>But here's the thing - hunting, fishing, and otherwise killing animals
>is a pasttime which creates in participants a love for the outdoors,
>and thus at least some level of concern for what they perceive to be
>"the environment", however limited that concept may be. So we
>are, I think, on the same side. Ill considered attempts to "improve"
>an area by managing "desirable" species indicates a lack of
>awareness rather than enmity. And correcting this type of
>misconception is EXACTLY what NANFA is about. You can't go
>about the business of "preserving the native american fish. keeping
>them from extinction" without laying this foundation with
>outdoorsmen (no PC police in MY house!) who _want to help_.
>Pissing them off only promotes "Kill the pupfish" bumper stickers
>and the like. Which is why, among other reasons, I consider
>PETA the enemy.
>
>So, to conclude this rambling monologue, I think we should berate
>our real enemies and not malign our allies.
>
>
>Prost,
>
>Martin
>Jackson, MS
You're absolutely right, Martin. In Massschusetts over the past 20 years
there existed what was called a "Guns and Roses" alliance of various hunting
groups, Mass. Audubon, etc., which strongly influenced state environmental
policy. I personally have never been hunting, mostly because my family
wasn't into it. But fishing is largely the same thing and that's what drew
me into my current profession and advocation. Hooking into a bluefish in the
surf of Nantucket or Cape Hatteras or... is the most intense adrenaline rush
around; threats to that kind of experience will politicize otherwise inert
people, I've found.
--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL
still no surf here...
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