Greg,
While I understand your concerns, I have to point
out that there are real reasons to encourage
hunting in the area.
Without hunting, you have overpopulation of both
deer and elk. That leads to death by starvation,
and high population densities have been correlated
with Chronic Wasting Disease. We've been relatively
unnaffected by CWD here on Magnolia, but Sugarloaf
has quite a bit of it. Some say that's because they
have too many deer and elk (relative to the food
and predators).
Without hunting you create a boom in predators,
primarily cougar. Then as more cougar are able to
thin the herds more effectively, they get hungry.
This boom/bust in predator/prey populations is
one of the classic examples of chaos theory.
A cougar is much more likely to take your dog
than any hunter, in normal times. A hungry cougar
presents a danger to all of us.
We live in the forest. This is the habitat for
deer, elk & cougar. We've artificially decreased
the cougar population, so we need human hunters
to help thin the herds.
In other words, there are always unforeseen
consequences associated with sweeping changes
like limiting hunting. Consider what they
might be before persuing a "feel-good"
move, like limiting hunting.
John Carder
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg Ching [mailto:greg.ching@mric.coop]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 3:11 AM
> To: PUMA News
> Cc: cookie@theshannons.net
> Subject: [puma-news] Fwd: BAN HUNTING IN SUGARLOAF
>
>
> FYI, here is a petition along Sugarloaf Road that may interest some
> folks along Magnolia. I know I worry where I take my dog on walks
> during hunting season....
>
> greg
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [info] BAN HUNTING IN SUGARLOAF
> Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 19:13:33 -0600
> From: Ruth Shannon <cookie@theshannons.net>
> Reply-To: Ruth Shannon <cookie@theshannons.net>
> Organization: theshannons
> To: Shannon, Cookie <cookie@theshannons.net>
> References: <BF154913.124A%art-nancy@earthlink.net>
> <opsuwqqdjtyigpt0@d71q4s51>
>
> ------- Forwarded message -------
> From: "Art and Nancy" <art-nancy@earthlink.net>
> To: cookie@theshannons.net
> Subject: BAN HUNTING IN SUGARLOAF
> Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 16:00:18 -0600
>
> COOKIE - HERE IS INFORMATION ON OUR WORK TO BAN HUNTING IN THE SUGARLOAF
> AREA. ATTACKED IS A COPY OF THE PETITION. THANK YOU FOR SENDING IT OUT.
>
> ART GNEISER
>
> SUGARLOAF RESIDENTS
>
> By now you should have received this information by snail mail. Here is a
> backup from cyberspace -------
>
> For the past few years a group of local homeowners, led by Jillian Weems
> and
> Marcia Barber, have been trying to reduce and hopefully eliminate hunting
> in
> the most populated parts of the Sugarloaf area. Last fall, through our
> efforts we obtained help from the Sheriff¹s department, the Department of
> Wildlife (DOW) and the Forest Service. And by the use of signs, increased
> patrols and community awareness, the number of hunters and hunter
> incidents
> was significantly reduced. However this came at the cost of extensive time
> commitment on the parts of all concerned. It clearly is not a good
> permanent
> solution to the obvious safety concerns represented by people shooting
> high-powered weapons in our neighborhood.
>
> This year we have drafted and submitted to DOW a petition to ban
> hunting in
> an eight square mile area of Sugarloaf, representing the most popular
> hunting spots and the area where the serious safety concerns are the
> greatest. If we can convince the DOW to take this action it will be almost
> unprecedented in Colorado. They are naturally reluctant to do this as it
> ³flies in the face² of their most important job, which is to encourage
> hunting thereby bringing more money into the coffers.
>
> We will be traveling to Lamar, Colorado in September to argue the
> merits of
> this groundbreaking idea. In order to be successful in this endeavor we
> will
> have to ³pull out all the stops². We want to have signed petitions from
> most
> all of the local residents and anyone else who is concerned for the safety
> of Sugarloaf people and pets. We have hired Tom Lamm, the brother of our
> former governor Dick, to represent us at the meeting. He is a
> brilliant and
> articulate lawyer, and has a long history of dealing with the DOW and
> hunting issues. He is also expensive. We have opened an account where you
> can send donations to help defray the cost of this effort at Pearl Street
> Wells Fargo bank. Please make your checks out to Sugar Loaf Citizen's for
> Safety. Please be generous if you believe that our cause is important.
>
> Also attached to this letter is a petition for your signature. Please sign
> it, have any one else you can find sign it, and return it to Art
> Gneiser at
> 1704 Old Townsite Rd. Boulder 80302. You can just put it in the mailbox at
> the corner of Old Townsite and Sugarloaf (The one with the palm trees).
>
> This all needs to be done by the 20th of August so time is of the essence.
> If you have any questions please call Art Gneiser at 303-494-4673.
>
>
>
> --
> Cookie Shannon
>
