NJ bans bear hunting on state land

[bobpbx]

And.....the gavel came down today. The answer; The game council must have a policy in place for the protection and propogation of game animals (i.e. bears), and the commissioner must approve it.


http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/supreme/bear.pdf

 

[Ben Ruset]

Great, just great. Why even have a council, when the comissioner Cambpell can just go ahead and overturn anything they want to do?

Not only did he stop the bear hunt, he had a nice little power grab.

 

[RednekF350]

Here is a quote from Bald Brad from yesterday after the decision was issued:

Campbell emphasized that the Supreme Court's decision does not condemn hunting in any way.
"It is a disservice to the court to suggest that they were in any way moved by political arguments," he said. "It would be a mistake to view this as a dramatic change from the status quo.

Liar.
I sincerely hope that the sportsmen and women of this state unite even stonger this year and change the entire face of the administration in Trenton as each election comes up.
If you put a whining, gun-grabbing liberal turd like Corzine in there and he keeps Campbell as Commissioner, hunting is doomed in this state..
I just returned from a week at a deer camp in a rural area of Pennsylvania.
What a refreshing change from this dump.
Hunters are embraced,three generations of hunters hunt together and the local paper is packed with pictures of last weeks bear kills.
It is a different world and it's one where Campbell and his kind would never survive.
Scott

 

[bobpbx]

Great, just great. Why even have a council, when the comissioner Cambpell can just go ahead and overturn anything they want to do?

Not only did he stop the bear hunt, he had a nice little power grab.

I think its a good thing someone has some control over the fish and game council. If not, you would have hunting on Sundays too, leaving non-hunters no carefree time in the woods. Some of us have posted our amazement of the amount of time hunters can be expected to be seen. Although not in every locale, they could conceivably be seen from September through April.

 

[RednekF350]

Too late Bob.
There is something to hunt in every month of the year; always has been.
When I was a kid I literally hunted every day in the summer and every day I could after school.
Crows and groundhogs are two of the huntable species that carry through the spring and summer every year.
I think I was born a hundred years too late.
Scott

 

[Ben Ruset]

I think its a good thing someone has some control over the fish and game council. If not, you would have hunting on Sundays too, leaving non-hunters no carefree time in the woods. Some of us have posted our amazement of the amount of time hunters can be expected to be seen. Although not in every locale, they could conceivably be seen from September through April.

Who's to say that the F&G council would do that though? After all, it hasn't happened yet.

Now the council is really just a puppet, because Campbell can come in at any time and veto whatever they're trying to do with zero oversight from anybody. That is just way too much power for someone who doesn't get voted into office to weild.

 

[bobpbx]

Who's to say that the F&G council would do that though? After all, it hasn't happened yet.

Check out question number 16 on this hunter survey put out by NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. Now, what do you think they would do with the answers if most of them were positive?

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pheasurv.htm


bob

 

[Ben Ruset]

Check out question number 16 on this hunter survey put out by NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. Now, what do you think they would do with the answers if most of them were positive?

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pheasurv.htm


bob

Just asking a question doesn't mean that it's going to happen. Maybe they want to gauge interest.

Basically, the jist of the decision was that the DFW did not have a "comprehensive policy" in place, and affirmed that Campbell is in charge of the council, and can pretty much veto whatever he does not like.

Ok, let's say that Campbell is in charge of the council:

1. Why hasn't Campbell been actively involved in getting a "comprehensive policy" put together.

2. Campbell supported a hunt last year. Evidently the "policy" that was in place was submitted in 1997. So why was the "policy" good enough last year, but not good enough this year?

From today's Press (page A3 in the Ocean County Edition):

"I'm grateful that the Supreme Court upheld the commissioner's authority ... to ensure that NJ's wildlife management policies are appropriately balanced." (Campbell said.)

Campbell said formal policies will be needed whenever there is a dispute with the council and the DEP. Until now there was no formal approval process for developing wildlife management and game code, he said, adding that he looks forward to working with the council. (My emphasis)

While Campbell urged reporters "not to read (the ruling) as a dramatic change in the status quo" it provoked sharp reactions from environmentalists and hunters.

(insert the derranged comments from both sides here.)

What I see here is that Campbell believes he was always in charge, but acknowledges that there was never a system in place for him to oversee the council, and he now (all of a sudden) looks forward to dealing with him.

Now, lets see what else our good Commissioner has been up to:

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1131568,00.html

Oh, he's involved with this whole Sandy Hook mess. He supports the privatization of the land (which incidentally is paying less than market value rent for all of the buildings on the 'Hook), increasing the number of vehicles driving through extremely senstive habitats (pretty much the entire narrow end of the Hook that cars have to drive through is the most critical, undeveloped area on the Hook). Where is his supposed "care for the environment" there?

I feel that he's a powerhungry dictator that has probably done more harm for this state than good. I am all for stopping hunts when there is good, sound reasons to do so. But when it's because you don't agree with a council that has never reported to you before for really shaky reasons (waah, you don't have a "policy" in place - yet the same situation existed LAST YEAR when you authorized the hunt) it makes me sick.

I want to see someone in charge of the DEP that is not out to consolidate power, and not looking to make a "name" for himself. He needs to be IMPARTIAL, look at ALL aspects of environmental protection, and consder all of the options before he makes broad based unilateral decisions.

He just makes me sick. And like I said - it's not because I support hunters or the Sierra Club or whatever. I have always been a moderate when it comes to making decisions for our environment. He's advancing his OWN personal agenda at the expense of other departments.

I really feel bad for anyone who is on the council who now are just puppets to Campbells whim.

 

[bobpbx]

He's advancing his OWN personal agenda at the expense of other departments. I really feel bad for anyone who is on the council who now are just puppets to Campbells whim.

Bah! I disagree with you on this one Ben. You have always been against the DEP ever since you felt they overstepped their bounds in attempting to stop unlicensed vehicles. You have a a case of sour grapes...:bs:

 

[bobpbx]

Too late Bob. There is something to hunt in every month of the year; always has been. When I was a kid I literally hunted every day in the summer and every day I could after school. Crows and groundhogs are two of the huntable species that carry through the spring and summer every year. I think I was born a hundred years too late.
Scott

From your posts and from Guy's comments about you Scott, I think you are probably an old time classic hunter. You have respect for the land, other hunters, and even the game you hunt. You probably love going out in the piney woods just to be there as much as I do, even when game is scarce. And you would never waste game by just sawing off the antlers or shooting things for the fun of it. You do it because your relatives hunted, its part of your culture, and the way you hunt does not change over the years (why should it after all?).

With that said, I read some very disturbing posts from hunters unlike you when I was looking into Sunday hunting stuff on the web. I assume you are familiar with Huntingnet.com. Some of the comments in there make me wonder what the future generations of these "sport" hunters will be like. One topic discusses football or hunting, which is best. Here is what one hunter says:

"Every saturday, I lounge in my treestand and listen to my Nittany Lions. There's something to be said about hunting and listening to football simultaneously"

Is this for real? Sounds like some serious respect for being in the woods and the deer he is about to blow away. He then says jokingly (maybe half jokingly) :

"What do you guys think about Sunday hunting on a ranch, in closed-in, elevated blinds with Television (football), Nachos and Exotic Dancers".

I am confident if he was allowed to do it and it cost him nothing, he would.

Thats pretty sick, me thinks. However, I do realize he is the exception and not the rule. But, if they want to take away my Sunday hikes, thats greedy and grabbing too much.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Bah! I disagree with you on this one Ben. You have always been against the DEP ever since you felt they overstepped their bounds in attempting to stop unlicensed vehicles. You have a a case of sour grapes...:bs:

No, I support them getting unlicensed vehicles out of the woods. I supported allowing licenced, insured vehicles on state land.

I respect your opinion, but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I personally don't like the man's agenda or track record.

 

[Ben Ruset]

With that said, I read some very disturbing posts from hunters

It's very easy to make sweeping generalizations about a group based on selected reading:

"Driving a hummer, a $50,000 GM tool for the rich getting 10 miles to the gallon - that is violence. Going in and torching those and getting rid of those is an act of liberation and should be applauded." (CBS Evening News, Los Angeles, Sept. 23, 2003.)

http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2002/000300.html?FACTNet

While innocent life will never be harmed in any action we undertake, where it is necessary, we will no longer hesitate to pick up the gun to implement justice, and provide the needed protection for our planet that decades of legal battles, pleading, protest and economic sabotage have failed so drastically to achieve.

Those wacky environmentalists... :rofl:

 

[bobpbx]

Those wacky environmentalists... :rofl:

Call me wacko, but don't call me Jacko!...........

 

[Ben Ruset]

http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1102056625197760.xml?starledger?sout

For some reason the APP has not been putting their bear hunt articles up on the web. Every other story is up but these - today is the second day in a row.

Emphasis in the article is my own.

Hunting and Fishing: Campbell's persistence will likely bear profit
Friday, December 03, 2004
BY FRED J. AUN
For the Star-Ledger

Sportsmen who think this year's bear hunt will be salvaged by acting Gov. Richard Codey's fear of losing nearly $2 million in federal aid shouldn't hold their breath.

In a letter it sent to the state three weeks ago, the U.S. Department of the Interior sounded pretty tough. It was prepared to withhold New Jersey's $1.9 million share of federal assistance to the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.

The feds based their ominous sounding letter on action taken by state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) commissioner Bradley Campbell. In essence, the Interior Department said Campbell's decision to withhold bear-hunting permits appeared to make New Jersey ineligible for the yearly disbursement of federal money.

The money is paid by hunters who are hit with special taxes every time they purchase guns. It's returned to states to help fund activities of state fish and game agencies.

The Interior Department threatened to withhold New Jersey's money if Campbell went forward with refusing to issue bear permits while simultaneously trying to solve the bear problem through non-hunting methods, including contraception. The government said it would be a "diversion" if the non-hunting programs were funded with hunting license fees.

The Nov. 10 letter from Interior Department official John McDonald gave New Jersey until Tuesday to "provide documentation for any expenditures by the Division, subsequent to the date of the commissioner's directive, that are in any way related to black bear damage management with evidence that they are not derived from license revenues."

With yesterday's state Supreme Court ruling that Campbell has the power to overrule the supposedly independent state Fish and Game Council by refusing to issue hunting permits, one might assume Interior will yank the money. One might also figure the threat could force Codey to reinstate the hunt.

However, despite Interior's tough-sounding letter, both would be wrong assumptions.

It turns out the state will probably get the dollars anyway. Interior doesn't care whether New Jersey has a bear hunt. It only cares if hunting is stymied after being made a part of an official management plan by the controlling agency.

"We have to deal with the de-facto state game management agency, which right now is the state Fish and Game Council," explained an Interior spokesman a few hours before the Supreme Court ruling. "The council has its goal or management plan, which is to have a bear hunt. If the state Supreme Court rules that the commissioner is right and he can withhold the permits, the transfer of power within the state goes from the council to the commissioner."

With the high court issuing its decision, the fears of most sportsmen have come true: Campbell is now the "de-facto state game management agency." If his goal to manage bears is sterilization instead of hunting, Interior doesn't care. Even if he uses some hunting license money to pay for it.

The fact that Fish and Wildlife probably won't lose the $1.9 million is good news for that strapped agency, but it's not good enough news to make sportsmen happy about yesterday's turn of events.

As a libertarian, this bothers me a lot. I don't like it when unelected officials start power grabbing. Where are the checks and balances? This man is totally iunaccountable to the citizens of New Jersey. He can do whatever he pleases and so long as the govorner stays mum, he's scott free. Want to criticize him? Don't bother sending him a letter - you won't even get a form letter back in response. (Funny thing is, I've debated over various topics with other politicians - the real ones who get voted into office - and in most cases get a real response back. Some of them even email me!)

I can't wait to see what direction this will turn into. Maybe replace the entire council with members of PETA. Or just disband them, because it really doesn't matter anymore.

Edit: I just did a quick Google search. Here's Campbell's qualifications for his post: " An alumnus of Amherst College (B.A., magna cum laude, 1983) and the University of Chicago Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1987), where he was an editor of the Law Review, Campbell clerked for the Honorable Carl McGowan of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Campbell also spent several years in private practice. "

He's a LAWYER! Where is his qualifications to run the DFW, let alone the DEP? Shouldn't he have a degree in Environmental Science?

 

[Ben Ruset]

It just keeps getting better!

http://sierraactivist.org/print.php?sid=45845

Judges Weigh Conflicting Laws In Jersey Bear Hunt Dispute
Date: Wednesday, November 10 @ 06:03:09 PST
Topic: Black Bear

A state appeals court reserved decision yesterday on a lawsuit filed by two sporting groups and three New Jersey hunters who want to force a bear hunt early next month.

The six-day hunt, scheduled for Dec. 6-11, was approved in July by the autonomous state Fish and Game Council. However, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell took the unprecedented step last month of refusing to issue permits. That action led to the lawsuit.

At issue is whether Campbell is overstepping his authority. A three-judge appellate panel in Trenton is weighing two potentially conflicting state laws.

One law gives the state Fish and Game Council the authority to approve wildlife hunts, with no involvement by the DEP commissioner. The other gives the commissioner authority to set overall environmental policy in the state.

"The Legislative intent here is that there would be one comprehensive environmental policy. ... In the end, the commissioner has the approving authority," Barbara Conklin, a deputy attorney general representing Campbell, said.

No DEP commissioner has interfered with the Fish and Game Council since the current hunting laws were enacted in 1948, and Judge Anthony Parrillo noted the existing laws make no mention of DEP oversight authority.

"This authority was concocted by the commissioner," said William Horn, a lawyer for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Foundation and the New Jersey Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, which sued Campbell and the DEP two weeks ago. "This is a newfound veto authority that no one has ever seen in the statute for over 50 years -- and that's because it's not there."

Last year, New Jersey held its first bear hunt in 33 years after a growing bear population and rising complaints of dangerous encounters. Campbell backed the hunt, but Gov. James E. McGreevey was besieged by protests from animal rights groups.

Early this year, Campbell said he would oppose a second hunt, claiming the DEP had to make good on commitments to pursue hunting alternatives.

Despite Campbell's opposition, the Fish and Game Council authorized another hunt for next month, directing the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife to begin a permit application process for hunters.

But Campbell, who oversees the division, stopped the processing of more than 3,000 applications.

"We are within a month of the start of the hunting season. Is it feasible at this date ... to process all of those applications?" Judge Steven Skillman asked.

In response, both Horn and Scott Ellis, chairman of the Fish and Game Council, said it depends on a quick decision by the court.

But there is another potential impediment to the hunt.

Campbell has ordered all parks and state lands under DEP control to be kept off limits to bear hunters. Safari Club International, another sportsmen's organization, filed a separate lawsuit yesterday to overturn that edict.

Ellis and other council members yesterday reiterated an earlier claim that Campbell urged them in January to scrap plans for a bear hunt because McGreevey feared animal rights groups would derail his re-election bid. Since then, McGreevey has announced he will resign because of a sex scandal.

Campbell said McGreevey's re-election was never discussed at the meeting, only the governor's desire to stop a future hunt and the opposition a new hunt would face.

By Brian T. Murray
Star-Ledger - 11/10/2004

It figures - McGreevy appoints an underqualified boob to a rather cushy job. As a payback, he tries to derail something that could hurt McGreevy's reelection bid. Of course now that McGreevy is gone, he can't do a quick 180 and change his mind, because then his political motives would really show through.

 

[bobpbx]

He's a LAWYER! Where is his qualifications to run the DFW, let alone the DEP? Shouldn't he have a degree in Environmental Science?

Hey now Ben, don't throw out the baby with the bath water. It annoys me that you guys take his stance on the bear hunt and use that to say he is a no good S.O. B.

He has done plenty for this state. I don't know where you got his Bio, but he does have experience in environmental policy and managing these type of programs:

Before his appointment as Commissioner of the DEP, Campbell was a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina's Law School, where he taught classes on natural resources and the environment, property rights and the Constitution, and contracts. In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed Campbell to work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Regional Administrator for the Mid-Atlantic Region, where he was responsible for implementing and enforcing federal environmental laws. During his tenure at the EPA, Campbell addressed lead contamination in Philadelphia schools, worked on smart growth pilot projects and negotiated a new agreement to strengthen protection of the Chesapeake Bay. Earlier, he served as Associate Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he was responsible for all toxic and environmental protection matters from 1995-1999. In that position, he negotiated a 1996 landmark agreement affecting New Jersey that strengthened ocean protection while ensuring that needed port development could move forward.

From 1990-1994, Campbell served as an attorney-advisor for the U. S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he was responsible for trial and appellate litigation and advised client agencies and the Assistant Attorney General on a range of environmental issues.

Here is just a small sample of what he has done for NJ. If you guys still want to crucify him, so be it. But don't say he is a do-nothing guy who's only in it for himself:

(04/82) TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the final
adoption of regulations providing the state’s highest level of
protection for 14 streams and rivers that provide drinking water for
residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

(04/132) TRENTON - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced final rules that
require safe pest control methods in schools.

(04/130) PRINCETON – New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the
adoption of new rules that establish the strongest mercury and arsenic
standards in the nation.

(04/126) TRENTON -Advancing its work to reduce children's exposure to
diesel exhaust from school buses, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced a one-of-a kind retrofit project for New Jersey school buses.

(04/125) TRENTON--Emphasizing the importance of preserving water
resources and habitat, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the acquisition of the
S.V. Farming Property, a 597.6-acre former clay mine in Quinton
Township, Salem County. DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will
administer the property as part of the Maskells Mill Pond Wildlife
Management Area.

(04/124) TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is
offering residents the opportunity to cut firewood at any of four
participating state parks and forests for $15 a cord while supplies
last. Through its Homeowner's Firewood Program, DEP's Division of Parks
and Forestry opens up state land to individuals interested in cutting
firewood for personal use.

(PATERSON) - Governor James E. McGreevey today announced the
designation of three new state parks at historic destinations in
Paterson, Trenton and River Edge, adding that a national competition
would be held for the design of the Trenton and Paterson sites.
The Governor made the announcement at the Great Falls in Paterson,
where he was joined by Department of Environmental Protection
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell

(04/122) PAULSBORO-Highlighting the importance of reducing diesel
idling, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell today announced a diesel emission reduction project, the first of its kind in New Jersey.

(04/113) TRENTON--Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the preservation of the final remaining open space parcel adjacent to the Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County. DEP will manage the beachfront property as part of the Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area.

(04/111) STOCKTON-Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the preservation of a
92-acre tract known as the My Ben property in Stockton Borough and
Delaware Township in Hunterdon County. DEP will manage the property as
part of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park.

(09/109) TRENTON - The New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Infrastructure Trust (EIT) today
announced funding for the City of Trenton to clean and upgrade water
mains that supply drinking water to over 250,000 people in the Trenton
area.

(04-108) TRENTON-Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the acquisition of 43
properties located throughout New Jersey that provide fishing access for New Jersey residents and visitors. The properties, which comprise 3,662 acres of permanently protected open space, were purchased through the DEP Green Acres Program at a total cost of $16,770,000.

(04/106) WOODLAND - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today joined former Governor
James Florio, Congressman Rush Holt, Senator Martha Bark, and members of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJCF) to celebrate the
dedication of 9,400 acres of open space in the Pinelands to be managed
as the Franklin Parker Preserve. The DEP contributed $3.5 million from the State Land Acquisition Fund towards the purchase.

(04/104) TRENTON- Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced funding in the amount
of $28,000 to improve water quality and fishing and boating
opportunities in Lake Musconetcong.

(04/101) TRENTON -- Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced a Raritan River
initiative that requires specific cleanup work by responsible parties at five contaminated sites along the river's lower section to improve
water quality

(04/96) TRENTON - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell announced the start of a new,
enhanced statewide underground storage tank compliance inspection
program to prevent pollution by reducing the number of leaking tanks.

(04/90) TRENTON--Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced the successful
completion of the Ocean County Medical Waste Generator Compliance and
Enforcement initiative. The sweep, which DEP led in partnership with the Department of Health and Senior Services, assessed compliance with state requirements that protect the public from the potential hazards of discarded needles, syringes, and other medical waste.

(TRENTON)--Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley
M. Campbell on Thursday will announce the preservation of a 298-acre
Lebanon Township property located in the core of the Highlands region.

TRENTON --- Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell will officially open new offices and laboratories
for the Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring in Leeds Point, Atlantic
County at 11 a.m. Tuesday. The facility will conduct regular testing of
shellfish for metals and other contaminants, as well as help in the
monitoring of marine water quality and events such as oil spills and
algal blooms.

(03/77) TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced an agreement with PPL Generation, LLC (PPL), to shut down two coal-fired units at its Martins Creek power plant in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and to take other actions to significantly reduce emissions of air pollutants from the plant.

(04/87) Trenton Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced completion of a $14
million cleanup at Burnt Fly Bog Superfund site in Marlboro where more
than 55,000 tons of PCB and lead contaminated soil were removed and
seven acres of wetlands restored with vegetation.