Yeah, Wow!! Kudos to both of you. On Dec 15, 2009, at 4:56 PM, William Witt wrote: > I thank my longtime friend Lanny for speaking his mind. I've > thanked him in the past for the elk meat that he has given me, > which was good, tasty and nutritious, to eat. I have another > friend who avidly hunts deer in NE Iowa; I hunt the banks of the > Garonne and the Rhone, and sometimes we trade: one of his venison > roasts for a bottle of my Bordeaux or Lirac. > > I'll repeat: I have no quarrel with ethical hunters. (In my > youth, I hunted pheasants and was proud of my wing-shooting > prowess.) Hunters provide a real service, natural and economic, > plus some good eating, and I appreciate that. > > But I do differ strongly with the notion that hunters can be the > sole significant predator group, sufficient to maintain ecological > balance. Ninety thousand deer hunters haven't--and can't--balance > the overpopulated deer herd in Iowa, nor could the hunters control > the elk herd in Yellowstone. That's just regarding numbers. It's > also been shown in study after study that natural predators are > necessary to maintain the overall health and vigor of their prey > populations, as well as balance and health in the plant communities > that are the base of their food chains. > > Yes, people go nuts with their fears of lions and wolves and bears, > oh my. But does that mean that rational, informed people should > endlessly pander to them and acquiesce in the needless and wasteful > things they demand be done? > > BW > > On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 4:07 PM, Orlando Schwartz > <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I agree somewhat with my friend Bill Witt. I sometimes send a note > to this web site in defense of hunting. I think that if I were > out hunting deer and saw a mountain lion (which I know is legal > game in Iowa) I would likely shoot it. Partly it would be my > trophy. Partly because I really don't think we need them > established in Iowa. A few years ago I recall the Sierra Club was > promotion legal protection for mountain lions in the statbe. I > said then and I would say now, keep your verbal and written power > dry and save them for something important. The public is afraid of > mountain lions, with at least a bit of reason since we see attacks > on human in other states. The public also knows that mountain > lions do kill pets and livestock. But mainly, people are > emotionally afraid of them. This is a situation where the public > will think, what the H... is that wacko Sierra Club doing trying to > protect mountain lions. S.C. defense of mountain lions will cost > the club a lot of public goodwill. I agree with Bill that the DNR > is too mysterious about mountain lions in the state. > > But then, if I were in charge of things I don't think I would have > introduced the wolves into Yellowstone. It has controlled the elk > in the park and helped restore the natural habitat. But it has > cost money by the 10's of millions and it has cost so much to the > cause of conservation. If people are emotional about mt. lions, > that pales in comparison to their emotions about wolves--it borders > on superstitions. You ought to read people's irrational comments > about wolves in hunting magazines such as Outdoor Life. Again if > I were in charge, I likely would have controlled the elk in > Yellowstone by allowing hunters to harvest the surplus. It would > have had the same outcome and raised money for the parks. > OK mountain lion lovers, commence firing. > Lanny Schwartz > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > 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 > > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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