Jackson Hole Outfitters

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Spring 2002 Newsletter

Howdy from wild Wyoming! Hope you guys have wintered well. On March 15 we still have 30 inches of snow on the ground and some nights below zero. Just normal. Winter has not been harsh on the critters, although I recorded 34 below at my house and in Auburn it hit 48 below zero. However, normal snowfall and lots of clear days made it pretty normal on the deer and elk.

We have had quite the uproar here in Wyoming, and, as usual, I am in the thick of it, not only because I am President of the Jackson Hole Outfitters and Guides Association, but also because I care deeply about losing our freedoms to bureaucrats. The Forest Service has imposed bear food storage regulations which will take effect on April 1. This will require everyone camping on the forest to put all their food in bear-proof containers, to hang all meat 10 feet off the ground and 4 feet from the nearest tree at least 100 yards from camp, prohibit camping within 1/2 mile of any animal carcass, and cooking area is suggested to be 100 yards from sleeping tents. We screamed and hollered loud enough that they have postponed implementation of these regs on the Greys River. Then, to let the feds know where we stand, the Freemont County and Lincoln County Commissioners voted unanimously to 1) Prohibit these food storage regulations, and 2) Prohibit the presence of Wolves and Grizzly bears in the county. They also informed the bureaucrats that the County Sheriff will enforce these resolutions. Forest Svc is not happy about it. A major confrontation is inevitable. To their credit, our local rangers are on our side. IÂ’ll keep you posted.

Jackson Hole G&F says; Moose Population 2 years ago was 830, today is 480. Bighorn Sheep was 503, today 322. Elk calf crop was 35 per 100 cows, today 18 (Gros Ventre herd). No conclusive proof, but strongly suspect that wolves are the main culprit, along with griz and lions. WeÂ’ve got too many bears and lions, and one wolf is too many. I donÂ’t want you to think our hunting is down the tubes, but if we donÂ’t act NOW, it may threaten our deer and elk.

I hate to ask for donations in every newsletter, but your donations will help keep the environmentalists and their buddies (predators) at bay as long as possible. Jim Mills, who bought a raffle ticket from me, won the rifle in December, so maybe you will be the next lucky one. Because a ticket I sold won the raffle, I was awarded a similar rifle, which I donated back to the Association for this current raffle. These donations are well utilized, such as this week we spent $2,000 running ads to combat the propaganda put out by the Wildlife Federation, Fund for Animals, Conservation Alliance, Sierra Club and others. To the uninformed their arguments sound logical, however they ignore the facts. Our current threats include 1) Elimination of elk feedgrounds, 2) Too many bears, mainly grizzly, 3) Too many wolves, 4) Forest restrictions. I have been extremely involved, such as I wrote a petition we are sending around, IÂ’m at all the meetings, IÂ’m on the phone constantly, IÂ’ve had several letters to the editor this winter, and have had several meetings with Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and Game & Fish officials recently. The District Supervisor of the G&F called me this morning to get input on some proposed changes, which I appreciated. Too often they just go ahead and do whatever they want. They are listening better because of our efforts. I literally spend 3 days a week doing nothing but outfitter stuff, generally trying to preserve our hunting. If I can do that, then maybe you can donate a few bucks, and hopefully get a great reward. Current raffles include a rifle, a big Bronze, and the fully outfitted hunt. Info is enclosed.

Quite often I have people contact me about the possibilities of moving here. Some of my clients are now my neighbors. When you look at the price of your home where you live you may have equity that could help you relocate and be next to some of the greatest hunting and fishing on the continent. If you are a dentist, we need you! A couple of my friends have property available now. One is a really nice home, 3600 sq ft including finished basement, big shop-barn, water rights and pasture on 1 acre, on the edge of Afton right next to the mountains and National Forest access. Lots of elbow room and well maintained. (see flyer enclosed) The other is a building lot with a beautiful view of Star Valley and the Salt River Range, world famous for trophy bucks. Contact me for details.

We just organized the Star Valley Area Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation. Our main focus will be to improve habitat for the mule deer in western Wyoming and eastern Idaho. We will also focus on proper management in order to insure a continuing supply of the trophy bucks you guys like to hunt. If any of you would like to participate, we encourage you to join. $25 is the membership fee and it gets you the nice color magazine and membership in the national organization as well as the Star Valley Chapter.

Actual dialogue between me and a city-dwelling friend;

Jonesy, I'm not trying to pick a fight, I just find this hunting ethic so interesting. I am not anti-hunting. I am against needless killing of God's beautiful creatures. If a person is hungry, sure go hunting. But rich dudes that spend thousands of dollars to "make a kill" or hang a head on their walls sends chills up my spine. Those same people have plenty to eat. They don't hunt for food, even if they end up eating their kill. They hunt to kill. Mother nature knows how to regulate the herds if man doesn't step in and eliminate the predators. Sometimes Mother nature is very cruel and allows starvation and calamities. I think you don't want lions and wolves and bears around so there will be excess game around and then you can outfit more hunters. Since that is your occupation, I can't really fault you. I do fault those who hunt for the thrill and don't need the meat. Obviously, a dude that spends thousands doesn't need meat. Just my opinion. Please don't take it personally. RC

Dear RC,

No, I donÂ’t take it personally. I will attempt to explain how things work in the hunting world, hopefully to the satisfaction of someone who has only heard "the other side".

I also am opposed to needless killing of God's creatures. I really am. Those who "have to kill" just to have a good time on a hunt are my worst kind of client, and thankfully there are very very few of them and they are far between. The vast majority of my clients are here to appreciate the beauties of Nature, of God's works, especially His magnificent wildlife, in His temple spires of the Rocky Mountains. Those who come for the experience and the challenge are the ones who go home rewarded-- often with a trophy-- many times without one. Those who come only for killing a "bigger one" usually go home empty of fulfillment.

It is nice to say we shouldn't kill anything, but I challenge anyone to go through life and not do it. I suppose a mouse wants to live just as much as we do, but we still trap them when they get in our pantry, and we enjoy a good chicken dinner. Just don't be personally acquainted with the chicken on a first name basis before you eat it. Better to get it pre-packaged and frozen.

No, a person doesn't have to hunt to live, any more than you have to eat meat to survive. Why aren't you a vegetarian? If you are a vegetarian, who is to say the plant does not suffer when it dies as you pluck it up by the roots. Nonsense? Maybe, maybe not. If you are not a vegetarian, then the only difference between you and a hunter is that you hire someone to kill your meat for you. "Well, that's different! We raise those animals to eat!" In exactly the same way we raise deer and elk. We manage for a healthy herd with a proper balance between bulls and cows, bucks and does. When the populations drop, from winter or disease or predators, we cut back on permits. NatureÂ’s way is boom and bust cycles. Man tries to keep it on an even keel with his modern game management.

Let me give you an example of how it works. Suppose a rancher has 5,000 acres. He knows from experience and from scientific data that his 5,000 acres can support 220 cattle. (we are speaking of un-irrigated rangeland in the west) He has 20 bulls, 200 cows. Each year his cows raise 200 calves. Some will have twins; some calves will die at birth. For the sake of argument, let's assume 100% calf crop. What does he do with the excess? He sells them to a feedlot, which fattens them with grain, then sends them to the slaughterhouse to be knocked in the head to make sirloin and hamburger, shoe leather and belts, dog and cat food out of the bones and entrails, etc. Nothing is wasted. Nothing on a wild animal is wasted either. The hunter packs out all the edible portions, by law and by liking to eat game meat, and what is left is quickly cleaned up by scavengers such as coyotes, bears, foxes, ravens, magpies, etc. Even beetles, flies, worms, and vegetation get the benefit of where it died.

Now, back to the rancher. What happens if he does not remove the additional 200 animals from his 5,000 acres? They over-eat their habitat, their food supply, and the range suffers from over-grazing. If left long enough they will get weak from malnutrition, become subject to more diseases, and eventually die so that the herd is barely a shadow of its former self. If left alone it will eventually recover, but not for many years.

This is exactly the way it works with wild game herds. The range is much larger, but they know that in the Jackson Hole elk herd unit, (basically Snake/Hoback Rivers north to Yellowstone) a population of about 13,000 elk is about right. When the numbers drop for whatever reason, they cut back on permits, they shorten hunting seasons, they increase feed on the feedgrounds, and they increase lion and bear hunting quotas to reduce the predation. When the elk population becomes too large they increase hunt permits, issue fewer lion and bear hunting permits, and lengthen hunting seasons so the animals won't become so numerous that they over-eat their food supply. If you come here in the summer you will see vast areas of forest that could support 100 times as many animals. However, come here in the winter and I will show you very meager pickings for the critters. The only places they have access to in the winter are a few south-facing slopes that are steep and catch the winter sun's rays. Literally less than 1/1,000 of the area is suitable winter habitat, and man has built homes on much of it.

"Yes, Jonesy, but what about the predator? Wouldn't it be better to let Mother Nature's predators kill the excess than to let hunters do it?" Well, if we didn't hunt and could keep the predators and prey perfectly in balance, that might be a good argument except for one major problem; reality. In the real world the predator takes whatever is easiest, and sheep, calves, dogs, chickens, turkeys, goats, and a number of other domestic critters don't run as fast as deer or elk and thus become the prey of wolves, lions, and bears. Years ago man got tired of feeding predators with his livelihood (his cattle) and started to kill and exterminate the wolf and the grizzly bear. There was a reason for it. They were destroying man's food and income. In the ideal world man would have said, "Well, they were here first so I'm not going to begrudge them some of my cattle", but in the real world man got mad and swore vengeance on the predator. Other men, such as myself, also liked to hunt and eat elk and deer meat, and the predator was, and is, a direct competitor. In the ideal world the predator just takes the sick and weak, but in the real world the predators don't just take the weak and sickly, they take whatever they can. You ought to see the trophy bucks I have seen lion-killed! They also kill them in a very cruel manner, often eating them while they are still alive, eating the butt-hole out, leaving the crippled and maimed animal to die an agonizing death. I wish I could show the world some of the videos that have been taken that I have seen. We would have fewer people with sympathies for the predator.

And finally, there is the "sport" of hunting. I have many guys who are out with me for the experience and also hoping to get a shot at a buck or bull with a very large set of antlers. It is a challenge and most often the buck or bull wins. Our goal, of course, is to kill the animal as quickly and humanely as possible, and generally we succeed at that. Many of my guys go home without one, not having fired a shot, but having a great time, remembering the cold horseback ride in the dark up a steep and winding mountain trail, the millions of stars overhead, the howl of a coyote off in the distance, the unforgettable melodious bugle of an elk in the timber down in the canyon, the red streaks of sunrise over a jagged mountain range, and the fresh-fallen snow making it look like a vast forest of Christmas trees. These are experiences that cannot be duplicated by the vegetarian city-dweller.

Some of my hunters kill a buck mule deer or bull elk, we quarter it, pack it in to the meat plant, and they make it into delicious sausage, jerky, smoky sticks, cuts of loin, steak, roast, and hamburger. That night at camp the elk steaks sizzle on the grill, giving off an aroma that gets your saliva flowing, and that first bite is so good it will make your tongue slap your brains out. It is better than anything you can find in a fancy restaurant.

Of course the atmosphere has a lot to do with the total experience. The white wall tent; the odor of the wood stove as it reduces hard-split lodgepole pine into fragrant smoke and warmth-giving glowing coals; the friendly banter around the dinner table; the congratulations to the lucky hunter; the envy of knowing "lucky" can sleep in the next morning, then arise leisurely and putter around camp, while you, one of the unlucky ones, has to get up at four A.M. and again go pursue the wiley wapiti; the anticipation of what new experiences you might encounter the next day in this strange land of mountain peaks, cavernous draws, and towering pines instead of the mountainous sky-scrapers, cavernous roadways between them, and towering power-poles in the city which you have gratefully left behind for a blessed week. Ah yes, this is as close to heaven as it gets for a desk-bound businessman.

And then there is the trophy. The hunter mounts the head on the wall as a reminder of a great hunt in Wyoming and the enjoyment of the hunt. Proudly displaying it is not a braggadocio-macho thing. Rather it is a token of the greatness of the animal; his enduring legacy, and a constant reminder that somewhere in the Rocky Mountains there is a different life than one of constantly jangling telephones and nerves. This trophy elk will endure forever on this wall, while his counterpart who died by fang and claw in some unnamed thicket will never be remembered, for he has never been notable or known. This trophy thing is almost impossible to explain to someone who has not experienced it. No, it is not a blood-lust. It is becoming the predator once again as man has been for thousands of years, a throw-back to an age when man had to kill to eat. That day and age is gone, but experienced again by the lucky few who are privileged to come to Wyoming, where the west is still wild and free.

Take Care, Jonesy

Well guys, IÂ’ve taken your time long enough. I appreciate the support you have given me over the years. Incidentally, I had a rather poor elk draw so I have some space in camp for elk. If you didnÂ’t draw a permit, you may want to book a hunt for lion and enjoy elk camp at the same time. Keep your scope clear & powder dry!

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