Grousing about Sage Advice

So I have started to hunt for information on the plight of the Idahoan Sage Grouse, a rather large, ornate, and interesting bird.

 

Turns out one does not need to hunt hardly at all before the ugly little head of inept Idahoan leadership pops up among the Sagebrush. I simply visited the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s website where I found Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s Executive Order 2012-02 Establishing The Governor’s Sage Grouse Task-Force which sounds mighty darn serious and impressive. But is it? Turns out that Butch is quite the little rascal.

 

Let’s begin with the man. Here we have an agribusiness guy, a Republican, who soaks his chewing tobacco in Jack Daniels while driving, and says he’d be first in line to shoot a Gray Wolf pending removal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Endangered Species List after the population was only just brought back from the brink extinction. In fact Butch the Butcher supports a measure to cull Gray Wolf numbers all the way down to 100! Humorously, he was married to a woman named Gay but opposes gay marriage. Anyway, they’re divorced now, but you get the picture, not a real intellect, or a guy who deeply empathizes with or appreciates animal life, or human life for that matter. Guess his ex-wife finally figured that out.  

 

So what about his friends on his Sage Grouse Wonder Heroes Task-Force? After weeding through endless Whereas after Whereas in the document which honestly, not being too up on English, or legalese, I mistakenly thought was an animal related to a werewolf, only a were-ass, one comes to the kind of friends Gov. likes to appoint to a Task-Force meant to advise him on how best to preserve, protect, and perpetuate an abused species in his own backyard. It reads:

 

 

The Task Force members shall be appointed from the following categories:

 

Individuals who:

 Represent agricultural interests; or

 Represent energy or mineral development interests.

 A local working group; or

 A nationally, regionally or locally recognized environmental organization; or

 Nationally or locally recognized wildlife or sportsmen’s groups.

 Hold State elected office; or

 Hold county elected office; or

 Represent the public at large.

 

Did you count the number of Ornithologists, Bird Watchers, Naturalists, Biologists, Ecologists, Conservationists, Hippies, Liberals, Nature Freaks, Vegans, and Friends of Sage Grouse on that list? Did you get zero? Me too. Basically, this list may as well simply read fucking anybody whether they give a flying hoot about nature, or Sage Grouse or not, no experience necessary. It would have saved Idahoan tax payers on ink.  

 

So, the Governor’s a drunk, a good ol’ boy, and he’s quick with a gun. How about the tone of the document itself. One last chance; keep hope alive! I have clipped out the worst bits for your convenience:

 

Duties of the Task Force:

 

to preclude the need to list the species; (Never mind saving the actual animals in question, he is worried most about having to list them as endangered which will threaten every Joe, Jack, and Jane Idaho Shotgun Ranch shoot ‘em up Sage Grouse in a Bucket business all over Idaho.  

 

i. Conserve the species and its habitat while maintaining predictable and multiple uses of private, state and public lands; (In other words, don’t kill all the birds while continuing to blast their brains out for profit!”)

 

iii. Tailor the management recommendations… to the interests of the State; (Again, screw the birds, business come first!)

 

For a Sage Grouse Task Force it sure as hell reads one heck of a lot like an Idaho Agriculture, Business and State Revenue Task Force don’t it? It do.

 

Allow me to remind you that I have started to read up on this topic because Idaho Fish and Game intends to poison 4,000 Ravens in certain specific areas, in what they are calling an “experiment” to see if doing so will boost Sage Grouse numbers.  Let’s have one last look at Butch Boy’s Executive Order and see what it says about Ravens specifically, or even what it implies:

 

The Sage Grouse Task Force will…

iv. Address the following threats to the species as identified by the (Wildlife) Service:

 

 Habitat fragmentation due to wildfire and invasive species;

 Conversion of habitat for agriculture or urbanization; and

 Energy development/infrastructure.

 Disease/West Nile virus;

 Management issues related to livestock grazing;

 Collisions with fences and power lines;

 Mining;

 Prescribed fire and range treatments;

 Water development; and

 Conifer invasion.

 

Did you read anything about massacring Ravens there in? Me neither. Well, at least it is comforting to see that the document mandates the Task-Force to:

 

vi. Identify opportunities for pro-active sage-grouse habitat enhancement projects; and

 

vii. Recognize, encourage and incentivize land use practices that are actively maintaining or improving sage-grouse habitat as evidenced by improvements in habitat quality, active lek routes or stable/increasing populations of the species.

 

Yes, indeed, that last bit there is a ray of hope. Idaho should stick to those bits. Be advised, however, that this Task-Force composed of the Governor’s dim-witted hunting buddies is in the end  solely advisory. This ensures that, should the Sage Grouse luck out and happen to find a friend among the Governor’s pals, that the Governor may simply ignore them, and their advice all together.

 

The document goes on to state that the Task Force may   request consultation, information and technical expertise from  anyone with a brain, an education, a care in the world about Sage Grouse. Phew, thank goodness for that! We would not want to limit or impede the Shoe Salesman, the 7-11 Clerk, the Boy Scout Troop Leader  (no disrespect) in their sworn duty to advise the Governor on this vitally important Sage Grouse Task-Force.

 

I think the case very likely will be that we need to open our eyes and  recognize who we are dealing with if we are to save Ravens, or Sage Grouse, or any wildlife in Idaho. The fact is, in Idaho the people in charge, at the top, look to me like wildlife’s biggest threat. If that were not the case, the Sage Grouse and the Ravens would not be in their respective predicaments today.

 

Pay a visit to Idaho Fish and Game’s website. You have real people writing in with real questions like, May I shoot a fish with a crossbow? And you have real people working at Fish and Game answering back Sure as long as it’s only a carp or a sucker.

 

Isn’t the correct answer, Why? Are you fishing? Are you clearing out invasive species? What’s your intent? What’s your thinking? Are you 10 years old? Are you shooting an animal for fun? Is there some reason you need to bother the fish going about its life? Where is your mommy?

 

People who think, people who empathize, people who care, people who are educated, people who question and seek answers, people who are dedicated specialists, people who understand that nature is first, that it is precious, that it is all there is, no second chances, people who were brought up by kind-hearted parents who taught them to respect, admire, and appreciate all living precious things are the ones we need on the Sage-Grouse Task-Force. They would make a real Task-Force, not merely an advisory façade for an easily fooled public. We the public need to listen to the experts, and the scientists, and the ornithologists because they, simply put, have something to teach us about the birds, and about being human.

 

 

So far, my look into this issue has barely scratched the surface, but things are not looking good for the Sage Grouse or the Ravens. When the Governor and a kid with the crossbow share the same depraved, immaturity and outlook, things really do not look good. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong. I'm simply calling it as I see it. Stay tuned.