation officer arrived on the scene in the Chubbuck area to find that the dogs had killed a calf elk and were attacking a second calf elk, which later died from its injuries. The department said there was quote no feasible way to stop this attack other than killing the dogs, so the officers shot both of them. A spokesperson for the department called it an extremely unfortunate situation. They really wish there was a different outcome here. Another dog related news, a town in Kansas has suspended its kyote trapping program after two pet dogs were caught in and injured in offset jaw traps. Authorities in the town of Mission Hill, Kansas, had received reports from residents about kyotes and residential neighborhoods, so they hired a trapper to catch them. The city sent notices to their surrounding homes, and they also put up street signs that read warning nuisance animal trapping in progress, but Elizabeth Kirsch told local media that those signs weren't clear enough. She was walking her dogs, Oreo and Fed in a local park when Oreo got caught in one of the traps. None of the news reports I've read said whether Oreo was on a leash, though I doubt the city would have put traps on park pathways anyway. Kurse dropped Fred's leash when she heard Oreo howling, and Fred didn't waste much time getting caught himself. Kersh wasn't able to open either trap, and the dogs had to wait about twenty minutes for the police to show up. By that time, they'd lost multiple teeth trying to chew their way out, and Kersh says her vet bill is approaching twenty thousand dollars. The city has removed all kyote traps from the park and says it's reviewing its trapping program. It says it started the program because the kyote killed the dog of another resident and officials tried their best to warn locals about the presence of the traps. Kurse says the city should pay for VET bills. So far, no word on that. Moving on to the public land Desk. Back in episode one sixty two, we covered how the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area in Georgia was being put up for sale. This fourteen thousand acre property north of Atlanta has been used by outdoor enthusiasts for many years to hunt, fish, camp, hike, and horseback ride. But the company that owns the property wants to sell it, and we put out a call to action for local residents to speak up. I have good news and bad news to report. The good news is that, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the family that owns the property is talking to the state about how they can preserve it as a wildlife management area. The bad news is that the state may not be able to afford it. A warrior for the Neely family told the Journal Constitution that if the Georgia dn R could offer four hundred million, they would sell it tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is at a state wildlife agency in the country that has that kind of free cash. Talks are ongoing, and Georgia residents are hoping they can come to some kind of agreement because no one wants the alternative. The backup development plan would use the property to build sixteen thousand, five hundred residential units, sixteen and a half million square feet of industrial space, eight hundred acres of commercial development, and nearly four thousand acres for mining and debris recycling. About five thousand acres would be preserved as quote green space, but it's unclear what kind of outdoor recreation would be allowed, if any. Some of that green space would almost certainly be nothing more than neighborhood parks and gated communities. There's a petition at change dot org to save the pine Log WMA, which you should sign if you haven't already. Also continue to tell the Georgia DNR and your Georgia state legislators that you want this property preserved. If they're in talks with the Neely family, there's still a chance. Your Georgia Wildlife officials need to know you have their back and you want them to stay the course. There's still hope for pine Log, but I'm sorry that I can't say the same for Fairfield Lake State Park. In Texas. Located ninety six miles south of Dallas, This park closed permanently at the end of last month because it's landlords sold the land to a developer. That's bad enough, but a new report from the Dallas Morning News indicates that, despite public statements to the contrary, Texas Parks and Wildlife did not seriously attempt to save him. The Dallas Morning News obtained text messages between Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioner Arch Applin and the parks new owner Sean Todd. Todd told Applin that he'd be willing to sell the park back to the state, minus what he calls a tiny carb out in the northern peninsula of the park, but Applin said that he spoke with Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who said he only had the authority to purchase the entire park, not just a part of it. It seems like they'd be able to work out a compromise, but the deal fell through. Even after Todd press for an agreement, Applin reiterated that he wasn't willing to consider the small carve out on the peninsula. There's more to this story, and you should check out the Dallas Morning News article for yourself. Whatever happened during these negotiations, one thing is clear. Texas residents who don't have much public land as it is just lost access to a one thousand, eight hundred and twenty one acre park along with a twenty four hundred acre lake. If I lived in the lone Star state, I'd surely be writing my representatives make this issue front and center so it doesn't happen again at the very least. Moving on to the mail bag listener Ben Funk rode in to ask me about solar farms. I've noticed in the last year or so, solar farms are all of the sudden, popping up everywhere, seemingly overnight. He sent me a few photos he's taken from his airplane, which shows what it looked like hundreds of acres of solar arrays. Why are our conservation organizations silent on this? I'm not sure how anyone can witness this and defend it as better for the environment. It's simply maddening, and it feels like there isn't a damn thing I or anyone can do about it. I definitely see your point. Clean energy is good from a carbon emission standpoint, but solar and wind require lots of acreage, and we're only going to be seeing more of it in the coming years. We covered an episode one ninety two how the Bureau of Land Management is developing a plan to jump start more solar energy development on western public land. The Biden administration is very friendly to alternative energies and there are plenty of subsidies and government assistances available. Several of you also sent me information about the Lava Ridge wind project in southern Idaho. If it moves forward, this would be the largest wind turbine farm in the United States, with over four hundred units, but locals have launched a campaign against it because it would be in view of the Minnedoka National Historic Site. They argue that building four hundred massive windmills in the rugged high desert of Idaho would ruin the visitor experience. The BLM extended its comment period until April twenty, so you still have time to tell the agency what you think. Visit the meat eater dot com forward slashcal for a link to the comment page, or you can check out the Minnedoka dot org forward slash Lava Ridge for more information. These are only two examples of debates that are happening all across the country. How can we address carbon emissions using clean energy sources while maintaining our wild landscapes and healthy ecosystems. One good example of some progressive work on behalf of nature and energy coexisting, The Nature Conservancy across Wyoming and the West is mapping out the best places to put wind and solar farms. They've identified areas that have already been disturbed with oil and gas development and areas that will pose the least risk to wildlife because most solar farms are fenced off. For example, they want to be careful that no one builds a farm along a migration corridor. Ideally, we can take advantage of renewable energy without destroying the habitat and animals we're trying to save from climate change. Maybe that sounds like trying to have our cake and eat it two, but at the risk of mixing food metaphors, I think it's more like chewing gum while walking. Takes a little extra coordination, but it's doable. Thanks for sending those ones in, and remember to write in to ask al. That's ask how at the meat eater dot com. Let me know what's going on in your neck of the woods. Also, if you're looking for a clean, quiet, throw underneath the seat, get you out of a jam chainsaw, check out www dot steel Dealers dot com. Find a local, knowledgeable steel dealer near you. They're gonna get you set up with what you need and they won't try to send you home with what you don't. Thanks again and I'll talk to you next week.