CA DFG & NWTF cut us loose. No Turkey transplants

[spectr17]

Been awhile since I've had something to good to rant about, something to sink my teeth into. "Brace yourself", as the doc told me on my last prostrate exam.

4 of us there at the Inland Empire chapter NWTF meeting Wednesday at Bass Pro. You can really see how important the turkey transplant issue is to the local turkey hunters by their overwhelming support. /sarcasm.

Not to be a Debbie Downer but the turkey transplants starting back up are not going to happen here in San Bernardino NF. NWTF has come out and said they are more worried about banquets and the money generated from them. NWTF regional director Dave Halbrook said they are happy with their local chapters even without any huntable turkeys in SBNF. Tom Dockter, a member on the CA state NWTF board, told Yucaipa Mike and me that the NWTF regional directors biggest and only concern is banquets and generating money. NWTF corporate couldn't care less, they dismissed Yucaipa Mikes plea for help.

Worrying more about lifting as much money as they can out of my pocket and not about local issues was the biggest reason I left the NWTF years back. I'm headed that way again.

Bottom line, we're being told habitat improvement is the only thing we can do now since the turkey transplant EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) was poorly written by DFG and just invites being sued by the Native Plant Society. The same Native Plant Society that stopped the transplants of turkeys into San Bernardino and San Diego back in the late 1990s by filing a lawsuit.

As far as a hunter or a hunting group suing DFG, that's not possible I'm told. Wishful thinking but not something that can be done. I'm being told to just keep the heat on DFG to do the right thing.

I am a bit ticked also in that I was lead to believe the transplants were coming the past couple years. Every year there was a new hurdle for us to get over like prove there were still turkeys in the local forest only to find out there never was any real push to get the transplants going. We only just recently got DFG and NWTF to admit it publicly. Well, actually, it's the same line from years back, we just had them restate it to be sure.

Dave Halbrook said they would try and get money to fund another biologist position to help the local DFG biologist (Jeff Villepique) study turkeys and the habitat here but as local outdoor writer Jim Matthews told me, that's BS. Have the local DFG biologist just do his job, that's what he's paid for. Ryan Mathis, the NWTF biologist was down here 2 months ago to meet with Jeff Villepique for a mind meld on what to start doing and Jeff Villepique was a no show for some reason. Same ole same ole, nothing getting down and nothing but more excuses.

I'm going to post this on the national NWTF forum, WON (Western Outdoor News) and OldGobbler.com so it's gets even more publicity in the last ditch hope someone will light a fire under the DFG or NWTF to do something. If they refuse to help us out, I'm done with the NWTF. They can bleed other fools for their banquet money to send RDs on grand turkey hunts around the country while we scrap for turkeys on the crowded public land here in San Diego or travel hours north. In fact, that's how it was put to us by Dave Halbrook. Hey, others are having fun right driving half a day one way to hunt right? Not me, I'd rather stay local a few weekends to save money and hunt less crowded land, but that's me. You folks make up your own minds.

Here is the thread on our CA turkey forum with more info. It's a sad tale of betrayal, complete with antis, money grubbers and skunk belly gubmint workers.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/turkey-hunting/183278-san-bernardino-nf-turkey-transplants-dfg-nwtf.html

[TRKYHTR]

Good luck Jesse. I hope you get some birds planted down there. There shouldn't be any reason why they don't plant turkeys there. If I can help let me know.

TRKYHTR
Joe

[Skeeterbait]

Glad to see you over here on this forum Jesse, although I would rather it was for the purpose of showing off your latest tom.  Sounds to me like certain officials within NWTF have forgotton what their charter is, the protection and promotion of the wild turkey.  Stay after them and your DFG till they pay attention to y'all.

[Hardcore]

Quote taken from B Carey - NWTF Message Board

Jesse,
Sorry to read of the way you've portrayed the NWTF as bad guys in this. I don't disagree that Dave and the NWTF CA board would tell folks that our current efforts do not include transplants into the San Bernardino National Forest and that they would use plain language to express that reality, but I think you've done some editorializing. Let me explain.

Here are the facts: The Native Plant Society sued and won, claiming that the EIS prepared by the CA DFG was inadequate. Bottom line: The court said no to turkey transplants, and not just in SBNF but anywhere wild turkeys do not currently exist in the state. That essentially tied the DFG and NWTF's hands.

But there's a lot more to the NWTF than turkey transplants. We cannot transplant a single bird without the consent of a state agency. That's the law. And even when we get involved in transplants, we do so working with the state agency, not as a separate entity. That goes for any state we work in. But it doesn't stop the NWTF from developing habitat (we work with a lot more species than just wild turkeys) and promoting hunting heritage. So we put money on the ground where and when we can!
_________________________
B urt

NWTF: Hunt. Conserve. Share.

http://www.nwtf.org/message_board/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=144220#Post144220


Good luck Jesse, it does appear that the problem lies within the CA. DFG. All I can say is don't quit trying. I can only imagine how it would be to deal with those CA. yahoos day after day, year after year but sadly, the antis have you out numbered.

Not to be a smart azz, but you could always move, I hear Linden Ca. has lots and lots of turkeys. 

HC

[TRKYHTR]

Quote taken from B Carey - NWTF Message Board

Jesse,
Sorry to read of the way you've portrayed the NWTF as bad guys in this. I don't disagree that Dave and the NWTF CA board would tell folks that our current efforts do not include transplants into the San Bernardino National Forest and that they would use plain language to express that reality, but I think you've done some editorializing. Let me explain.

Here are the facts: The Native Plant Society sued and won, claiming that the EIS prepared by the CA DFG was inadequate. Bottom line: The court said no to turkey transplants, and not just in SBNF but anywhere wild turkeys do not currently exist in the state. That essentially tied the DFG and NWTF's hands.

But there's a lot more to the NWTF than turkey transplants. We cannot transplant a single bird without the consent of a state agency. That's the law. And even when we get involved in transplants, we do so working with the state agency, not as a separate entity. That goes for any state we work in. But it doesn't stop the NWTF from developing habitat (we work with a lot more species than just wild turkeys) and promoting hunting heritage. So we put money on the ground where and when we can!
_________________________
B urt

NWTF: Hunt. Conserve. Share.

http://www.nwtf.org/message_board/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=144220#Post144220


Good luck Jesse, it does appear that the problem lies within the CA. DFG. All I can say is don't quit trying. I can only imagine how it would be to deal with those CA. yahoos day after day, year after year but sadly, the antis have you out numbered.

Not to be a smart azz, but you could always move, I hear Linden Ca. has lots and lots of turkeys. 

HC

    

TRKYHTR

[spectr17]

Linden you say?   

Here's my response to  B on the NWTF board.

B,

No editorializing, we now have the facts out in the open. We've been told for 2+ years now turkey transplants were coming by our regional director Dave Halbrook. He was so sure this was going to happen some of us even volunteered to help when the trapper trapped the birds up north. Before we asked everyone to go on record the last word was the transplants were postponed again until next year. Postponed means you'll eventually get something. We knew something was up when the hurdles/excuses changed every time we asked why no transplants, again and again.

We even had a seminar last year at Bass Pro where NWTF biologist Ryan Mathis talked about the transplants and us accepting Rios as a bird instead of the pure Merriams we transplanted years ago. The former local chapter president Randy Succow was under the same impression we had turkeys coming, in fact the whole chapter was under that same impression along with everyone who was following the thread on our CA turkey forum.

We had 2 guys that are new to turkey hunting at our last meeting, when they grew tired of the long drives to hunt on crowded public land they jumped at the chance to help the local flocks. They finally realize there is no longer any hope as Dave passed out his pics from his wonderful Merriams hunt in SD, a hunt we paid for with out membership dollars. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound.

I'm done, if we can't get straight honest answers from our Regional Director then I'll throw my support to other groups who don't outright mislead us. This all could have been avoided if Dave Halbrook would have told us exactly what you just posted about the lawsuit and it blocking ANY transplants that didn't already have an agreement for the moves.

One last thing you might pass on to those that may want to know, Dave Halbrook mentioned the CA DFG is in the process of redrawing the turkey population/range map for CA. Dave said if we didn't get the transplants or turkeys documented here they would remove San Bernardino forest from the new range map, thus blocking any future transplants for good.

We went out and found several small flocks as Dave asked to prove the turkeys are still here but who knows what Dave did with that info since his only concern is the banquets and fund raising. Let Ryan Mathis know maybe, or maybe the map has already been drawn and this is a lost battle, I'm not sure who to trust anymore.

Thank you for leaving this up.

[CSAW]

Keep at em, the squeaky wheel usually gets some grease. 

[longbearded1]

Appears they have removed it from NWTFs site, just so you know.

[spectr17]

Oh well, at least some saw our plight and hopefully it got some folks talking about what can be done. If anything can be done.

[LakeCoRon]

This post "disappeared" from the NWTF site not too long after it was posted. I am sure that there was a "techical difficulty" the post, so it went, "POOF". So, things haven't changed much on that board, and to think of some of the things some of them were saying about this forum!

[spectr17]

I was notified the post was pulled which is their right since it's their board, their rules. I'm also not going to get into the forum war that's going on between the 2 forums, I just want some turkeys transplanted here.

My comments about the RD misleading us and lying to us were considered slander according to their admin. The best defense against slander is the truth. I stand behind what I posted, several members in our chapter I've talked to agree we were misled and lied to. 

At least now everyone around here knows there are no transplants coming despite what the RD is claiming.