Hi everybody,
I finally made time to write my Bond Swamp comments, are pasted here if anybody wants to use them as a starting point for their own comments.
Let's don't let the anti's win this battle.
Numbers of comments count, so even if you just jot a quick note that hogs are a non-native species that mess up the habitat and hunting them should be allowed, that will help.
We've got 4 days left to email comments in. Here's the link that gives sitrep and Carolyn's email address: http://www.fws.gov/bondswamp/publiccomment.html
thanks,
dave
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Roswell, Georgia 30075
March 31, 2007
Carolyn Johnson, Assistant Refuge Manager
United States Department of the Interior - Fish and WildlifeService
Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
718 Juliette Road, Round Oak, GA 31038
Carolyn,
I have reviewed the March 2007 Sport Hunting Plan for Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and support the proposed action alternative allowing controlled hunting to continue on this Refuge. Here are my comments.
I have had the good luck to have been drawn for a few Bond Swamp quota rifle hunts, and have archery hunted there as well.
Hunting on this refuge is a rare opportunity for a modern-day adventure in an undeveloped river swamp.
I have harvested three wild hogs at Bond Swamp, saw my first water moccasin there, and look forward to the duck sightings I typically encounter.
Following are two significant reasons why I think sport hunting should be allowed to continue as part of the Fish and Wildlife Service's management program, and why hunting is a compatible recreational use that assists in attaining the objectives of this National Wildlife Refuge.
1) Habitat damage. While an uncontrolled white-tailed deer population can eliminate plant species and reduce biological diversity, feral hogs wrote the book on it! Hogs do extensive damage by rooting in the soil for food and preying on nests of ground- and shrub-nesting birds. The high reproductive rate of hogs allows an uncontrolled population to reproduce quickly, multiplying the environmental damage they cause.
With no significant natural predators of hogs and deer, continuation of regulated hunting for these species is the most viable option for controlling habitat damage.
2) Stewardship of the resource. Hunters have a long history of being stewards of the lands they have access to.
Of the various user groups visiting a NWR, hunters likely probe the remotest corners. When 200 hunters have three days to hunt Bond Swamp, many acres are viewed. If any illegal dumping, logging, poaching, artifact digging, vandalism, or other negative activities are occurring, hunters can observe and report it. This monitoring function assists in Bond Swamp NWR's management objectives of preserving and protecting the ecosystem, species, and habitats on the Refuge. Best of all, it costs taxpayers nothing.
If hunting were to be discontinued on Bond Swamp or other NWRs, this valuable monitoring service would be lost.
I trust the presiding judge and courts will understand that allowing continued hunting will be a compatible use in the best interests of the resource, and that it adheres to the stated objectives of this and other NWRs.
Sincerely,
Dave Horton
I finally made time to write my Bond Swamp comments, are pasted here if anybody wants to use them as a starting point for their own comments.
Let's don't let the anti's win this battle.
Numbers of comments count, so even if you just jot a quick note that hogs are a non-native species that mess up the habitat and hunting them should be allowed, that will help.
We've got 4 days left to email comments in. Here's the link that gives sitrep and Carolyn's email address: http://www.fws.gov/bondswamp/publiccomment.html
thanks,
dave
-------------------------------------------------------------
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Roswell, Georgia 30075
March 31, 2007
Carolyn Johnson, Assistant Refuge Manager
United States Department of the Interior - Fish and WildlifeService
Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
718 Juliette Road, Round Oak, GA 31038
Carolyn,
I have reviewed the March 2007 Sport Hunting Plan for Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and support the proposed action alternative allowing controlled hunting to continue on this Refuge. Here are my comments.
I have had the good luck to have been drawn for a few Bond Swamp quota rifle hunts, and have archery hunted there as well.
Hunting on this refuge is a rare opportunity for a modern-day adventure in an undeveloped river swamp.
I have harvested three wild hogs at Bond Swamp, saw my first water moccasin there, and look forward to the duck sightings I typically encounter.
Following are two significant reasons why I think sport hunting should be allowed to continue as part of the Fish and Wildlife Service's management program, and why hunting is a compatible recreational use that assists in attaining the objectives of this National Wildlife Refuge.
1) Habitat damage. While an uncontrolled white-tailed deer population can eliminate plant species and reduce biological diversity, feral hogs wrote the book on it! Hogs do extensive damage by rooting in the soil for food and preying on nests of ground- and shrub-nesting birds. The high reproductive rate of hogs allows an uncontrolled population to reproduce quickly, multiplying the environmental damage they cause.
With no significant natural predators of hogs and deer, continuation of regulated hunting for these species is the most viable option for controlling habitat damage.
2) Stewardship of the resource. Hunters have a long history of being stewards of the lands they have access to.
Of the various user groups visiting a NWR, hunters likely probe the remotest corners. When 200 hunters have three days to hunt Bond Swamp, many acres are viewed. If any illegal dumping, logging, poaching, artifact digging, vandalism, or other negative activities are occurring, hunters can observe and report it. This monitoring function assists in Bond Swamp NWR's management objectives of preserving and protecting the ecosystem, species, and habitats on the Refuge. Best of all, it costs taxpayers nothing.
If hunting were to be discontinued on Bond Swamp or other NWRs, this valuable monitoring service would be lost.
I trust the presiding judge and courts will understand that allowing continued hunting will be a compatible use in the best interests of the resource, and that it adheres to the stated objectives of this and other NWRs.
Sincerely,
Dave Horton
