It's no secret - over the years inaction by anglers, hunters and trappers has allowed our detractors to construct their podium of propaganda and advocate the removal of our outdoor freedoms.
Whether these detractors are the well-funded organizations that "buy science" to convince the public there is over-fishing or the well-funded organizations that "market emotionalism" to sway the public of the horrors of hunting and trapping, our inaction enables our detractors to promote ignorance, build political capital and inflate their membership ranks - all at our expense.
The fact is that anglers, hunters and trappers make up the LARGEST SINGLE VOTING BLOC in NJ (and throughout most of the nation.) The outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen of NJ total nearly 1,000,000 voters! This number is 5 times larger than the New Jersey Education Association - perhaps the most powerful lobbying group in NJ!
You might be asking yourself, "What can I do?" The answer is simple - make a commitment to become involved in the political process. Do it today. It doesn't take much of your time. Simply call your state senator and assemblypersons and tell them that you are an angler, hunter and trapper and that you VOTE! Better yet, take 5 minutes to write just one paragraph saying you are an angler, hunter and trapper and end it with - "I VOTE!"
*** One hand written letter to a politician has the same influence of 10 emails/faxes! ***
Why not set aside 5 minutes and write your letter this week. You can find your senator or assemblyperson and their mailing address at the following web site:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp One other powerful statement you can make is to ensure that you are a member of one or more of the like-minded fishing, hunting, trapping and conservation organizations/clubs that will advance your issues in Trenton. Our strength is in our numbers. A unified showing by anglers, hunters and trappers will make us the single largest voting bloc in NJ. Imagine what we will accomplish by such an association!
Finally - be sure to VOTE in every election. Talk the walk and then walk the talk.
Below is just one of many membership drives seeking to undermine our freedoms. Whether it's HSUS, PETA, PEW, B.E.A.R .or any anti-fishing, anti-hunting or ant-trapping initiative we are ALL negatively impacted.
So please, get involved. All it takes is five minutes to write a note to your legislator and one day a year to vote! It isn't much of a task when we consider that it may well secure our future to fish, hunt and trap.
Tight lines, good hunting and tripped traps.
Ant
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance:
"The voice of the conservationist."
www.njoutdooralliance.org -------------------------------------------------------
Membership Drive:
The BEAR Group is currently launching a membership drive. It?s crucial we do this now, because we don?t know if the Division of Fish & Wildlife will announce a bear hunt for 2008. Please download membership forms for friends and family. Refer 2 or more people, who join, and be entered to win a plush black bear footstool!
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife exists to serve hunting interests. By promoting fear of bears, they lay the groundwork for future hunts.
The excuse for any argument for bear hunting involves fear. The pro-hunting forces in the Division of Fish & Wildlife understand this. And their actions promote fear, rather than understanding, of black bears. And this fear coupled with hunters passion for killing is the basis for their bear hunting argument.
When game officers shoot "nuisance" bears, they enforce the myth that bears are dangerous. Yet the bears they target are being killed for knocking over trash, emptying birdfeeders, and lapping up honey from beehives. On rare occasions, when home (or garage) entry is involved, bears are accused of "break ins." But F&W fails to address the true source of the problem: a homeowner who did not bearproof their property.
In New Jersey, it is illegal to feed bears?intentionally or through improperly stored garbage. But F&W seldom enforces this law. Instead, they set traps on the homeowner's property. They claim the traps are non-lethal and they are until the F&W officers arrive and shoot the bear. The reality is, that F&W disregards the feeding ban?and then blames the bear?as creating "nuisance" bears is another tool of the hunter-dominated Division of Fish & Wildlife.
They inflate population statistics. Need population info, ours and theirs.........They encourage residents to contact them, regarding bears. Whether the homeowner calls to complain or to ask a question, the call is logged as a nuisance complaint. This manipulated data is further compromised, as 10 calls about one bear are recorded as 10 complaints. F&W then uses these complaints to justify a bear hunt.
At times, F&W relocates bears. We suspect that when bears end up in urban areas, that it is F&W who intentionally transported them there, to incite fear. When such incidents are reported in the media, it further fuels fear.
F&W employees "who should be non-biased" argue publicly in favor of black bear hunting and align themselves with hunters. They are essentially a state-sanctioned hunting organization.
The Division doesn't have a black bear management plan; they have an agenda. With each "complaint" they log, with each homeowner not fined for violating the feeding law, and with each bear they publicly shoot they lay the groundwork for another bear hunt. And it's our job not to let this happen.
Please join us today...and be a voice for responsible government...and for those who can?t speak for themselves.
Please write letters to the editor stating support
for non-lethal black bear management.
* The majority of NJ residents oppose black bear hunting
* Hunting does not address nuisance concerns. States with bear hunts experience rising complaints. A report by Dr. Edward Tavss, a Rutgers scientist, proves this. Visit:
www.tinyurl.com/bwnat * Public education, garbage control and aversive conditioning are the best means to address concerns about bears.
* With roughly 2.2 million people living in bear country, a few hundred complaints is very low, especially when they are mostly related to garbage issues. Most people are living among bears in harmony.
* Bear hunts are recreational trophy hunts being sold as public safety. Don't buy it. The top issues affecting New Jersey are wages, property tax, health care, war, education, corruption, homeland security, economy, and the environment.
* The Division of Fish and Wildlife should not be moving bears all over the state, especially in areas where bears do not usually frequent. They do this to induce fear and get support for a bear hunt.
* Hunters bait bears, bringing them into residential neighborhoods, which raise the complaints. Baiting any animal in bear country is a bad idea.
Contact information for New Jersey newspapers
Please include your name, address and phone number for verification purposes.
Asbury Park Press: yourviews@app.com
Atlantic City Press: letters@pressofac.com
Bergen Record: lettertotheeditor@northjersey.com
Bridgeton News: mgray@sjnewsco.com
Burlington County Times:
http://tinyurl.com/bkgph Courier News: cnmetro@c-n.com
Courier Post: cpedit@courierpostonline.com
Daily Journal: djopinion@thedailyjournal.com
Daily Record: letters@dailyrecord.com
Gloucester County Times: egoldberg@sjnewsco.com
Home News Tribune: letters@thnt.com
Jersey Journal: jjletters@aol.com
New Jersey Herald: newsroom@njherald.com
Ocean County Observer: hfitzsimmons@app.com
Star Ledger: eletters@starledger.com
Today's Sunbeam: tsnews@sjnewsco.com
Trenton Times: letters@njtimes.com
Trentonian: letters@trentonian.com
Express Times: letters@express-times.com
