How you can help take action:

1. Please go to this link Contact your Congressional Representative and send a letter to your member of congress. It is important for hunters to get this issue highlighted with the folks that control the purse strings of federal agencies.

2. Come to Washington, D.C. on May 8th for a lobby day on Capitol Hill. Register at this link: Register for Lobby Day FWS's Deputy Director of Policy Steve Guertin will be at breakfast on May 8th where we will have a discussion on FWS's policies. If you are in Washington, you can help us in the fight.

I would focus in Zim as a priority and then work on TZ. IMO there is a much better case for this ruling in TZ than for Zim.

Nelson:

Can you please send us some highlights to use?

Thanks.

Do you intend to send an email or e-alert to all the SCI members urging them to reach out to their Congressman? Or provide them a template or go by to help them organize a response?

I have already written my legislators, USF&WS and the congressional committees and their chairs.
I will be landing at Dulles on my way home from Zim on the 8th, a bit hard to add that onto my itinerary, but you never know.
Like Mike said, making it as easy as possible for members to do this will pay off in spades.

This is no "shot over the bow." This is right on the end of your nose if you are a hunter.

We absolutely MUST write our representatives and FWS.

We can only blame ourselves if this goes unchallenged... with a big enough voice, we can make a difference.

If you follow the link that Nelson provided you will see that they already have a letter set up. You have the opportunity to add your own comments in a couple of places and after you provide them with you address it sends the letter directly to your Senators and Representative. It is very easy to do, only takes a couple of minutes. They also have it set up so that you can forward the info to others and have them send the letter to their reps as well.

Very well done Nelson and SCI!

Now let's do our part and swamp our reps with our concerns.

Very well done. If you have other like minded folks in your address books, please forward. I'd already written, but sending another email sure can't hurt, so I did.

Glad to see SCI on this. Hopefully DSC will be on this also.

Done. You can also send a note to six friends urging them to write their Congressmen too. Get this done today.

Representatives contacted.

Mark

I encourage everyone to use the feature that allows you to send a note urging six friends to contact their Congressmen too. They do NOT have to be members of SCI to use this vehicle to contact their Congressmen. All you need to do is to add their email addresses. Take 10 minutes to do this.

Done!!

Did It! SCI made it quick and easy.

Tom

Another suggestion. SCI will send an email to you after you submit the letter. It is easier to forward it to a bunch of people in your address book than it is to type email addresses into the little boxes. You can also add a little personal note to the forward, explaining what it is about. This is what I put at the top of mine:

Hi all-
The US Fish and Wildlife Service made a pronouncement last Friday, banning importation of all elephant trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe killed after 2013. That includes trophies already on the ground from this season! It was poorly reasoned, and will open the elephant up to even more rampant poaching. Whether you hunt them or not, if you are concerned about the future of the species, and of sport hunting as a conservation tool in general, I would ask that you consider following the link to contact your legislators. There is a pre-written letter which you can send, and modify if you wish. It takes only moments.

Thanks,
Marty

I sent it to a couple dozen people, and if a few of them also forward, it can be a great multiplier.

Done.

Done

Done. 2 of 3 might do something. Hagan won't. But she won't be in office much longer so the hope is whomever replaces her will help in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by Marty:
Another suggestion. SCI will send an email to you after you submit the letter. It is easier to forward it to a bunch of people in your address book than it is to type email addresses into the little boxes. You can also add a little personal note to the forward, explaining what it is about. This is what I put at the top of mine:

Hi all-
The US Fish and Wildlife Service made a pronouncement last Friday, banning importation of all elephant trophies from Tanzania and Zimbabwe killed after 2013. That includes trophies already on the ground from this season! It was poorly reasoned, and will open the elephant up to even more rampant poaching. Whether you hunt them or not, if you are concerned about the future of the species, and of sport hunting as a conservation tool in general, I would ask that you consider following the link to contact your legislators. There is a pre-written letter which you can send, and modify if you wish. It takes only moments.

Thanks,
Marty

I sent it to a couple dozen people, and if a few of them also forward, it can be a great multiplier.

Exactly. Here is the note I sent to my email contacts, feel free to cut and paste and send to your friends, hunting buddies and other concerned conservationists:

As many of you may already know, on Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a suspension on imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies taken in Tanzania and Zimbabwe during calendar year 2014. The suspension was announced with no prior notice and recites only conclusory statements regarding the basis of the decision. The statement does not provide any factual support for the suspension. Similarly, the statement does not provide any explanation of the factors that USFWS will consider in determining whether to extend the suspension beyond 2014. Last, the USFWS fails to address the immediate and long-terms impacts of the suspension on existing community-based conservation and anti-poaching programs dependent on the revenues and ancillary benefits generated from elephants hunts by US hunters.

Please take a minute to send notes to your Congressional delegation urging them to reverse this ill-advised ban. This ban, if not lifted, will decimate the elephant populations in Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Frankly sport hunting is all that keeps the poaching under control currently in these countries. The link below enables you to do this in a matter of minutes. You can, and I encourage you to, send notes to six friends using the link to urging them to respond too. Folks do not have to be members of SCI to use this process. Let's be heard.

http://www.scifirstforhunters....y/contactcongressman

Mike & Others - I would suggest someone organize a meeting in DC on May 8th, can someone do that????

Aaron, I do not have any of the details on the agenda, etc. from SCI. I signed up but have not heard back. That said, folks that are planning to go to DC shoot me an email (mjines@live.com) or PM and we can see what we might be able to organize once we know what the official SCI schedule is.

done

Done!!

Completed as recommended.

Done gentlemen
Love when all of us to the last one agree on things when all hell breaks loose.

Done!

Done

Thank you to everyone who has used the "Contact your Congressman" function. We have had around 50 AR forum members use it this far. Please keep up the pressure with more letters.

This same citizen lobbying function will be distributed this afternoon to all SCI members.

We have had 5 AR Members submit information for the SCI Lobby Day on May 8th. This is great but we need as many hunters to participate as possible. For those that have registered, you will be contacted by SCI staff before the end of the week.

Again, thank you everyone for your immediate responsiveness to this misguided FWS policy.

Done!!

quote:

Originally posted by NelsonFreemanSCI:
Thank you to everyone who has used the "Contact your Congressman" function. We have had around 50 AR forum members use it this far. Please keep up the pressure with more letters.

Surely we care more about African hunting than that?

50 isn't even a blip on the radar screen... we need thousands of letter to have an impact.

Again, we can only blame ourselves if this decision stands.

quote:

Originally posted by NelsonFreemanSCI:
Thank you to everyone who has used the "Contact your Congressman" function. We have had around 50 AR forum members use it this far. Please keep up the pressure with more letters.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of using the added link on the SCI site to send alerts to six friends encouraging them to contact their Congressmen. Also, feel free to cut and paste the text below into an email to your friends and family. The real power of the tool that SCI has is the ability to exponentially reach out to folks. Remember your job is not done until you ask your friends to send notes too.

Possible email text to use:

As many of you may already know, on Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a suspension on imports of sport-hunted African elephant trophies taken in Tanzania and Zimbabwe during calendar year 2014. The suspension was announced with no prior notice and recites only conclusory statements regarding the basis of the decision. The statement does not provide any factual support for the suspension. Similarly, the statement does not provide any explanation of the factors that USFWS will consider in determining whether to extend the suspension beyond 2014. Last, the USFWS fails to address the immediate and long-terms impacts of the suspension on existing community-based conservation and anti-poaching programs dependent on the revenues and ancillary benefits generated from elephants hunts by US hunters.

Please take a minute to send notes to your Congressional delegation urging them to reverse this ill-advised ban. This ban, if not lifted, will decimate the elephant populations in Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Frankly sport hunting is all that keeps the poaching under control currently in these countries. The link below enables you to do this in a matter of minutes. You can, and I encourage you to, send notes to six friends using the link to urging them to respond too. Folks do not have to be members of SCI to use this process. Let's be heard.

http://www.scifirstforhunters....y/contactcongressman

Done

In addition to sending the link to six friends have your wife, kids and other relatives send the emails too. It is so easy to do and numbers matter when dealing with elected officials.

Done!

I think a petition at least an AR petition should be presented to the NRA.

Done! Please, everyone go to the site and fill out the form to send a message to your representatives. It is VERY EASY!

Thanks Nelson.

Done

Gentlemen,

I applaud everyone's ongoing efforts to reverse the USF&W's recent decision to prohibit the importation of elephant trophies for year 2014. My understanding is that their decision (right, wrong, or indifferent) is based on rampant elephant poaching and the lack of ongoing efforts to successfully implement anti-poaching initiatives by the applicable governments (i.e.- Tanzania and Zimbabwe).

Please allow me this opportunity to recognize Charlton McCallum Safaris for having the foresight to fully understand the ongoing elephant poaching issue and it's potential to negatively impact the future of elephant hunting.

I have taken the liberty to "copy and paste" the following excerpt from CMS's website:

*****

In 2010 Charlton McCallum Safaris took over the Dande East (’East’) and the Dande Safari Area ('DSA') we soon realized that rampant poaching was something that needed to be dealt with much more effectively. The National Parks staff in the DSA were doing a decent job. However the community scouts in the East, with no incentives and seldom getting paid were an ineffective unit.

The East was considered a depleted area, only good for early season crop raiding elephant bulls from Mozambique. The primary reason for this was that the previous hunting operator only hunted the early season for elephant. Then pulling out for the rest of the year leaving it wide open to uncontrolled poaching.

In 2009 CMS enlisted the help of Dr. Russell Taylor to carry out a ‘capacity study’ in the East. His theoretical results were amazing and he estimated that the area could safely hold 1000 buffalo, 500 kudu, 500 sable etc.

With this in mind as soon as our contract started in 2010, we immediately formed the DANDE ANTI POACHING UNIT (DAPU). To date our full time teams in the East have picked up over 5000 snares and have arrested over 60 poachers (in four years). The game has rebounded strongly which is extremely gratifying. In 2013 we took over Dande North (’North’) once again unifying it with the DSA and discovered the same sad story existed with the North. As of 2014 DAPU now supports both the East and North community scouts. The crux of the matter is that DAPU has now out grown our small company and we simply cannot afford to keep up the financial effort. Expenses and incentives paid out keep increasing, but we have to continue with our anti poaching!

CMS will continue funding the bulk of all expenses, however we hope your contributions will assist us to expand DAPU, ultimately improving the Dande North and East hunting concessions for the benefit of all hunters to come and the local communities.

You would be able to contribute to this worthy cause by hunting with us and donating $20 per hunting day or by sending a check to Conservation Force to make a tax deductible donation!

CMS firmly believes that we need to be proactive to curb the poaching should we like to continue to enjoy the unspoilt dangerous game hunting in the Valley or else where.

While CMS have so far "fitted the bill" as such we are at a point where we would hugely appreciate any assistance. Please pass the word around! All the best Buzz
*****

Also, please find below a message that was posted by AR's very own MJines:

*****
Buzz and Myles are too modest to toot their own horn, but let me assure you that they take these anti-poaching efforts very serious. They are working hard with Parks and local police officials to ensure that enforcement is swift and serious when poachers are caught. While it would be great if Parks was in a position to do this on their own, as anyone that has been to Zim can attest, Parks is just not in a position from a funding or resource perspective to do much on the prevention side. On the other hand, CMS has been aggressive in organizing and staying on top of the anti-poaching teams and ensuring that units are deployed regularly for routine patrols and quickly at the first sign of poaching activity. I guess that is a long way of saying, this is not a situation where your contribution goes into a black hole where you scratch your head and wonder whether and how the monies get used. To the contrary, CMS is trying to make a real difference in the areas they are responsible for and having seen the efforts first hand, the contributions are put to good use. That is why I have already sent them $750.00.
*****

Despite the foresight of CMS ("CMS firmly believes that we need to be proactive to curb the poaching should we like to continue to enjoy the unspoilt dangerous game hunting in the Valley or else where") and their ongoing efforts to solicit 501(c)3 donations to establish and properly equip anti-poaching units, as of today, CMS's website indicates that they have received tax deductible donations from fifteen (15) concerned and proactive individuals! Wow!

I am of the opinion (..... and you know what they say about opinions, "Opinions are like butt holes, every one has one and they usually stink"!)that if more safari operators had implemented anti-poaching initiatives (funded by hunter's dollars) similar to CMS, then we, as safari hunters, booking agents, professional hunters, outfitters, etc. could make a much better argument regarding our ongoing efforts to protect the besieged elephant populations! But then again, perhaps I am just naive.

Unfortunately, I suspect that the same ole song and dance "Hey, Congressman, I support elephant conservation by paying yearly dues to one of the international conservation organizations such as SCI, DSC, etc.!" or "Hey, Congressman, I support elephant conservation by hunting trophy elephant every year!" just ain't gunna get it done this time.

In closing, my intention is not to "call out" anyone, but instead, to recognize a few individuals who "saw the writing on the wall" and who have proactively implemented initiatives in an effort to stave off the inevitable.

Buzz and Myles, even though we have never met, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing efforts to protect the Lower Zambezi Valley's flora and fauna!

Cheers

Action taken, hoping for the best now. Lets keep up this effort and not let it dwindle to nothing. Any other efforts like this should continue to be posted here on AR.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
Done! Please, everyone go to the site and fill out the form to send a message to your representatives. It is VERY EASY!

Thanks Nelson.

. . . and complete the section to ask six friends to respond too. The job is only half complete (or less) if each person just uses the link to send letters to their Congressional delegation.