Jackson Hole Outfitters
August 2003 Newsletter
Hi guys and gals. Just another note to keep you up-to-date and informed with our outfit.
Get this by email!
First, those of you who just got this in the mail are about 3 weeks behind those who have signed up to get it via email. By the time I take this to the printer and then send it bulk mail, it takes about 3 weeks to get to your door. So please go to my website www.JacksonHoleOutfitters.com and sign up for the email version. Be sure and email me to have me remove your name from my mailing list so I can save postage. Also, those on the email list will get updates on Wyoming every couple of weeks or so.
Ken Brown's bull, 2002 This one wasn't wolf food!
Save 100 elk. Kill a wolf!
I recently attended the Game and Fish Commission meeting regarding the Wyoming Wolf Management Plan. You remember I worked like a Trojan to help get the legislation passed which will help delist the wolf, as well as challenge the feds on their introduction of the wolf. It is amazing to me that the Commission can ignore the law, as passed by the legislature, in adopting their plan. 86 of our 90 elected legislators voted for and passed House Bill 229, which is now codified as Enrolled Act #78. It is now the LAW! This is the bill that sought to delist the wolf.
Wyoming Statute (the HB229 law) says: WS 23-1-304(b) "....the commission shall...(i) Determine if there are less than seven (7) packs of gray wolves located in this state and primarily outside of [the parks] and less than fifteen (15) packs within this state including [the parks]... If such a determination is made:" then "The commission shall adopt rules and regulations to.....reasonably ensure seven (7) packs of gray wolves are located in this state and primarily outside of [the parks]." [emphasis added] What this means is that if there are, say, 14 packs in the Parks (the current count) then Wyoming only has to have 1 pack outside the parks. If the Parks have less than 15 packs, then Wyoming commits to protecting the number of packs to insure 15 in the state, up to a maximum of 7 packs outside the parks.
In contrast, the Wolf Management PLAN which the Game and Fish Department adopted on July 29 says on page 1, "...Wyoming will commit to maintaining at least 15 packs of wolves statewide including the National Parks, Parkway, National Elk Refuge and potentially the Wind River Indian Reservation. Of these 15 packs, 7 packs will be maintained outside the National Parks and Parkway." [emphasis added] The PLAN also says, "If the number of wolf packs outside the National Parks and Parkway falls to 7 or below...." then they will expand the protected area for wolves. Their wording is directly contrary to statute.
Right now in Wyoming there are 14 packs in the Parks and 8 packs outside the parks. Under legislative statute Wyoming would only have to protect one pack outside the parks. Under the G&F PLAN we will have at least 7 packs outside the parks.
The G&F Department and Commission relies on the attorney general’s office opinion that the PLAN complies with 23-1-304. I ask you, the reader, if the plain language says any such thing!! I had some words with the attorney general’s representative and he pulled his "lawyer" credentials, saying that the Attorney General’s office interprets the laws [regardless of what they say in plain English]. Well, if a law passed by the legislature needs a lawyer to tell us what it means and how to comply, then all of us must, from now on, carry a lawyer around with us so we will know when we are breaking the law.
Another glaring discrepancy in the PLAN is that it includes the Gros Ventre Wilderness Area as a protected trophy area for wolves. The original statute says the wolf will be in trophy game status in "...wilderness areas contiguous to these national parks..." My Black’s Law Dictionary defines contiguous as "adjoining, touching" which Gros Ventre does not do. Again, a violation of statute.
I am very upset that a lawyer with a title and a state agency can ignore the law as passed by the Wyoming Legislators. In other words, if we don’t like the law, ignore it.
If you and I break the law, we suffer the consequences. The G&F and attorney general’s office can apparently get away with it. So we, the people, are faced with a very tough choice. Do we file a lawsuit to force them to comply with the law, with its resulting delay in delisting the wolf, or do we meekly bow our heads and say, "Well, if a lawyer with a title says we gotta have a bunch of wolves, then I guess we gotta, in spite of the law."
It appears as if we cannot rely on the law, as passed by the legislature, to control the numbers of wolves because our Game and Fish Department ignores it. Meanwhile wolves are getting more numerous and they are devastating our wildlife north of Jackson (so far only an occasional wolf has been seen in Greys River). To save our wildlife we may have to follow the advice from a Montana sportsman. "The only solution is for every hunter to shoot any wolves they see and then SHUT UP !!! Do not go near the wolf once shot. Gut shoot it and forget it. If two hundred hunters each shot a wolf, the problem would soon be solved. The Feds cannot watch each pack. Guerrilla warfare is the only way to save our wildlife."
I personally am not advocating lawlessness. However, those who resort to breaking the "law" to save our wildlife will only be following the example of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Attorney General’s office.
Another possible solution to the wolf problem; Suppose Wyoming passes a law making it a low misdemeanor to kill a wolf, with a $5 fine and 5 minutes community service. So then a guy kills a wolf, takes it to the sheriff and say, "gee, I thought it was a coyote". The sheriff hauls you in to the judge, you plead guilty, he fines you $5 and 5 minutes. You pay your fine and do your service. You have been tried and convicted and have paid your penalty. Under the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution the feds cannot try you again for the same crime. End of story. That idea is so crazy it might work!!
DUKE: In Memorium
My second best friend died today, Sunday August 10, 2003. He was 18 years old. Next to Shadow, Duke was my favorite horse. I would ride Shadow one day, then Duke the next day. Duke was sick, acting weird, when he returned from a trail ride yesterday. He was lying down, then getting up and walking across the corral, then lying down again. Grant and Cole, my guides and horse experts, worked on Duke. We also consulted with the vet, but since it was Saturday night, he didn’t come. Duke was doing fine when they left. Grant checked on him at 10 AM this morning and he was up and walking around, seemed fine. Checked again at 2 pm and Duke was dead. Don't know what it was.
Jonesy on Duke, my buddy, my partner. June 2003
Click here for full size.
Those of you who haven't ridden a thousand miles on a horse don't understand the depth of companionship that you can have. He was truly a friend and we tolerated each other's quirks.
It is hard to describe a relationship with a horse that you have shared several thousand miles with over a dozen years through heat and sleet, snow and cold, mud and crud. We packed out elk and deer and moose, climbing to the tops of the mountains and back many many times. It was like a great partnership.
He had some real quirks that were both aggravating and endearing, such as when I would go into the corral to catch him he would immediately take off and RUN in a big circle around me, "getting away from bad ol' Jonesy who is going to put me to work". I learned from past experience not to chase him, but to be patient and stand still. After he had proven that he could get away if he wanted, he would then come right up for me to snap the lead rope onto him.
When cinching him up he would often lay back his ears and threaten me not to get it too tight. Sometimes when I was brushing him and walking behind him he would lift one back leg and wave it as if he was going to kick me, just letting me know he was boss and just volunteered for work. He wasn't meek and submissive but rather arrogant. Reminded me of a lawyer but I‘ve seldom, if ever, hugged a lawyer.
He had a mischievous streak. When I would let him loose to graze with the other horses he would sometimes graze to the edge of the group, then line out on the trail toward home, dragging his reins off to the side so as not to trip on them. I learned not to chase him, but to catch the other horses before they could follow. As soon as Duke found he was alone in his perfidy he would return disgustedly. You could almost hear him cussing the other horses out, "I made a clean getaway and you knotheads bungled the escape!" Of course they would reply "You were free, why didn't you keep going." Duke's lame rejoinder; "We horses are herd animals and don't like to be alone. Besides, there may be lions and tigers and bears out there in the forest that eat horses!"
So long, old buddy Duke. May you wait for me in the pasture in the sky along with Dollar and Silky. I’ll be there in 42 years and we can ride through the clouds together.
Prairie Dog is a misnomer.
Ask my rancher friends. Prairie Rats would have been more appropriate. We have literally millions of them in eastern Wyoming and they tear the heck out of a range. In spite of their
numbers the envirowackos are trying to get them listed as an endangered specie. No joke! I started guiding prairie dog hunters this summer. They shot 200 to 500 rounds each per day, killing 50 to 200 of the pests per person per day (some were better shots). It is a lot more shooting, a lot less work, and a lot cheaper than an elk or deer hunt. It is just plain fun! I charge $200 per day per person which includes guide, lunch, and trespass fee (private land). You pay for lodging, other meals, and your ammo. You can check out my website http://www.PrairieDogOutfitters.com Click here and here and here for pics. Also here to see a cannibalistic prairie dog, eating one we shot. very common to see them eat each other. He wasn't just sniffing it, but was pulling chunks off and chewing them. I took this picture with my digital camera through a spotting scope.
Ride, Cowboy, Ride!
In the summer Grant and I guide back-country trail rides and pack trips. Mostly one day rides, 9-5, in the scenic Greys River. Some of my hunters have joined me on their family
vacation and I’ve grown to know and love their families. Some of the wives and kids say they would just as soon stay on as wrangler and cook rather than go back to Texas, right Joanie Wittenburg? Anyway, if you have plans for a Jackson Hole vacation, give me a call or visit my website and schedule an enjoyable outing. We’ll treat you right. Click here for full size
Big Buck Joins Trailride;
I haven’t talked much about hunting in this newsletter. Not much going on in the summer, except prairie dogs. However, the other day we were riding back down the trail with a group, and off to the side in the trees was a whopper buck, wider than 28" and heavy and high. Great buck!! He watched us calmly as we admired, then he slowly turned and walked away. I’ve never hunted bucks in that area. Maybe this fall…. That just goes to show what a huge area I have to hunt, that I haven't hunted that particular canyon for bucks.
Hope to see you in Wyoming soon. Be sure and sign up for the email version of my newsletter.
Jonesy
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