GRA: OUTDOORS and FREE by Bob Harris

BOB HARRIS
------------------------------
Outdoors and Free
Volume 1, Issue 33

What’s Happening In New Jersey Could Happen In New Hampshire
By BOB HARRIS
Outdoors and Free
Friday, June 22, 2007

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) recently released some information that is scary to think about. Their headline read: "Assembly Proposes to Alter New Jersey Fish and Game Council." There are persons in New Hampshire’s House and Senate who would love to see it happen here. Here is the story.

Introduced by Assemblyman Michael Panter, Democrat from Shrewsbury, N.J., Assembly Bill 3275 will change the make up of New Jersey’s Fish and Game Council. It will remove the six sportsmen and three farmers, who represent various geographical regions of the state and replace them with seven appointees recommended by the governor. The bill also directs the council to investigate non-lethal wildlife management options prior to setting hunting, fishing or trapping programs. The bill also removes the council’s authority to consider the use and development of fish and wildlife resources for public recreation and food supply when adopting the state Fish and Game Code.

This legislation, if passed, will revamp the New Jersey Fish and Game Council. Assembly Bill 3275 was scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee on June 14th. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, and its allies, are concerned that such legislation will simplify anti-hunters’ involvement in the wildlife decision making process for which they have no expertise.

"We are very concerned that this bill will result in the end of hunting in the long run," stated Rick Story, Senior Vice President of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. "This bill plays right into the anti-hunting movement’s hands." But, here’s another catch to New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 3275 that makes me think about suggestions floating around concerning New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department. The bill also proposes the transfer of the Division of Fish and Wildlife from the Department of Conservation and Economic Development to the Department of Environmental Protection. If the shift occurs, there is a risk that game management activities will take a back seat to environmental projects, and thus wildlife conservation will suffer.

As of this writing, I haven’t yet learned the results of the June 14th hearing. Hopefully, sportsmen and women of New Jersey rose to the call and demanded their legislators vote against Assembly Bill 3275. It is the ever watchful eye of the U.S.S.A., and their allies, that alert us to atrocities such as this bill.

As many of our readers know, our own fish and game department is currently experiencing a serious financial crisis. Because of this fact, there are legislators in Concord who favor abolishing the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and merging it into some other state agency. We must be ready to step in and fight for Fish and Game if and when such legislation like New Jersey’s should ever occur. We can not afford to have other interests attack our Fish and Game Department now or ever.

Bob Harris can be reached via e-mail at: outwriter2@aol.com

Past Columns >>>
> Bob Harris 06-15-07: Check you watercraft thoroughly before launching
> Bob Harris 06-08-07: The HSUS Isn’t What You Think It Is
> Bob Harris 06-01-07: River bass are powerful
> Bob Harris 05-25-07: A website for outdoors women
> Bob Harris 05-18-07: Vicious attack by a butterfly
> Bob Harris 05-11-07: The Mini-Tandem Streamer
> Bob Harris 05-04-07: Tandem Streamers - The Size Counts
> Bob Harris 04-27-07: Come Have Fun at N. H. Fish and Game’s All-Fish Exposition
> Bob Harris 04-20-07: Trout ponds open April 28th
> Bob Harris 04-13-07: Come and enjoy "Discover Wild New Hampshire Day"
> Bob Harris 04-06-07: It's time to enjoy landlocked salmon fishing
> Bob Harris 03-30-07: New Hampshire Fish and Game Executive Director Will Be Missed
> Bob Harris 03-23-07: Turkey hunting seminar April 14th
> Bob Harris 03-16-07: The most sweeping gun ban ever introduced in Congress
> Bob Harris 03-09-07: A backdoor assault on our right-to-carry in New Hampshire
> Bob Harris 03-02-07: A call to action on Fish & Game funding
> Bob Harris 02-23-07: Come Enjoy the 5th Annual Fly-Fish New Hampshire Show
> Bob Harris 02-16-07: Snowshoe Hare Hunting Workshop Offered by N.N Fish and Game Department
> Bob Harris 02-09-07: Need to ride snowmobiles responsibly and safely
> Bob Harris 02-02-07: The joys of wildlife watching and photography
> Bob Harris 01-26-07: Many New Hampshire waters are open for fishing year-round
> Bob Harris 01-19-07: Tell Governor John Lynch you care about Fish and Game funding
> Bob Harris 01-12-07: Come and Enjoy the 31st Toyota Eastern Fishing & Outdoor Exposition
> Bob Harris 01-05-07: Fox television joins movement to ban trapping
> Bob Harris 12-29-06: A successful year for deer hunters
> Bob Harris 12-22-06: Marine fisheries law enforcement activities increased in 2006
> Bob Harris 12-15-06: December - a beautiful time for pheasant hunting
> Bob Harris 12-08-06: The ice will be coming. Be ready, be safe.
> Bob Harris 12-01-06: Let's all help support the NH Fish & Game department
> Bob Harris 11-24-06: The bear facts
> Bob Harris 11-17-06: Become a volunteer ice fishing instructor
> Bob Harris 11-10-06: Take a kid hunting this fall

> About Bob Harris