In the meantime FWS works with Audubon and probably The Nature Conservancy regarding this "important waterfowl area". Instead of either dispersing the concentrations or reducing the flocks, FWS plies Congress and the UN with tales of the "unique" and "important" ecosystem being despoiled by farmers and other humans going about their business. Given the right Administration and opportunity, the central Platte irrigators will be shut down and then land acquisition by FWS and TNC will begin. Glossy brochures will tout the plover and the sturgeon and the waterfowl concentrations. I would also guarantee that there will be promises in the brochures of restoring buffalo, wolves, and prairie flowers. Added in will be assurance of the eradication of ALL INVASIVE SPECIES eventually (meaning never because it is an impossible task.) (NOTE: If you were under the impression that Invasive Species legislation has been bottled up, think again. The current FWS money request to Congress notes that the current Interior budget for INVASIVE SPECIES is $58.3 Million - an increase of only $600,000 from the previous year. Not bad for something the public believes HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED!)

One last observation. Where did I find out about all this? Not from Ducks Unlimited whose probity is beyond question. As they raise their millions annually from shotguns and hunting prints and old decoys and glossy pictures of retrievers; they are prepared to seamlessly transition into a world without hunting. One need only look to their silence when Canadian shotguns were registered and their silence on these real matters.

Not from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. They are busy getting along in Washington and one of their former Directors now directs FWS. Besides, the State agencies are so used to sitting every time they see a Federal bureaucrat (hoping to get a treat) that they openly defy State elected officials for whom they ostensibly work to side with FWS because of their "holy?" bond in saving the environment from the rest of us. Consult State employee behavior in the northern Rocky Mountains regarding wolves for confirmation of this fact. While duck hunters think their state bureaucrats fight for them and all hunters, and fishermen think they are watching over the excise taxes meant for State programs, bureaucratic bonds grow in Washington and trump all other considerations.

Not from any of the "conservation" organizations either. They are busy looking at possible jobs with the federal government if the other party gets elected and the environment and animal rights once more get all the attention they had in the 90's. Actually I found out about it by just reading and watching. It's not really rocket science, especially if you have spent much time in those kennels.

So, while hunting of migratory birds is surely in potential jeopardy, we should all take a leaf from our representatives in Washington and rejoice. All the migratory bird employees still have jobs. All that money for hunting migratory birds is still going to refuges, law enforcement and research employees for salaries, bonuses, and retirement. The top FWS managers still reign. Last, but certainly not least the Endangered Species program and the radical environmental cults and animal rights sects are gaining another weapon to subdue the rest of us and our freedoms. What is it that Russian comedian says, "Is this a great country, or what?"

Jim Beers – Retired Wildlife Biologist, Refuge Manager,
and Special Agent; US Fish & Wildlife Service

2 April 2004

This article and other recent articles by Jim Beers can be found at
http://www.allianceforamerica.org/bb/viewforum.php?f=91