WEBVTT - Ep. 482: Shark Sightings, Shrunken Monuments, and Deer Sniffing Dogs 0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:14.160 From Meat Eaters World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This 0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:19.120 is Cow's Week in Review with Ryan cow Calaian. Here's 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:25.279 cal It's a sharky summer. Scan the news headlines of 0:00:25.320 --> 0:00:27.120 the past couple of weeks and you'll see reports of 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.360 sharks popping up close to popular beaches across the East Coast. 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:33.919 In Queens, a suburb of New York, Rockaway Beach has 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:37.920 recorded sixteen sightings this month alone, and twenty three since 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:40.760 late May, which officials say is a record for this 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:44.479 time of year. Meanwhile, over in Rhode Island, a fifteen 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.480 plus foot great white was filmed feeding on a dead 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:50.400 humpback whale. Scientists say it marks one of the only 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:53.159 times of great white has been spotted in Rhode Island's 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.920 coastal waters. But are there actually more sharks and is 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:00.480 it becoming more dangerous for swimmers and surfers? Perhaps not, 0:01:00.880 --> 0:01:03.360 at least according to a recent report in The Guardian, 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:06.360 in which experts say that the surge in sightings is 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.959 most likely the result of increased technological surveillance through drones 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:15.319 and tagging efforts involving acoustic receivers, not a greater presence 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:19.480 of sharks this summer. Greg Schoemel, senior fishery scientists with 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:22.720 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and one of the leading 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:25.959 white shark experts, said quote, the truth of the matter 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.120 is the number of sharks may not have increased, but 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.319 certainly the fear factor can go up. He added that 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.840 both tags and drones are far from perfect surveillance tools 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:39.120 and can provide beachgoers with a false sense of security 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:43.880 as safety devices and simultaneously increase people's fear by thinking 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.120 there are more sharks around than ever. So when you 0:01:46.200 --> 0:01:49.240 hear reports of increased shark sightings at a beach near 0:01:49.280 --> 0:01:52.600 you take it with a grain of salt. This week, 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:56.200 we've got deer sniffing dogs, monuments, the EESA, and so 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:57.960 much more. But first, I'm going to tell you about 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.040 my week. In my week has been packed, as per usual, 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:04.360 I really want to tell you about a field fix, 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.960 or really, more accurately, a patch job that I did 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.440 on my old truck way back in the middle of nowhere. 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:13.520 I snapped tyrod right in the middle of the threads, 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:17.520 which is where the tirod itself or inner tirod connects 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.880 to the outer tirod or tyrod end if you will. 0:02:21.280 --> 0:02:24.080 This chunk of metal is what steers your tires or 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.680 keeps them in tandem and aligned the truck. Do not 0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:30.560 go without it. I took all the box and wrenches 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.960 out of the toolbox and duct tape the hell out 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.960 of them, as you would have splint around a major break. 0:02:36.280 --> 0:02:39.399 But the bone in this case was the snapped tyrod. 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.040 That mess got us to a wide enough spot in 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:47.639 the road almost three quarters of a mile of heinous, rutted, 0:02:47.880 --> 0:02:51.959 potholed old forest service road, at which point I could 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:55.400 get out of everybody else's way and call out and 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:59.720 have a new tyrod inner and outer delivered. It pays 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:03.720 to know retirees kids. Then I did the replacing of 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.440 that situation in the field, which wasn't horrible. Took about 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.400 three hours, plus some additional time to stop an eyeball, 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:14.120 my tire alignment and just as needed. But instead of 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.480 telling you that big story, I want to tell you 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:20.600 about our first date night with the baby boy. It 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:24.440 was the lady's birthday and we headed out to a sexy, 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:29.360 romantic four thirty pm dinner, slightly anxious about ruining everybody 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:34.120 else's evening if it were in fact evening by you know, 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:38.360 having that fussy baby in a fancy restaurant. But the 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:42.720 boy did fantastic. We had a great meal, lots of compliments, 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:48.160 wonderful evening until dunk dunt dum. On the way back 0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:52.400 to the car. Blocking the sidewalk was our local Bosangelis 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.960 Sierra Club. They had signs up saying stop logging trucks 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:59.680 up Highlight Canyon, which is a major recreation area and 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:03.640 our unicipal watershed. It's not quite the urban interface, but 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.840 it's not quite not either. As I could not get 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.160 around these people, I was easily stopped. And mind you, 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:13.279 I'm toting a month old child in a car seat. 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:17.080 And I am told that the project is a clear 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.479 cut and needs to be stopped, and that if I 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:24.120 am opposed to this project, I am therefore in favor 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:27.719 of destroying old growth forest. And it was implied that 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:30.920 I would be in favor of destroying the world's old 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:35.200 growth forest, and most impressively, that when the trees are cut, 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:39.840 they will never grow back. In response to a serious 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.200 eye roll like I have not personally performed since I 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:46.880 was an angsty teen, the petitioner said, well, not for 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.560 thousands of years things do grow slow in Montana, friends, 0:04:51.040 --> 0:04:54.920 but most of our old growth has been cut. You know, 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.760 we're not that far down the road from all butt America, 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.840 where most of our big trees got cut into mind 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:06.000 shaft timbers and stuck underground. In this particular area, very 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:09.520 little of what you would call old growth remains, and 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:14.880 where it remains not coincidentally tends to a butt really 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.760 fancy houses or places that are just like you're not 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:22.000 going to get to with equipment. Now, upon requesting of 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:26.280 an inspection of the forest management plan and a reminder here, 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.960 a forest management plan or a resource management plan, or 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:32.400 a travel management plan right now, and I do say 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:37.640 right now involves a public process. Okay, everybody gets to 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:41.279 look at it. You get a public comment period, doesn't 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.040 matter who you are. And if they're done right, probably 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.240 nobody goes away thinking that they got everything that they wanted. 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:51.600 Land of many uses. Remember now the old growth forest 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.839 is identified, and it is not the forest that would 0:05:55.880 --> 0:06:00.840 be a misnomer, But there are older trees are identified, 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:05.200 and they are part of an attempt to address a 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:09.599 request for fire mitigation. Right so they'll be selectively thinned 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:13.640 and logged. There is zero percent of the entire project 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:17.960 scope slated to be clearcut. I was unhappy. I found 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.839 this to be appalling behavior. I don't like being lied to. 0:06:21.480 --> 0:06:25.400 And there's plenty of reasons why people could oppose this project, right, 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.279 And one of those reasons just like it said on 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:32.400 their signs, just stop logging trucks a highlight canyon. Right. 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.960 And let's say you're like a road biker or somebody 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:40.560 who just likes driving up there. You still have a 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:42.400 legitimate claim to be like, you know what, I don't 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:46.240 like logging trucks up here, and you can register that claim. 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.480 But the claim that this is a clear cut, and 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.640 certainly that if you don't oppose the clear cut, which 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:57.680 isn't actually part of the proposal, you are therefore in 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.960 favor of killing all old growth arrest on the planet. 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:04.200 Just not the way to do business. Game. I really 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:07.880 could not think of anything, despite having a great night 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.480 out with the lady and the brand new baby. First like, 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:12.920 go sit down to dinner thing and dinner was awesome. 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:17.120 Could not think but Jesus, where we have an administration 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:21.040 that wants to roll back all regulation, why can't you 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:24.400 just tell people the facts and let them make an 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:30.280 informed decision. Now fast forward to the latest executive order 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.800 out of the highest seat in the land. Our president 0:07:34.200 --> 0:07:37.520 is informed live, as they say, in front of God 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:40.680 and everyone, that the executive order he's going to sign 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:45.600 is because you can't After some prodding, he picks up, 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.640 you can't hunt, you can't fish, you can't even hike 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:50.480 on it, you can't even set foot on most of it. 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.720 So he's going to rescind or sorry, redraw the lines, 0:07:55.280 --> 0:08:01.320 shrink Grand Staircase and Bearsier's National mind which are in 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:05.520 the state of Utah. We're looking at current size a 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:10.160 little over three million acres and future size or according 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:13.440 to the executive order, just a couple hundred thousand, and 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:17.440 it needs to be set again. Those statements you can't hunt, 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.120 you can't fish, you can't even step foot on it, 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:24.000 those are not true. They are untrue statements. They are false. 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:28.640 And again I thought, Jesus, this is why we are here. 0:08:29.480 --> 0:08:32.760 Why can't you just tell people the facts and let 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.960 them make up their minds. We're gonna get more into 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.760 monuments later, but I just want to lay these examples 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.720 out to you. What to the Sierra Club and the 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.080 administration have in common and I just want to promise 0:08:45.160 --> 0:08:48.439 you that we are not playing this game at backcountry 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:51.480 hunters and anglers. You get the straight dope, You're gonna 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:55.840 get clearly informed. You're gonna be told what our position 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:59.080 is and why you can hit the action link and 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:03.360 do as you will as an informed citizen. This BS 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:07.200 has got to stop gang or else the division will 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:10.079 not stop. And the only way this is going to 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.800 change is if you demand it. If you are a 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:16.960 member of any organization, you can demand it. If you 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.880 are a citizen of these United States, you need to 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:24.960 make your demands and expectations known to your representatives. I 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:27.320 don't think this is a high bar to shoot for. 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.640 Moving on to the deer dog desk all the way 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:36.400 down South Carolina, It's one we've been hearing from quite 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:40.200 a few listeners on. Essentially, the South Carolina Department Natural 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:44.200 Resources is collecting input about deer hunting with dogs. As 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:48.080 the SCDNRS says, deer hunting with dogs is a long 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:52.640 established and culturally significant hunting tradition that has practiced primarily 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.360 in South Carolina's coastal plane, and yet the agency is 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.640 looking for feedback from hunters, landowners, and other members of 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.479 the public about the practice after receiving complaints and comments 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:07.400 about conflicts between user groups. As it stands, the public 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:10.760 meetings on the topic are considered preliminary as any law 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:14.120 changes will require the South Carolina General Assembly to act 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.120 on it, but the public comment is important as it 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:21.120 could guide recommendations to legislators. Hound hunting groups like the 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:25.440 South Carolina Sporting Dog Association are organizing to quote protect 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:29.720 the rights of sporting, working, and hunting dog enthusiasts statewide. 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:34.400 Listener Madison Sharp shared his thoughts with us via askcl 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:38.000 that's Ascal at themediator dot com. This is a traditional 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:40.360 use practice that has occurred for hundreds of years in 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:43.720 the state. The new conflict is undoubtedly due to out 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:46.800 of state folks move into regions adjacent to tracks where 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.560 this has been going on for all of American history. 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.720 This region also has a history of hunting hogs with 0:10:52.960 --> 0:10:55.439 dogs in a similar manner, which would be next on 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.960 the chopping block. It's a slippery slope. If you have 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.160 more to say, well let me know. I want to 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:07.120 hear all about it. Askcl at the Meat eater dot com. Okay, 0:11:07.280 --> 0:11:09.640 jumping back over for a little more more of the 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:12.680 meat that's left on the bone of this national monument situation. 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:17.200 So President Trump issues two executive orders shrinking the size 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:21.320 of Bearsiers and Grand Staircase Escalonne national monuments by about 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.679 ninety little more over ninety percent each. The move is 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.320 another shot across the bout of years long back and 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:30.600 forth over how to best manage those places. Grand Staircase 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.640 Esclowney was established by an executive order by President Bill 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:37.200 Clinton in nineteen ninety six and later expanded to encompass 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:41.520 one point nine million acres. Then Bearsiers was established by 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.240 President Barack Obama in twenty sixteen and at the time 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:49.319 of his order encompassed over one point three million acres. 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.120 Both places are rich in both ecological beauty and ancestral 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:57.720 artifacts and sites of indigenous peoples. However, since the beginning, 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:02.720 local Utah legislators argued that the designations which increased protections 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:05.760 of public land were federal overreach and did not abide 0:12:05.800 --> 0:12:08.840 by the original text of the Antiquities Act, which requires 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:12.240 designations to be confined to the smallest area compatible with 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:15.960 proper care and management of the objects to be protected. 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:20.280 They also said the designations hindered multiple uses of the land. 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:25.520 In twenty seventeen, President Trump drastically shrunk both monuments based 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.120 on those arguments, only for Biden to restore them in 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.200 twenty twenty one. Now, Trump has again shrunked them through 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:35.040 executive orders, this time by significantly more acreage than he 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.000 did in his first term. His actions will reduce Grand 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:41.600 Staircase Esclawe by one point eight seven million acres, leaving 0:12:41.679 --> 0:12:44.439 only one hundred and eighty one thousand, five hundred acres 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.440 within the designation. Bearziers will be shrunk by one point 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:51.360 three six million acres to approximately one hundred and twenty 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:55.600 one thousand, one hundred acres. Environmental groups have promised litigation 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.600 on the grounds that the Antiquities Act grants presidents the 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.720 power to establish nation monuments, but not shrink them. Similar 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:06.000 litigation was filed back in twenty seventeen, but was not 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.280 settled in court before Biden restored those monuments. As we've 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:14.280 talked about here before, conservationists are worried that undoing these 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.520 protections will open the door for rampant off road use 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.040 as well as resource extraction, to the detriment of the 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:26.200 area's long term preservation, and consequently hunting and fishing opportunities. 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.520 This is certainly an issue that concerns the hunting and 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:33.839 angling public and it certainly increases instability in the management 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:38.320 of these places. Very important to keep in mind here gang. 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.559 The way this gets spun, as we kind of mentioned before, 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:45.000 right is, monuments are this thing, and if you can't 0:13:45.040 --> 0:13:47.839 have a monument then I don't know, it gets privatized 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:51.520 or something by some and then others, as we covered before, 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.080 don't paint a clear picture of what a monument is. 0:13:55.679 --> 0:14:01.400 Monuments are individuals. They're all unique to bear degrees, but 0:14:01.679 --> 0:14:04.920 most do allow hunting and fishing at some level, some 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:09.480 a lot more than others, and traditional uses like grazing, 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:14.200 firewood gathering in some cases. In the case of these 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:20.360 national monuments, there's certain restrictions and provisions for historical use 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.480 by indigenous people, so they can be messy, and I 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.040 get it. What the hunters and anglers out there need 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.760 to know if you want the pragmatic middle ground is 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:36.360 this the state of Utah currently manages the wildlife, be 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:40.000 it on the BLM or the monument. If the monument 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:44.040 changes and it gets reduced down to one hundred and 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:48.000 twenty one thousand acres and one hundred and eighty one 0:14:48.040 --> 0:14:51.480 thousand acres respectively. The state of Utah is still going 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:55.320 to manage the wildlife on what becomes the monument and 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:59.360 the BLM ground that what is no longer a monument, 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:04.120 it goes back to just regular old BLM. There's also 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:07.240 some Wilderness study areas out there too, and those are 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:11.720 really important to keep in mind because wilderness study area 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:15.440 offers a certain level of protection, which is great. But 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:19.240 this administration is also actively trying to get rid of 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:24.880 all wilderness study areas too, So I would certainly be like, well, hey, wait, 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:29.880 can we be assured that these wsa's remain in place 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:35.400 in perpetuity, because that's what we're sold as Monument protection 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:37.080 is like these things are going to be here forever. 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.960 Access is a big, big talking point here. Okay, there 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:47.520 are some roads that were closed that will become open 0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:52.040 again to full sized vehicle travel. Some people think that's fantastic, 0:15:52.280 --> 0:15:55.680 other people think that is not fantastic. In the grand 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:59.000 scheme of things, I want the place to remain public 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:03.440 and well manned, and first, allowing full sized vehicle access 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.920 in any expanded fashion does bring up issues that we've 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:11.480 covered here before. You have got to pay for road maintenance, culverts, 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:17.520 noxious weed mitigation, fire mitigation, trash law enforcement. That's just 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:21.200 part of the deal. Okay. We haven't seen a management 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:26.560 plan provide that yet. It could be coming. Okay. That 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:35.280 expanded access is also there alongside expanded access for extractive industry. Namely, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.520 there's a giant coal deposit out there, and there's a 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:43.520 uranium deposit out there. You can't hunt or fish or 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:48.760 be on an active uranium mine or coal mine unless 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.560 you're an employee. So these are just things that are 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:56.720 out there for your consideration. Everybody got that, I hope. 0:16:56.760 --> 0:17:00.640 So tags are very limited out there. Pont's got mule deer, 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:05.920 world famous. Part of that herd migrates through bears ears. 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:09.600 It's part of the protective plan for like this unbelievably 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:13.880 badass giant trophy mule deer. It's a desert ecosystem. They're 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:18.280 migratory opportunities there are very low, and because they are 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:23.320 big old nightly bucks, everybody applies for those tags, so 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:27.239 the chances of drawing them are very low. When we 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:33.399 see areas go from let's call it restrictive access to 0:17:34.200 --> 0:17:38.680 more liberal access. Again, I'm referencing full sized vehicles, right. 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:44.560 That typically increases the amount of people who apply for 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:49.520 those tags. Doesn't necessarily mean that the tags offered will 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:55.040 go down unless we see habitat destruction, okay, that impacts 0:17:55.160 --> 0:17:59.639 that mule deer population, then we would see the combination 0:17:59.840 --> 0:18:06.640 of increased attention, increased applicant pool for fewer tags. Right. 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.639 And these are just things that are real. There is 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.520 no political agenda behind them. They're just things that need 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:16.320 to be considered. And believe me when I tell you, 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:21.600 we've been in rooms with Congress people and their staff 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:28.040 who really support the monument rezoning, let's call it, and 0:18:28.440 --> 0:18:31.439 they're not thinking along these lines, right, because they're not 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:35.880 hunters and anglers game. So I'll keep updating on this one. 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:40.600 It's a big one. Moving on to the Endangered Species 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:45.480 Act desk, the Interior Department and Commerce Department have announced 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:48.159 a final rule that has an outsized impact for the 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:52.640 Endangered Species Act. The new rule recast the regulatory definition 0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:55.560 of the word harm. For years, that word has been 0:18:55.680 --> 0:18:59.320 used to include the modification and degradation of habitat, as 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:03.480 well as directly injuring and hurting endangered Wildlife Secretary, Burgham 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:07.560 argued that this inclusive definition pertaining to habitat was used 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.520 to obstruct lawful land use and burdened American families and businesses. 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.080 In the new rule, harming a species habitat would no 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:19.720 longer be considered harming that species. Environmental advocates and even 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:23.680 Wildlife Management Agency staffers have come out with concerns about 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.119 impact of the change, which they say will open the 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:29.399 door for resource extraction and development at the cost of 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:33.680 recovering endangered and threatened species. As Bruce Kraft, the chief 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:36.720 of the Conservation and Communications divisions of the North Dakota 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:40.639 Game and Fish Department, wrote, threatened and endangered species are 0:19:40.800 --> 0:19:44.320 entirely dependent on healthy habitats. He added that the new 0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:48.400 rule could have quote dire consequences for those species, eroding 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.720 the tools we have to conserve critical habitat definitively isn't 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:55.280 a good thing as far as I'm concerned, and it's 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:58.040 yet another attack on the wildlife in our public trust 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:03.200 to benefit extractive industry. Here's the example gang and why 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:08.840 Bergham said it's harming families and industry. Spotted owl Okay 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:13.399 spotted owl put like the kaibosh on all logging in 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:18.520 a huge area basically everything within spotted owl territory. Now, 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:23.720 some of this for just cause. However, when we're talking 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:29.679 about population health, not individual health, right, Bob the owl 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:34.280 versus the owl, we can look at the landscape with 0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:36.960 these big lumps of fat on our shoulders and say 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:41.720 we can cut over here, not over here, And by 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:44.280 the time we get to over here to cut in 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:47.680 a responsible and renewable fashion, the stuff that we had 0:20:47.760 --> 0:20:52.960 previously cut will have grown back into suitable habitat for 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:57.680 the owl. Bob the owl may have been harmed, made 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:01.480 the management decision not to cut all the habitat, but 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:05.119 to do it in a mosaic or alternating pattern, so 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.760 those animals such as Bob the owl have the ability 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:12.679 to move to adjacent habitat. But even knowing that if 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:16.600 Bob the owl dies, the population the owl will survive 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:21.960 because we are managing the critical habitat that it is 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:24.679 attached to. And make no mistake, a lot of these 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:28.800 species don't have the adaptability of the white tailed deer, right, 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:31.600 you got to remember that. So it is true that 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:34.359 if that habitat goes away, that animal goes away, and 0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:36.840 I think that is something that we just cannot have, 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.679 as you know, folks who think so highly of ourselves 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:47.359 as Americans. Here the language was often used in a 0:21:47.359 --> 0:21:52.399 way to stop all extractive use throughout the entire range 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:56.480 of the owl, even when it wasn't going to hurt 0:21:56.720 --> 0:22:00.359 the owl. When we talk about grizzly bears and we 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:04.000 look at what is going on with the administration right now, 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:09.200 right we have this rollback agenda that we've previously mentioned, 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:16.480 where we are fighting to maintain wilderness study areas, proposed wilderness, 0:22:16.520 --> 0:22:22.080 the Roadless Rule, monument status where appropriate, the guard rails 0:22:22.400 --> 0:22:27.920 of the OHVRV, previous executive orders from the Carter and 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:32.080 Nixon administrations. All of those things are pieces in the 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:37.119 puzzle that provide refuge for species that have a hard 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:41.640 time adapting. Low fecundady species like the grizzly bear, they 0:22:42.000 --> 0:22:46.760 just don't reproduce at a rate that makes them overly tolerant. 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.360 It has to be a very hands on management animal. 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:55.399 So if you were a pragmatic environmentalist, you know, a 0:22:55.520 --> 0:22:59.520 hunter or rancher, you could say, oh, considering we have 0:22:59.600 --> 0:23:03.520 the road rule, WSA is the big capital w Wilderness 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:07.880 conservation lands on BLM, the assurance that we are going 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:12.560 to have these long term connectivity corridors, then yes, please 0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:16.320 delist the grizzly bear right now. That is a responsible decision. 0:23:17.280 --> 0:23:19.919 But if you were to say, oh, none of this 0:23:20.000 --> 0:23:23.160 stuff is assured because the way the administration is acting, 0:23:23.840 --> 0:23:26.160 I don't know if I want to take this giant leap, 0:23:26.520 --> 0:23:29.000 because it is a giant leap now, because you cannot 0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:31.960 assure me that the habitat that is critical to the 0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:35.080 survival of this animal is going to be around in 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:39.920 the near future. Protect the habitat habitat first, The species 0:23:40.000 --> 0:23:43.720 gonna survive so long as they have a place to go, 0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:47.760 that refuge zone. At the same time, we should be 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:51.679 able to use the resources that are renewable in a 0:23:51.720 --> 0:23:55.680 responsible fashion. Both of those things can exist so long 0:23:55.680 --> 0:23:58.919 as we demand it. Jumping over to one of my 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:03.600 all time favorite speed an Locaprio americana, the American prong 0:24:03.600 --> 0:24:06.560 horn antelope, hopefully their long horn antelope. That'd be great 0:24:08.520 --> 0:24:10.159 if you ever get tired of your drive to and 0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:13.280 from work, consider the sublet herd of the American prong 0:24:13.320 --> 0:24:15.960 horn which has been commuting along the same north South 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:19.920 migration corridor in Wyoming for thousands of years. Every spring, 0:24:19.960 --> 0:24:22.280 the herd moves from the sagebrush plains of the Upper 0:24:22.320 --> 0:24:25.000 Green River basin one hundred and fifty miles north to 0:24:25.119 --> 0:24:28.240 Grand Teton National Park. They have fawns along the way, 0:24:28.560 --> 0:24:30.960 feeding the lush habitat of the park, and then when 0:24:30.960 --> 0:24:33.520 things start to get cold in the fall, they head 0:24:33.560 --> 0:24:36.520 south again to avoid the deep freeze. The route is 0:24:36.560 --> 0:24:40.320 so well established that at a place now called Trapper's Point, Wyoming, 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:44.199 several six thousand year old hunting and butchering sites have 0:24:44.320 --> 0:24:47.920 been excavated right where pronghorn passed by today, but much 0:24:47.960 --> 0:24:51.520 more recently. Last month, in fact, Governor Mark Gordon held 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:54.920 a press conference at Trapper's Point declaring it an official 0:24:55.000 --> 0:24:59.199 quote unquote bottleneck point for the modern pronghorn migration, the 0:24:59.240 --> 0:25:02.919 so called pas of the Pronghorn. That designation means that 0:25:03.000 --> 0:25:06.080 the Trapper's Point area will now be protected from any 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:10.520 surface disturbing activity as part of Wyoming's migration policy, with 0:25:10.640 --> 0:25:13.280 the idea that the herd can continue to travel this 0:25:13.359 --> 0:25:16.879 way for another six thousand years. Wyoming Game and Fish 0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:19.480 have said that the root of the sublet herd is 0:25:19.480 --> 0:25:22.280 at high risk of being lost and they have identified 0:25:22.280 --> 0:25:25.760 thirteen specific bottleneck points that have to stay open and 0:25:25.840 --> 0:25:29.520 protected for the overall migration corridor to survive. The route 0:25:29.520 --> 0:25:33.320 has been pinched by residential development, highways, fenced off ranchland, 0:25:33.440 --> 0:25:37.800 and even dense forests growing into the pronghorn's preferred open habitat. 0:25:38.200 --> 0:25:40.879 Wyoming's effort is the first ever planned to protect the 0:25:40.920 --> 0:25:44.159 full length of a pronghorn migration corridor. It's been in 0:25:44.200 --> 0:25:47.440 development for almost twenty years and has often been opposed 0:25:47.480 --> 0:25:50.399 by energy industry groups wanting access to the oil and 0:25:50.440 --> 0:25:53.719 gas in the area, but biologists have gathered an overwhelming 0:25:53.720 --> 0:25:56.480