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Re: NFC: On the local level how do we proceeed
Wright that was one of the most eloquent responses of the year!!!You win
4 free giveaway NFC memberships thank you and well done :)
Tell me where to send em ...you are the man :)
\
Robert Rice
Save those Fishes, Join the Native Fish Conservancy
http://www.nativefish.org
Love those gartersnakes? visit
http://gartersnake.net
>
> One catches far more flies with honey than with vinegar. That last
> sentence,
> above, often sets the stage for initiating another of what has been
> a long
> string of disasters. The press, the industry, and the politicians
> just adore
> such things, but the benefit to the natural habitat is rarely
> demonstrable.
>
> Assume the other guy is a bad guy -- not misinformed or ignorant,
> but truly
> mean-spirited and uncaring. Use political action to bring force
> against him.
> The interests of the bureaucrat and the interests of the industry
> mysteriously find themselves aligned and the exact *opposite* of
> the
> intended outcome is assured. The poor conservationists who started
> the
> process are dismayed at how much worse things have gotten and clamor
> for use
> of even more force. If your objective is building a police state, it
> may be
> a fairly good plan. If you are interested in species preservation,
> it is,
> based on many results, one of the worst.
>
> I would prefer to never see another "Kill the Pupfish" bumper
> sticker, that
> was the direct result of uncaring and insensitive bureaucrats and
> conservationists bent on ripping off the private property of someone
> who
> bought and paid for it.
>
> My suggested alternative approach is to become very sure of your
> facts about
> the threatened habitat. Get to know the state wildlife biologists.
> Spend a
> bit of time also learning about the industry involved and what their
> (both
> management and shareholders) problems and motives really are. Then
> do a
> friendly and reasoned job of teaching the folks in that company
> about the
> impact they could have, and explore *with them* things that could
> provide
> protection without thwarting the needs of their shareholders.
>
> Most CEOs would *love* to go to tha annual meeting and say how, for
> a cost
> less than 1% of sales, they managed to protect this huge area from
> the
> negative impact of the company's effluent. The shareholders really
> dig that
> kind of action, if it is based on facts and reason, and if it makes
> their
> company a better citizen of the community where they operate.
>
> You can help them get into a posture that shields them from future
> harrassment and law suits, while getting the blind crayfish and
> snails a
> stout long-term protector in the person of a well-run and profitable
> company
> that already owns their habitat or water source. You don't do it
> with a chip
> on your shoulder. You do it with true caring and attempts to
> understand the
> best way to achieve everyone's goals.
>
> If that approach fails, the Nature Conservacy has been able to help
> such
> situations in many areas of the world. Contact them and see what
> their
> approach might be.
>
> A tiny group of hobbyists starting from the Bay Area Killifish Assn.
> and
> expanding from there has been instrumental in establishing a
> wonderful
> relationship with many ranchers and others (like the power company
> for Las
> Vegas) of central and southern Nevada. Go read about the Desert
> Springs
> Action Committee at:
>
> http://www.tkphotos.com/DSAC/index.htm .
>
> One of the last resident ranchers in Ash Meadow Wildlife Preserve,
> site of
> the original Devil's Hole Pupfish "fight," routinely has us over
> for, or
> joins our barbeque on our work trips there each fall. He, BTW, was
> instrumental in getting Nature Conservancy to buy out the more
> hostile
> ranchers.
>
> At the above web site, you can follow the links to see one of the
> Preston
> ranchers giving us tales of the history of Preston NV and the old
> water
> wars. He's an active supporter of our (and other) conservation
> efforts. We
> all have fun, educating each other.
>
> Contrast the relative peace around the springs (nearly all on ranch
> sites,
> of course) of the lower Nevada desert with what is happening up
> around Elko
> vis-a-vis a southerly habitat of the Bull Trout. That one was
> pursued with
> the other method, and after many years is *still* a running disaster
> (almost
> a war), with the (probably unimportant) fish still virtually
> unprotected.
>
> I guess if anyone wants to fight, that's their right. Just don't try
> to
> convince many of us, who have been there and done that, it is doing
> much
> good for the habitat.
>
> Active conservation is "where it's at," for me.
>
> YMMV.
>
> Wright
>
> --
> Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home
> dot com
>
> There are two rules for success in life:
> Rule 1: Don't tell people everything you know.
>
> *** http://www.self-gov.org/index.html ***
>
Robert Rice
Save those Fishes, Join the Native Fish Conservancy
http://www.nativefish.org
Love those gartersnakes? visit
http://gartersnake.net
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