Endangered Whooping Cranes Killed by Gunshot Near Albany, Georgia

WHERE is Ducks Unlimited on This!

Endangered Whooping Cranes were Killed by Gunshots

All you fellows from Georgia, we need your help to track down the scoundrels that killed three Whooping Cranes on their initial migratory flight south from the breeding grounds. There's a mighty large reward being put up, $12,500 US Dollars to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of these poachers! (If you are able to get your hands on them before the authorities, lay a beating on them from me.) 

And why isn't Ducks Unlimited ponying up and helping out?!?!

Wildlife scientists at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, have concluded through preliminary testing the cranes found dead near Albany, Georgia, on Dec. 30, 2010, sustained injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

The cranes were shot sometime before Dec. 30, 2010. They were discovered and reported by hunters. This was the crane's first migration. They were banded and equipped with transmitters and were not part of the ultralight aircraft-led migration effort. Their identities were confirmed by the recovery of their bands. The three cranes, 20-10, 24-10, and 28-10, were part of a group of five 2010 Direct Autumn Release (DAR) cranes. According to Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership trackers, they had last been tracked in Hamilton County, Tennessee, where they roosted on December 10, 2010, with cranes 6-05, 6-09, and 38-09.

The cranes are part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership effort to reintroduce whooping cranes into the eastern United States. There are about 570 whooping cranes left in the world, 400 in the wild. About 100 cranes are in the eastern migratory population.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are leading a joint investigation with Georgia Department of Natural Resources conservation rangers.

Numerous organizations are contributing funds for the reward. They include: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Humane Society of the United States along with the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, the Georgia Ornithological Society, the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration, the St. Marks Refuge Association, along with the St. Marks Photo Club, and the Georgia Conservancy. The reward of up to $12,500 will be provided to the person or people who provide information leading to an arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrator(s).

In addition to the Endangered Species Act, whooping cranes are protected by state laws and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Any information concerning the deaths of these cranes should be provided to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Terry Hasting at 404-763-7959 and/or Georgia Department of Natural Resources 24hr. TIP Hotline at 1-800-241-4113.

For more information about the reintroduction effort, visit http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/.

Background:
Of the 10 whooping cranes led south by ultralights, five have already arrived at their wintering location at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, and five are still on the migration in north Florida, two stopovers away from their final destination, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.

Biologists from the International Crane Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reared 11 other whooping cranes at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge released in the company of older cranes from whom the young birds learn the migration route. They were released on Oct. 25. One was killed on Oct. 30, by a predator at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. This is the sixth year the partnership has used this Direct Autumn Release method. These cranes generally follow other older whooping cranes, and sometime sandhill cranes, during the fall migration to find suitable wintering habitat.

The ultralight-led and Direct Autumn Release chicks are this year joining two wild-hatched chicks in the 2010 cohort.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov and here in the Southeast, visit http://www.fws.gov/southeast .

Contact:
USFWS: Tom MacKenzie, tom_mackenzie@fws.gov Mobile:(678) 296-6400
Georgia DNR: Rick Lavender, rick.lavender@dnr.state.ga.us (770) 918-6787

Hundreds of Trophy Class Deer Poached!

Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Massive Poaching Crime Uncovered

The magnitude of the following just boggles my mind! The depravity, selfishness, temerity... I hope they throw the damned book at them backed by load of OO Buckshot.

"Three Stewart County, TN men are facing state and federal charges for allegedly poaching "hundreds" of trophy-class whitetail deer on the Fort Campbell military installation, which is located in parts of Tennessee and Kentucky. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will be holding a Friday press conference to display the deer and seized property from the case. Curtis Wallace, 45, and Jim Edward Page, 43, both of Dover, and Wendell Taylor, 43, of Big Rock, have been charged with several federal poaching-related charges." Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle and The Tennessean.

This is a massive poaching crime, click on the Tennessean link to see some of the mounts. It is beyond my comprehension how three individuals could rob the public of so much.

Albert
Albert A Rasch

Member: Shindand Tent Club
The Range Reviews Tactical: How Terrorists Choose Their Targets

Bobby Nations, Come on Down! You're the next Contestant

© 2009 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles
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Killing a Florida Panther is Wrong!

(Unless it happens to be gnawing on your leg...)

Recently I commented on the killing of a Florida Panther. Bobby Nations (Cool Name tooo!) has called me on the carpet for my commentary. Which by the way is cool by me; it allows all of us to sharpen our wits and pencils!

"I have to respectfully disagree with your rant here if for no other reason than you can't know what you are talking about because you don't have all the facts about the incident, which you admitted more than once in the post itself. The article to which you link gives almost no facts about the shooting except that the hunter was in a tree stand. Interestingly enough, it never mentions his name or whether he was being charged or not charged. What other sources of information did you use? Could you amend this post to include those links as well so that we could get all get on to the same page here?

Now, it seems to me that the authorities in GA made the call not to charge Mr. Adams based upon a greater knowledge of the hunter's situation and mindset at the time he pulled the trigger. I dislike backseat drivers and second-guessers generally, but especially those who would do so of peace officers. IMO, it's incumbent upon us to give them some respect here by extending the benefit of the doubt instead of presuming that they are falling down on the job as you seem to do (or worse, complicit in a crime).

Finally, referring to Mr. Adams as a "sportsman" complete with scare quotes is asinine. You don't know the man and apart from this one incident you have no data to base your conclusion upon. And what difference does the kind of gun he used to shoot the cougar make in whether he did the right thing or the wrong thing? You got something against blackpowder?" Bobby Nations

Bobby Nations,

I freely admit that I wasn't there, but I did add that it was my OPINION, and quite frankly I still stand by it.

I've spent more than enough time in the great outdoors to know what's going on. The way society has changed over the years, leaves me little faith in people's honesty and integrity.

I love BP by the way. Anything to make outdoor pursuits more challenging is welcomed by me.

Now if I felt threatened, I would probably wait for muzzle contact before firing. Especially with BP. What I could see from the photos was a shot that penetrated from on high and apparently dead center. Looks like deliberate shooting to me. If you have the time to line up like that, then you have time for other tactics.

Now I don't deny the possibility that luck might have had something to do with the shot, but maybe I've got a lot more nerve than Mr Adams.

Just google it up and you can get everything just like I did. And last but not least, HE made his decision, and HE made it public record. I just tell the news and give my opinion... just like you are doing.

And while I am at it, it is a FLORIDA PANTHER: Endangered, hello! I don't make the rules Bobby N, I just want them enforced fairly and impartially. I am sick and tired of ignorance and buffoonery being excused.

Cheese and Crackers! What do we have to do to get that through the thick skulls of the population at large? We pander to every single little problem anyone has, we allow parents to think that they are raising princes and princesses, we excuse, ignore, and accept bad behavior because we're lazy, scared, or benumbed to it. I for one am quite tired of it. I'll call a spade a spade and that's that. Adams shot a Florida Panther. Florida Panthers are endangered. It is against Federal law to shoot endangered animals. There is not one shred of credible evidence that the endangered Florida Panther was in fact threatening Adams. His word just isn't good enough for me to accept it without corroborating evidence. This is my OPINION, and I'm stickin' to it!

Always good to be challenged on things. It keeps you honest and thinking.

Florida Felons Report: Killing Protected Birds

Another example of wanton destruction. I am going to follow this one very closely and help see that the book is thrown at them.

FWC arrests 7 suspected of shooting, killing protected birds

February 19, 2009
Contact: Gabriella B. Ferraro, 772-215-9459

"Simply by being in the right place at the right time Tuesday evening, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) were able to arrest a group of people suspected of shooting and killing protected birds.

Officer Dan Stermen was on routine patrol of Curcie Grade and County Road 92 in Collier County, when he heard gunfire coming from the direction of a bird rookery. As he got closer, he observed birds flying erratically and some falling from the sky. Stermen called for backup and waited near some cars that were parked on a peninsula leading to a lake. The area is marked "no trespassing."

Three men returned to their car in a boat. Officers saw firearms in the boat. Zachary J. Mato (DOB 8/16/86) and Cullen M. Shaughnessy (DOB 8/5/86), both of Marco Island, and Joseph W. Gursky (DOB 3/25/86) of Hillsdale, N.Y., were charged with felony trespass with a firearm and booked into Collier County Jail.

Four other people on the island were on foot and were ferried back to land. Keith G. Lisa (DOB 3/1/77) of North Bergen, N.J., Alexander B. Wilhelm (DOB 9/14/84) of Annapolis, Md., Mark L. McClure (DOB 12/15/85) of Osprey, Fla. and Stephanie M. Meads (DOB 7/11/85) of Naples, were charged with misdemeanor trespassing and booked into the jail.

Officers collected 21 dead birds at the scene. The birds had been shot. Some of the birds are classified as "species of special concern," which means they are protected under state law. Some of the protected birds found at the scene included white ibis and blue heron.

Some of the other birds found shot to death included tree swallows and cormorants. These birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty act.

"In my 27 years as an officer, I've never seen people deliberately shoot and kill birds and just leave them for dead," said FWC Lt. Wayne Maahs. "This is truly a heinous act."

Additional charges are pending."

Best Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles: Best Boar Hunting Calibers Part I

Florida Felons File: Shooting Decoys

© 2009 Albert A Rasch

I don't know... It seems that all the numbskulls have come to Florida lately.

This guy must be a real charmer.

Felon Coaches 13-year-old Girl to Shoot Decoy

February 9, 2009 - 7:13 AM
Wendy Victora
NWF Daily News

BAY COUNTY -- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers watched as a truck stopped near a deer decoy and a 13-year-old girl took two shots at it, according to FWC's weekly report.

The girl was being coached on how to properly kill the deer by her mother's boyfriend, who is a convicted felon.

The mother was driving the car and illuminating the deer for her daughter and boyfriend.

They were cited for night hunting and road hunting.

I don't know who is more guilty here. The felon, for doing what he did, or the mother, for associating with a felon and allowing her daughter to commit a misdemeanor!

I hope they throw the book at the lot of them. Remember it is your wildlife as much as anyone else's! Report all poaching! It is thoughtless people like these criminals that give all sportsmen a black eye! In Florida you can call 1-888-404-3922 You may be eligible for a reward up to $1000.00!

Albert A Rasch
The Hunt Continues

Update: Bear Illegally Shot

© 2009 Albert A Rasch

After yesterday's report on the illegal killing of a bear in Gulf County Florida, I was reminded that good journalism requires one to do his fact checking.

This morning I called on Investigator Steve Thomas for clarification and confirmation.

Investigator Thomas told me that the bear was indeed shot outdoors, on Mr. Colson's lease, under a feeder. Investigator Thomas clarified that there were no extenuating circumstances; it was an indeed an illegal act.

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Hunt Continues...