Joe Blaylock show that the California Condor is not shy of human contact.

California Condor.

2 Condors.

As it takes a unique set of meteorological components to come together at the correct time to produce a “perfect storm,” the “weather’ is looking bad for sportsmen.
Components within the anti hunting and environmental movements sponsored by the Natural Resource Defense Council, a non profit environmental clearing house of attorneys and activists ( this is their mission statement: Who We Are…NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.2 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals http://www.nrdc.org/about/) came together in 2006 to create a “storm” via filing a law suit against the California Department of Fish and Game to ban any lead based bullets within the “historic” range of the California Condor. Our own local condor headquarter is located 5.38 miles to the North East of the center of Fillmore. You can see the facility in Hopper canyon from space using Google Earth. The suit was brilliantly advertised in that a group of “sportsmen to include hunters” from Ventura California had filled the complaint. A review of the actual suit posted on the internet revealed the NRDC had virtually sponsored the Plaintiffs. An attempt was made to call several of the plaintiffs for comment which found no such phone numbers as listed in the suit.
Thinking back it was nearly two years ago when this writer first became aware of the legal strategy of the antihunter and environmentalist in Ventura, and having reviewed this legal complaint (this suit was posted and now removed from public viewing on the internet?); I made calls to fellow hunters and magazine editors for support. Unfortunately, like a hurricane forecasters, the calls only elicited a luke warm if not total indifference for the call to “board up the windows”. A few weeks later a call to Jessica Brooks at the respected and only major US non lead bullet manufacture “Barnes Bullets Inc” of American fork Utah was met with an unselfish offer to help in anyway. On feeling that Barnes would eventually benefit from such a law I was surprised to hear Jessica, whose mother and father own the business, actually say “I feel it will eventually be bad for the industry”. We discussed that this suit, like the weather, was one of the major components that would lead to a storm.
Rather than fight the lawsuit the California DFG agreed to implement a no lead policy in selected deer hunting zones throughout the state. This new law was first written and then modified several times until it was ordered to be enforced starting this July of 2008.
Agree with the philosophy or not, it is the law, and the following is how it will affect hunters, land owners, and possibly all sportspeople eventually.
A call to the assistant Chief Law Enforcement Officer, Mike McBride of the California Department of Fish and Game, was helpful in clearing up some of the question that had typically not been addressed either clearly or at all in the months of online information, or the many DFG handouts. Mike said, “Like a new car this thing is going to have some bugs that have to be worked out”.
Given Officers McBride’s clarification and a review of the online information at the CA. DFG web site confirmed the following are some of the rules and scenarios:
First if you live or have a building within the affected zones, (basically from North of Monterey to the Mexican border see map for specifics on DFG web site http://www.dfg.ca.gov/ ) you can posses lead based bullets in storage. You cannot however, be “in the act of hunting” while in possession of lead based bullets that will fit any firearm you are carrying or have in your vehicle. So for example, say you were going to a gun range with a 30/06 rifle and had lead bullets for this rifle and stopped to shoot a ground squirrel with a 223 caliber rifle and copper bullets, you would be in violation and subject to the $500.00 first time fine because you have the 30/06 and 30/06 lead bullets according to Mr. McBride.
Second, this is what can’t you shoot in the zone with lead bullets; deer, bear, elk, antelope, coyotes, and ground Squirrels.
Third, this is what can you shoot legally in the zone with lead bullets; rabbits and tree Squirrels. Why rabbits or tree squirrels, and not ground squirrels you might wonder? Well because they figured you eat the Tree squirrels and rabbits and thus would not leave a lead fragment!!! You might also wonder if any of these law makers have any experience and or common sense with the subject of hunting and ballistics. And if this is their reasoning, why not just have made the law say you have to bring out every part of the animal? I know it would be harder on the hunter; however, it might have been better and more efficient in the understanding, intention, and actual enforcement of the new law.
Forth, how about lead pellets in pellet guns; Well apparently another bug. They have to wait for some special committee to assemble and decide if they will ban lead pellets for pellet guns.
Fifth, right now upland game, quail and chukar, are not affected as you can still use lead shot to hunt with.
Another question is how effective are lead bullets versus copper bullets. This is another difficult subject for all. All caliber and ammunition loads in combination have a physics component that affects accuracy and the bullets effective results. In talking to Fillmore’s’ own Mr. Kevin Gross, host of Hunting with the Pros TV http://www.huntingwiththepros.com/ and ex Major League Pitcher from Fillmore High, Kevin said, “I have been using Barnes bullets exclusively for the last year and a half and have found them to pretty much be as effective on North American game as lead based ammo. You do have to be a little more aware of hitting a solid area for the expected typical bullet expansion on thin skinned game, but they do work. On African type game, they are devastating!” “Also you may not hear the “telltale” sound of the bullet hitting the animal that we are all accustomed too with lead bullets. You always need to follow up to make sure of not wounding or walking away from an animal that has actually been hit”.
Well now what are those other elements that are critically aligned to produce a “perfect storm” for sportsmen across the nation? What are the ramifications of laws like this? Consider that in reading many of our sporting magazine articles, I am finding in the articles time and again reference after reference of how we need to be conservationist and fund different wildlife groups such as the Mule deer foundation. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Safari Club International, United Anglers, American Sport fishing association, to name a few of hundreds. What’s wrong with that, nothing as long as they help with money to fight laws that will eventually lead to the demise of the sports? I have even noticed many sport writers “helping out” by mentioning “global warming” as the cause for poor quality hunting or fishing. Are they working for us or MSNBC? There have been magazine ads taken out by none other than the Sierra Club in sporting magazines to sponsor contests for essays on “why you like to hunt”!! The magazines get their advertising money and the anti-hunters get your name and address!! Additionally, numerous articles are being written that use the acronym “SUV”, now an American lexicon due the help of Hollywood activists, Liberal environmentalists, and news personalities. Why Ford did not counter fifteen years ago when the word was invented and started calling their broncos and pickups “FV’s” for “Family Vehicles” is a shame and partly why the good union folks at GM, Ford, and Chrysler now think the economy is bad!!?? Go figure, they helped put themselves out of business!! Well yes, we are getting off the issue of lead bullets in the Condor range however; these facts are representative of the many components for the change in the “weather”. Take a peak at the following website (www.biologicaldiversity.org). Click on News room, then go down to Archives and click on this link. I think you might see the elements are there and have been for years. These components are brilliantly being brought together and if by purpose or happen stance makes no difference; The Perfect Storm is upon us and it might be too late to board up the windows!
One last thought. Why don’t we have our own “Natural Resource Defense Council” of sportsmen (Bikers, Hunters, Kayakers, Divers, Hang gliders, Hikers, Bird watchers, Rock hounds, Mountain Bikers, Mountain climbers, etc)? Call it the “National Public Access Coalition” (NPAC). With NPAC every donation sent to this one “clearing house” would only be used to hire attorneys and lobbyist in every state to fund counter suits for the right to use and access our own, (the publics), tax funded lands and natural resources. Answer, probably because allot of the thousands of individual groups like the few mentioned above might be looking for a job!!! Are you ready for change?