Absolutely, well said!!!! On Dec 15, 2009, at 3:18 PM, William Witt wrote: > Pathetic. Not shooting a mountain lion, per se. I have no problem > with hunters stalking and shooting mountain lions where they are > reasonably plentiful and where there are laws and regulations > governing the hunters. > > Pathetic is some doofus discovering a mountain lion snoozing on a > branch 50 feet (I seriously doubt the 50 yards claim) away, calling > around on his cell phone until he finds out there's no law stopping > him, and then blazing away. Wahoo! Lookit me, I'm gonna be > famous! Just like the guy who shot the moose a few years ago: "It > charged me! I shot in self defense." He shot it in self-defense > alright--in the side, as it stood grazing 50 yards away in a > harvested cornfield. > > Pathetic is the political cowardice of the Conservation Commission > and the DNR staff--for their attitude of total denial that mountain > lions are living and hunting in Iowa; for their unwillingness to > set any kinds of recognition or protections for the big cats, for > bears, moose, wolves and any other rare wild animals that wander > across our borders. > > Pathetic is the way we've spent some millions of dollars to restore > river otters to Iowa, only to see the DNR "experts" and > Commissioners, for pure political expediency, set trapping limits > that let so many animals be taken that in just two years, the > populations have plummeted alarmingly... And yet, I've not heard > of any moves to close the season or revisit the regulations. > Otters: another exotic crop that failed? > > What's really pathetic is the persistent, short-sighted commodity- > crop attitude that rules how we as a State think about our natural > lands, the plant communities and the animals, birds, and fish that > live on and in them. (And just forget about amphibians, reptiles > and invertebrates.) Ecological complexity, interdependence, > stability, integrity, sustainability--plenitude--mean nothing if > they don't generate dollars. > > Likewise, it's pathetic how any voicing of science and long-term > wisdom is quickly shushed. Or shouted down. Who at DNR could dare > say publicly, "Yup, we've got mountain lions in Iowa. That's > because we've got more forest cover for them to hide in, and > because we've got a half-million deer for them to feast on. And > we're gonna have more of them. They eat deer, not cattle, not > housecats, so everybody calm down." > > Nobody, at least as far as I've heard, can even speak up and try to > educate against the ignorant prejudice that river otters rob > fishermen of the best fish in the rivers. I have heard trappers > say that they like to catch and kill young otters, never reporting > it, because they don't want them growing up and competing for the > good fish. > > Pathetic. > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 1:08 PM, joe <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > http://gazetteonline.com/breaking-news/2009/12/15/cedar-rapids-man- > shoots-mountain-lion-in-iowa-county > > > > > _____________________________________________________ > Iowa Native Plants Mailing List > [log in to unmask] > http://atmos.cgrer.uiowa.edu/herbarium/MailingList.htm > > The Iowa Native Plants Mailing List provides a forum for those > interested in Iowa's natural > vegetation and in general conservation issues. Another objective > is to promote the Iowa > Native Plant Society. This list is owned and managed by Diana > Horton, and sponsored by > the University of Iowa Department of Biology. > > For assistance, contact Diana Horton, [log in to unmask] > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To > unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: IOWA- > [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv > Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/ > lists/faq.asp - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp