Death By Wolves And Misleading Advocacy. The Kenton Carnegie Tragedy

Reprinted with permission from the author.

On November 8th 2005 a 22-year-old honors and scholarship student in Geological Engineering, Kenton Joel Carnegie, from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, was killed in northern Saskatchewan by a pack of wolves. While he was almost certainly not the only victim of wolf predation in North America in the past century, judging from conversations with native people, and a closer review of case histories, this was the best-investigated case to date . In the process of that investigation matters were uncovered that need to be discussed as they have significant policy implications for wildlife conservation and human safety. However, we need to review what happened to Kenton Carnegie, as it is relevant to considerations following. Read more

Important – Brady Group Sues to Block Guns in National Parks

Dear MSSA Friends,

I’ve just sent an email letter to Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath asking him to intervene on behalf of Montana in a lawsuit filed today by the Brady gun control group attempting to block the new regulations allowing carrying firearms in National Parks in accordance with state laws.

The text of my letter to McGrath is pasted below.

Remember that McGrath is term-limited as AG, and is out of office in a few days (although he was elected to the Montana Supreme Court). We really need McGrath to file for intervenor status BEFORE he leaves office.

You can email Mike at “Mike McGrath”. You can call the AG’s office at 444-2026. You can also talk to your local media about this – newspapers, TV, radio, radio talk shows, etc.

Let’s see what we can do to get the Montana opposition to the Brady lawsuit going.

Thanks for the help.

Best wishes,

Gary
P.S., I have not included the .pdf file of the Brady Complaint so as to not clog your email. But it is available at:
http://www.bradycenter.org/xshare/pdf/kempthorne-complaint.pdf
———————————————

Dear Mike,

I write to ask you to intervene on behalf of Montana and its citizens in Case 1:08-cv-02243, Brady Campaign v. Dirk Kempthorne, filed in federal court today in Washington, D.C., an attempt by the Brady gun control group to block regulations recently adopted by the Department of Interior to default to state laws concerning carrying firearms in National Parks.

There are National Parks affected in Montana, Montana citizens will certainly be impacted by this lawsuit, and Montana citizens have wholeheartedly supported the new regulations adopted by the Department of Interior.

A .pdf copy of the Complaint by the Brady group is attached for your information.

I understand that you will be leaving office in a few days, but I strongly encourage you to file the request to intervene quickly – before you leave office. Please also pass along to your successor, Mr. Bullock, our strong encouragement that this intervention be aggressively pursued on behalf of Montana citizens. We do not want these new regulations blocked. MSSA will be pleased to support the Montana Department of Justice in this intervention with appropriate legal arguments.

Thank you for taking this matter seriously on behalf of the people of Montana.

Sincerely,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Idaho Elk Survival Data Disturbing Yet Revealing

Recently the Idaho Department of Fish and Game released new information from its Elk Survival Study. This study began in 2005 when biologists radio-collared 673 female elk in 11 elk management zones across the state. IDFG personnel have been tracking the elk and collecting data about their survival and causes of death. While some news reports are saying the results show that despite the presence of wolves, IDFG is meeting their elk objectives. I have to disagree.

It seems more and more the trend, I would suppose coming from wolf advocates, to spin the facts about what effect the wolf is having on ungulate populations. It’s easy to claim that elk populations in the aggregate across Idaho are meeting “objectives”. But what is going on within some of the wildlife management areas? When you look more closely at the results being shared with the public, it is disturbing and tells a story. Read more

NRA/MSSA Legislative Reception, January 7th

Dear MSSA Friends,

MSSA and the NRA will co-host a reception for legislators AND FOR YOU at the Colonial Inn in Helena, on Wednesday, January 7th, from 6 to 8 PM. This is planned for the first week of the 2009 legislative session.

Here’s the deal. We want articulate, informed pro-gun people from across Montana to attend the reception and visit with legislators about RKBA issues and especially about the bills MSSA will have before the Legislature. Most important of these is our flagship Self-Defense Bill.

Because this reception will last until 8 PM, and given the size of Montana and likely driving conditions, I’ve arranged a group rate for rooms at the Colonial for Wednesday night. The cost for a single or double is $96.25 (including tax). To reserve a room, call the Colonial at 443-2100 and ask for the group rate for the “NRA Reception.”

Also, we wish to conduct a workshop about MSSA legislative issues from 4 PM to 6 PM, to make sure you folks are up to speed on our bills, to help you in conversations with legislators during the reception. We’ve reserved the “Judicial Room” for that. So, try to be in Helena by 4PM for this work session.

This invitation is NOT for the general public – not for everyone. If you have a friend you wish to bring who is knowledgeable and articulate about the RKBA, fine. We’d especially like people who are leaders of local gun clubs, and who are ALSO presentable and knowledgeable advocates of the RKBA. (We believe that includes you, or you wouldn’t be on the MSSA email list.)

This is a VERY IMPORTANT event – important to building momentum for our issues in the Legislature. We need as many of you to attend as possible. Yes, winter travel is a pain. Yes, we’re all stressed for money to pay for gas and lodging. But, this is an important event. If many of you can show, this event will help a lot to launch our 2009 legislative agenda.

If you can plan to attend, I’d like to know so I can make plans. Shoot me an email and let me know if you plan to be there. Thanks!!

I really hope to see you in Helena on the 7th.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Information On Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves

This edition of The Outdoorsman focuses a lot on the 20%-plus hunting, fishing and trapping license fee increase being requested by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. As is always the case, the Outdoorsman in loaded with history and facts about wildlife management. I would like to point out that even though the Outdoorsman originates out of Idaho and much of the articles and information pertain specifically to Idaho, I subscribe to it and read it regularly because it contains a wealth of information that can be applied to most any state wildlife management programs.

If you would like to subscribe to the Outdoorsman, please use the information contained below to purchase such.

Below is an article written by the editor of the Outdoorsman, George Dovel containing updated information on the Northern Rocky Mountains gray wolf. Read more

“Dangerous and Unusual” Weapons?

Dear MSSA Friends,

Just for your interest, I’ve been working on an analysis that may interest you.

In U.S. v. Heller, the Supreme Court said that the Second Amendment does not extend to protect possession of “dangerous and unusual” weapons. So, what does “dangerous and unusual” mean?

Wayne Fincher formed the Washington County (Arkansas) Militia, and was busted by the feds for having machine guns. For ten years the WCM held musters, informed the sheriff and governor. Nobody was concerned until the feds dropped in. Now Fincher is appealing his federal conviction for possessing unregistered machine guns to the Supreme Court.

So, how does the “dangerous and unusual” weapons as mentioned in Heller apply to U.S. v. Fincher?

You are welcome to read my evaluation at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Dangerous%20and%20Unusual/

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

MSSA Bills for the 2009 Legislature

Dear MSSA Friends,

I have begun a page about MSSA bills for the upcoming 2009 Legislative Session. This page is at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legis09/

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

MSSA Self-Defense Bill

Dear MSSA Friends,

I’m very pleased to announce that MSSA’s flagship bill, our Self-defense bill will be carried by (that means he will be the prime sponsor) Rep. Krayton Kerns (R-Laurel).

Krayton is a rancher and a veterinarian. He is well-spoken and eager to carry this bill – an avid supporter of the RKBA and the concepts in the bill. Plus, he was on the House Judiciary Committee last session and will be again this session when the Legislature convenes on January 5th. This bill will certainly be assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

It’s now time for you to visit with your State Representative AND State Senator and seek their agreement to be a co-sponsor of this bill. If they have questions, invite them to look at the explanation I wrote and for which I recently sent you the link (BILL COPY — MY EXPLANATION). Let me know the name of any Rep. or Senator who tells you they’ll co-sponsor so we can collect their co-signature on the bill the first week of the legislative session.

Our sincere thanks to Rep. Kerns for being willing and eager to carry this important bill.

There are two incredibly wimpy “Castle Doctrine” bills that really don’t do much at all that have been drafted for Democrats. These bills are not 2% of the meat of our bill, but these Democrats want the reputation of having sponsored pro-gun legislation. These bills have been drafted for Senator Larry Jent (D-Bozeman) and Rep. Kendall Van Dyk (D-Billings).

Stay tuned for more ….

Thanks to you for your help with this important bill. We’re just getting rolling.

Best wishes,

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com

Take Back Montana – from Federal Wolves

MISSOULA – Groundbreaking legislation is prepared for the 2009 legislative session to dramatically rearrange the relationship between Montana and the federal government concerning wolves. Montana’s sportsmen are beyond frustration with endless broken promises that wolves will soon be turned over to state management and their population explosion curtailed.

For years Montana has met the wolf population objectives for removing wolves from the endangered species list, but because of federal incompetence, outright hostility to Montana people by predator advocates and a complicit judiciary, shift to state management has failed to occur.

The Montana Shooting Sports Association has prepared a bill for the 2009 legislature that will require federal wolves to be brought into compliance with Montana wolf policy by federal managers. Under the bill, as long as federal wolves are not in compliance, there will be consequences for continuing non-compliance. The bill provides state-established benchmarks for compliance with Montana policy, and a process by which compliance certification can be achieved by federal managers.

This “Wolf Recovery Act” will be sponsored by Senator Joe Balyeat (R-Bozeman), and is intended to assist Montana in recovering from the unmitigated and substantial impact of federal wolves. This bill will not receive a bill number until it is formally introduced in early January, but may be viewed now on the Legislature’s Website at:
http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/lchtml/LC0792.htm

General information about what this bill will accomplish is available at:
http://www.progunleaders.org/Legis09/wolves.html

MSSA president Gary Marbut commented, “We’ve absolutely hit the wall with wolves. Populations of huntable game owned by the people of Montana are being devastated. People and livestock are increasingly at risk. We can no longer tolerate either the plague of wolves in Montana or the tolerant attitude our Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has displayed in their zeal to accommodate wolves and too many broken federal promises.”

Numerous recent news reports are beginning to focus public attention on the real risk of wolves to people and the considerable impact wolves are having on hunting opportunities and livestock.

http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/12/15/news/state/18-wolf.txt
http://www.idahostatesman.com/outdoors/story/569072.html
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/12/11/top/55lo_081211_wolves.txt
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/12/14/news/local_montana/news02.prt
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/12/15/news/local_montana/news01.txt
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/12/06/news/local_montana/news01.txt

Although wolf proponents have continually opposed all delisting or down-listing efforts, they have failed to offer any criteria or guarantees at all about under what conditions they would consider wolves to have been recovered and eligible for state management. The efforts of wolf advocates indicate that they will be satisfied only with a “predator/prey balance” which would end big game hunting by Montana people altogether and allow wolf population reduction only through wolf starvation.

Studied wolf populations are documented to increase at a rate between 25% and 32% per year as long as a food supply is available and disease doesn’t flash through the population. Wolves are also documented to kill between 20 and 80 elk per year, for each wolf. Estimates tend to center on wolf kills of about 30 elk per year. It is now estimated that there are over 500 wolves in Montana. FWP lacks current numbers of elk existing in Montana, although elk populations are known to have already crashed in areas with high wolf densities. With these numbers and third-grade math, it is axiomatic that wolves will eventually terminate all hunting opportunities for people in Montana. The only remaining debate is over how long this termination will take.

Marbut commented, “Montana’s hunting heritage is literally being fed to the wolves, federal wolves. When the huntable game is gone or rare and Montana’s hunting tradition is history, Montana’s community of stockgrowers will come under increasing assault by wolves. Many believe this is intended by predator advocates to drive property owners off the land and turn Montana into a giant park.”

Concerning the proposed wolf legislation, Senator Balyeat said, “I’ve carried bills before to give Montana authority to deal with wolves upon delisting, but that long-promised delisting never materializes, at least not to last. Montana simply cannot wait any longer to see what the feds may or may not do with wolves. Our people, our game herds and our livestock need protection, now. I am very pleased to be able to sponsor this needed and corrective bill. I believe Montana will rise in support of this effort.”

Similar legislation is currently being drafted in Idaho.

A story in the Casper (Wyoming) Tribune of December 14th quotes sources as asserting that wolves will be delisted again soon. Wolves have been down-listed once and delisted once, both of which actions were promptly reversed by federal judges sympathetic to wolves. Proponents of the bill to be carried by Senator Balyeat have zero confidence that the currently proposed delisting will prevail. Marbut commented, “How many more times should Charlie Brown trust Lucy to hold the football? None at all!” Proponents believe the Obama administration will move quickly to reverse any delisting. Proponents wish Montana to no longer be sitting on the sidelines, dependent on any federal promises, actions or inactions.

About this out-of-control wolf experiment in Montana, Bob Fanning, president of the Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd said, “FOTNYEH began warning Montanans that game herds would be destroyed by rapidly increasing wolf numbers and densities a decade ago. Those warnings were ignored and the Yellowstone Ecosystem has been rapidly and completely sterilized by excessively large wolf packs that have fanned out far further than the proposed recovery area. Most Montanans are aware that they were fed propaganda for the past decade by pro-wolf bureaucrats. Many Montanans are aware that the Yellowstone Ecosystem has been sterilized of its prey base and is becoming a biological desert.”

“FOTNYEH has worked for a decade,” Fanning continued, “to protect the rights, property, customs, culture and heritage of the people of Montana from the federal wolf program forced on our state from afar. FOTNYEH whole-heartedly supports this proposed bill.”

– 30 -

Contact: Gary Marbut – 549-1252
Senator Joe Balyeat – 539-5547
Bob Fanning – 333-4121

USFWS Reinstates Protection For Wolves “In Compliance With Court Orders”

On December 11, 2008, recorded in the Federal Register, the Department of Interior, more specifically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published the final rule that places the gray wolf in nearly all of the lower 48 states, under federal protection of the Endangered Species Act. What this final rule does, I doubt 99.999999% of Americans understand. Read more

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