HELENA (AP) — A dozen or so bills passed during the Legislature’s 3 1/2-month session make it easier to go afield for a sport that has been in decline nationally, but appears to be holding its own in Montana. For the most part, the bills broaden the licensure of hunting or lift administrative barriers.

“Accommodating some additional folks” is how Ron Aasheim of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks sums up the measures.

They include one written for people who have Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities, can understand the content of a hunter education course required of license applicants born after Jan. 1, 1985, but cannot pass the written exam. The new law, effective in 2010 and similar to one in Minnesota, allows the disabled person to seek a provisional hunter education certificate, which may be presented when requesting the license. Hunting must be with a parent or other designated person.

Other bills include mechanisms to ease the licensing of students who come to Montana for college; to let chiropractors certify people as disabled so they may get permits to hunt from cars; and to guarantee that military personnel who forfeit hunting licenses or permits because of deployment will get that license or permit upon returning to Montana.

Legislation dubbed “Come Home to Hunt” encourages hunting by Montana expatriates who visit the state to see their relatives.

Nationally, the number of hunters 16 and older fell to 12.5 million in 2006, down 10 percent from 1996, according to Census Bureau surveys conducted for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But the surveys found that in Montana there were 197,000 resident and nonresident hunters 16 and older in 2006, compared to 194,000 in 1996. The Department of Fish, Wild-life and Parks says its numbers, based on automated licensing established in 2002, indicate a stronger margin; they cover hunters between the ages of 12 and 16, as well as those older. In 2007, resident hunters alone totaled 193,500, and there were 47,000 from out of state, said the agency’s Aasheim.

The National Wildlife Federation says influences in the U.S. decline of hunting include growing competition for the time of young people, whose diversions may include video games, team sports, music lessons and an array of other activities.

The stability of hunting in Montana is tied to the state’s rural character and the hunting opportunities it provides, plus the significance of hunting in Montana cultures and traditions, said Chris Smith, deputy director of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. 

Well, March 15^th has come and gone and along with it, the deadline for nonresident hunters to purchase outfitter-sponsored big game tags. Each year about 5,500 deer/elk combo tags and 2,300 deer tags are purchased by nonresident hunters.

However, many of these tags did not sell. 900 deer/elk combo tags remain available at $1,500 each along with 100 deer tags at $1,100.

While this story is from Montana, I am sure that every state is feeling the same decline in revenue from nonresident hunters.

Read the full article here.

Australian cattle dog Sophie Tucker spent her life as a pampered house pet, but when the going got rough, showed mettle that could put her human counterparts on “Survivor” to shame.

The plucky pooch was separated from her owners when she fell overboard in choppy waters, but swam five miles to an island, surviving on a diet of wild goats for four months until miraculously being reunited with her family.

Read the full article here.

While the animal rights group, PETA, has taken a stance on animal research testing as well as hunting, it seems to have no problem euthanizing hundreds of potentially adoptable pets in Virginia.

According to a report by the Center for Consumer Freedom, PETA representatives have killed about 5.8 animals each day, or 2,124 for 2008. The same group of PETA employees reportedly adopted-out just seven pet animals, including dogs and cats. Since 1998, 21,339 dogs and cats have died at the hands of PETA workers, the report stated.

Unfortunately, many veterinarians in the area did not know the animals were being killed, but thought they were being placed in adoptive homes.

For proof, visit PetaKillsAnimals.com to view the organization’s animal records that are filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Human Services.

Loudoun County, Virginia- A joint illegal hunting investigation between the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries has led to two more arrests. Items seized in the investigation include: numerous deer carcasses, 78 sets of deer antlers, 72 turkey beards, three firearms and the claws of two federally protected birds.

Read entire article here.

Sportsmen should contact Fox Broadcasting, the company that airs American Idol, immediately.

They should be told that country music star Carrie Underwood’s rendition of “Home Sweet Home” isn’t so sweet for the millions of sportsmen who will be attacked by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) after they make money off the tune. 

According to Carrie Underwood’s official website, the song is going to be used each week on the hit television show when a contestant is voted off. 

Unfortunately, Underwood has made clear that a portion of the proceeds from subsequent sales of that song will go to benefit the largest anti-hunting organization in the nation, HSUS.  This will give HSUS even more money to direct towards hunters, anglers, and trappers nationwide.

“Carrie Underwood has decided to use her talents to benefit an organization dedicated to destroying the rights of thousands of her fans,” said U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) senior vice president, Rick Story. “HSUS does not operate or oversee animal shelters; it is a radical organization that seeks to end hunting and other responsible uses of animals in America.”

Story said that sportsmen must send American Idol a strong message that its indirect support of HSUS, is not appreciated.

Sportsmen can make a difference.  Companies such as Iams, General Mills, Accor Hotels, Pet Safe, Sears, Meijer Inc, and Ace Hardware ended relationships with HSUS after thousands of sportsmen levied strong protest.

Take Action!  Sportsmen are urged to contact key personnel at American Idol’s parent company, Fox Broadcasting and demand that Underwood’s song not be given a stage to raise money for HSUS.

Mr. Peter Liguori
Fox Broadcasting Company
Chairman of Entertainment
10201 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606

Fax: 310-369-1283
Phone: 310-369-3553

BILLINGS (AP) — Sportsman’s Warehouse is closing 23 stores and selling another 15, including three in Montana.

Stuart Utgaard, the chairman and CEO of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, says the company is struggling with bank debt in the face of a slow economy. He announced the sales and closures on Tuesday.

Stores in Missoula, Helena and Bozeman are among those being sold to UFA Cooperative Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, Canada The stores in Billings and Casper, Wyo., will remain with the Midvale, Utah-based parent company.

Sportsman’s Warehouse has stores in 29 states, selling gear for hunting, camping, fishing and other outdoor pursuits.

UFA has a construction division and a network of retail stores and gas stations in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

You can read the detailed information here.

Recently, some snowboarders got lost in the alps. The guy with the iPhone, Jason Tavaria, used the phone’s GPS to aid his rescue. Tragically, his friend did not make it.

Rescuers found the second lost person’s body at the bottom of a +60 foot fall next to a stream. The lost snowboarders’ friends kept in touch via twitter. It appears that while these skiers and snowboarders went off piste, none of them carried any sort of radio or satellite personal locator beacons, like the moderately priced SPOT. I mean, if you’re in the back country, chances are your cellular reception isn’t so great. The guy with the iPhone got off lucky being pretty close to a resort. Although the GPS function in any phone would work well in an open area to get someone reoriented. Either way, be safe during these storms, friends.

Read the entire article here.

Being that I do not know any of the details of this case, I cannot comment on the points that I have shown below. But, in my opinion we may now be seeing more of these cases in the news, which in-turn will drive the costs of treestands up!  But, I would like to know if the gentleman was wearing his fall restraint properly.

Jurors went beyond what was requested by attorneys and have awarded a Lafayette, Ind., woman $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against the makers of a tree stand that malfunctioned and caused her husband’s death.

Jurors only deliberated for around an hour before reaching the verdict Tuesday.

Carol Simonton filed the lawsuit in February 2006 after an incident where her husband, Timothy, 42, was found hanging from a tree. He had used the stand to climb the tree while scouting for deer season.

Simonton’s attorney, Mike Phelps, had sought a $100 million award, and was surprised when he learned of the higher amount awarded by jurors. The complaint had sought $6,000 for funeral expenses and $1.5 million for lost wages based on what Timothy Simonton would have earned over 30 years.

Named in the suit were L & L Enterprises of Hattiesburg, Miss., Ol’ Man Tree Stands of Jay, Fla., and TSR Inc. of Pace, Fla. No one representing any of the companies was present for the trial.

The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment from Ol’ Man Tree Stands and TSR Inc. Wednesday night and spoke to a person named in the suit for L & L, who said he was no longer with the company.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, TSR recalled about 9,000 Ol’ Man tree stands and about 500 replacement pin sets in 2007.

This should be a reminder that, we all should wear our fall restraint/safety harness systems while hanging treestands, sitting in them, climbing in and out of them.  I think that our loved ones would much rather have us arund than the money!

The team over at TMG Strategies has generated their the second installment of thier 5 Forces Summary! The New Persuasion team has chosen the following five articles to highlight the forces that they believe are driving transformational shifts around the world.  In doing so, they hope to provide you with a better understanding of how we look at the world from a New Persuasion perspective. 

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