Senator Feinstein Inserts Provision to Slaughter Santa Rosa Island’s Elk and Mule Deer

Friday, December 21, 2007


As we reported last year, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) helped to enact an NRA-backed law to save the 1100 Roosevelt Elk and Kaibab Mule Deer on Santa Rosa Island from court-ordered extermination. Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) were outraged. It was clear that they were not going to give up until every elk and mule deer on the island had been destroyed.

This week, Senator Feinstein succeeded in inserting a provision into the Omnibus Appropriations Bill that repeals this animal-saving law. This action, passed in the dark of night, reinstates the extermination order that must be carried out by 2011. This is a terrible blow to wildlife conservation in America.

Santa Rosa’s elk and mule deer are unique and invaluable because they are free from chronic wasting disease (CWD) and other ailments that threaten these species on the mainland. Forty miles of Pacific Ocean ensures them an ideal sanctuary. Senator Feinstein and the others have destroyed this last remaining insurance policy against losing these magnificent species if an epidemic strikes the mainland.

This episode also proves beyond doubt that the Humane Society of the United States isn’t trying to “save†animals. The radical anti-hunting group refused to utter a single word of opposition to the government-mandated slaughter of the elk and mule deer that have coexisted with other plant and animal species on the island for more than 75 years.
Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Representative Capps, and even the National Park Service, want all of the animals on the Island exterminated so that some are not ethically hunted as a management tool. It shows, in no uncertain terms, the ruthlessness of radical hunting opponents.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.politics/browse_thre...ead/45a12b58683715fe

What a shame....

I had read or seen a show about someone taking a mule deer off the island. It was a woman and she had said she would be one of the last ones to be able to hunt. I guess this is what she was referring to.

What was Dianne Third Reichstien's reason behind elimination of these animals?

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
I had read or seen a show about someone taking a mule deer off the island. It was a woman and she had said she would be one of the last ones to be able to hunt. I guess this is what she was referring to.

What was Dianne Third Reichstien's reason behind elimination of these animals?

D. Nelson posted a hunt report not too long ago -- maybe that is what you saw?

Here is the thread.

What a damn shame!! I can't believe this. What exactly is the reason for it? Are they planning on developing the island? Absolutely disgusting!!

Clearing the introduced, NON-NATIVE species off Santa Rosa and several islands along the CA coast has been going on for years because they are all now part of Channel Islands National Park, which was created by Congress in 1980!

Since then, all the hunting concessions and any private land owners were well warned in advance of what would be happening. It has nothing to do with PETA, HSUS or any other animal-rights group.


Several years ago, they also slaughtered all the feral Merino sheep and hogs on Santa Cruz Island for the same reason -- to restore it to its natural habitat.

The other islands in the NP include Santa Barbara, Anacapa and San Miguel. A link to the Channel Island NP on the NPS website.

Santa Rosa Island

The second largest park island is Santa Rosa. Nearly 24 kilometers (15 miles) long and 16 kilometers (10 miles) wide, its 22,250 hectares (53.000 acres) exhibit remarkable contrasts. Cliffs on the northeastern shore rival those of Santa Cruz Island. High mountains with deeply cut canyons give way to gentle rolling hills and flat marine terraces. Vast grasslands blanket about 85 percent of the island, yet columnar volcanic formations, extensive fossil beds, and highly colored hill slopes are visible. Rocky terraces on the west end provide superb habitat for intertidal organisms, including astounding concentrations of black abalone. Harbor seals haul out and breed on the island's sandy beaches. On the eastern tip of the island, a unique coastal marsh is among the most extensive freshwater habitats found on any of the Channel Islands. The entire island is surrounded by expanses of kelp beds. Consequently, its surrounding waters serve as an invaluable nursery for the sea life that feeds larger marine mammals and the sea birds that breed along the coastal shores and offshore rocks of all the Channel Islands. Beneath Santa Rosa's non-native grasslands are the remains of a rich cultural heritage. More than 180 largely undisturbed archeological sites have been mapped. These include several associated with early man's presence in North America. Chumash Indian villages and historic-era camps of early explorers and fur hunters are evident. Some historians think Santa Rosa may be Cabrillo's final resting place.

In the 1840s and 1850s, Santa Rosa was a cattle rancheria. After the cattle industry of old Spanish California collapsed in the 1860s, sheep were brought to Santa Rosa and soon became its economic mainstay. Sheep grazing continued into the early 20th century, but when the island was sold to Vail & Vickers Company in 1902, the sheep were removed and cattle reintroduced. Though the impacts of introduced grains, insects, sheep, pigs, deer, elk, and cattle were severe, examples of Sand Rosa's native plant communities survive. These tend to be restricted to rocky canyons and upper slopes. Native and endemic plants include the tree poppy, island manzanita, and an endemic sage. Native Island Oaks grow on protected slopes, and two groves of Torrey pine are visible near Bechers Bay. More than 195 bird species are found on Santa Rosa. With its extensive grasslands, the island supports large populations of European starlings, homed-larks, meadow larks, house finches, and song sparrows. Shore birds and waterfowl favor the brackish habitat found on Santa Rosa's eastern tip. This marsh and the island's running streams and springs provide habitat for tree frogs and Pacific slender salamanders.

Other terrestrial animals include the gopher snake, deer mouse, and two species of lizard. The island fox may be frequently seen. The endemic spotted skunk— found only on Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands— is only rarely observed.

I emailed the first post to my "liberal-to-the-core" uncle in law and he also responded with commments on how the deer/elk are not native anyway and were competing with the true native animals.

However, he did not mention which animals were native that were "losing ground" to the deer/elk. Anyone know?

He sent a second email response that said something like this: "....and of course they are Democrats, and from California!! Terrible!!" (his sarcasm).

I had to send something back just to get under his skin: "yea, you can't scrape much of anything from the bottom of the barrel than that combo." All in fun for me, but he's so serious, he can't take a joke.

I guess its a good thing the true native american tribes don't get the same idea! There would be a lot of people in trouble.

Lot of non-native species in Kalifornia. Ms. Feinstein may be one of those.

Dang Charles, you're good. That's exactly the story I was referring to.

Obviously the pols wouldn't have made a decision like that without input from the game dept. Still, seems like an awful waste of a good resource.

Thanks for the info.

I hunted Santa Rosa Island this past September after sitting on the waiting list for 3 years. It was an amazing experience, and I took a super muley and a very good Roosevelt elk. Because of the government-mandated eradication to take place by 1-1-11, I will never be able to hunt this unique island again, nor will anyone else as the remaining slots have long been booked. By the way, I was told that the only native mammals are three: a dwarf fox, a dwarf skunk, and a small mouse.

When is the park service getting removed because they're definitely non-native.I repeat the first thing I learned in my introduction to wildlife mgt in the fall of 1961 was a comment by the professor "everything the US Park Services touches they mess up"it's still true today! At the Mojave National Preserve the US Park service was going to remove all of the non-native Chukar until they found out this was impossible. On the other hand after removing all of the man made water sources from the Lanfair Valley they were going to reintroduce the Sonoran Antelope into the Lanfair Valley but antelope can't survive w/o water!