Guns, Hunting
and Fishing

October 2004 IBEW Journal

Many IBEW members value the special places where we can hunt, fish, camp and hike places where we can escape the pressure of daily life and embrace the wonder of nature and the bond of family.

Letters to the IBEW Journal also confirm that gun ownership is an important issue to many members. Thousands of IBEW members belong to conservation organizations, hunting and fishing clubs and the National Rifle Association.

As November approaches, it is important to compare President Bushs record and Senator John Kerrys platform on these issues that have many different aspects.

Access to Areas to Fish and HuntA Delicate Balancing Act

Protecting prime hunting and fishing areas against encroaching industrial and housing development and pollution is a high priority for those who love the outdoors.

That involves a delicate balancing actweighing the needs of workers, consumers and businesses, while giving real consideration to conservation.

The IBEW supports responsible economic development, including oil and gas exploration in the U.S.  It is important to look at the Bush/Cheney record on these issues.

Bush/CheneyLosing the Balance

Many sportsmen, including influential pro-business Republicans, are concerned that the Bush administration has lost this balance, making one-sided decisions favoring corporations over everyone who enjoys the outdoors.

Thousands of acres of wetlands have been opened to oil and gas drilling companies. Old-growth forests have been opened up to timber firms.  Both sectors were major campaign contributors to President Bush and the Republican Party during the last presidential campaign. Many, who support energy and industrial development, believe that the administration has proceeded irresponsibly, leading to a public backlash against reasonable development.

A letter sent by 54 businessmen and sportsmen in Idaho and Wyoming urged Bush to limit new oil and gas drilling in western Wyoming. The letter stated that escalated drilling threatened the natural splendor of the greater Yellowstone area and would drive away sportsmen and tourists who patronize their businesses. Senator Craig Thomas, ranking Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation Subcommittee, said Bushs spending plan for the national parks was basically robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Carl Rosier, a state game and fish commissioner who served under Alaska Governor Wally Hickel, a conservative Republican says: Youve got a bunch of timber beasts (former timber-industry lobbyists) setting environmental policy in Alaska, and thats wrong.

Jim Range is a former senior Republican Congressional staff member. He currently serves as chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a group endorsed by the IBEW.  In a statement issued in mid-July, Range said that he was disappointed that President Bush revoked regulations that preserve roadless forest areas for recreational opportunities by hunters, anglers, campers, hikers and others.  The IBEW supports the TRCP and its commitment to preserving open spaces for hunters and anglers.  The TRCP is a non-partisan organization that takes no sides in the election.

Tony Dean, host and producer of a popular outdoors television show wrote recently in Outdoors Unlimited, Saying youre the friend of sportsmen because you support gun ownership while using it to hide the dismantling of Americas conservation policies, is patently dishonest.  The balance needs to be restored.

Senator John Kerry has said he will restore the balance needed to protect our economic and recreational needs.  Kerry co-sponsored the Open Fields bill in the U.S. Senate.  This bill would provide $50 million each year to state agencies to beef up existing walk-in access programs and to encourage states that do not currently have walk-in programs to establish them.  Walk-in access programs provide for state fish and game departments to pay stipends to owners of private lands and lakes to allow public access to their properties for hunting and fishing.  In return the states shield the owners from liability issues arising from public use.  The programs are very popular in the West.

Kerry would bring all interested parties, including hunters and anglers, to the table to enact reasonable multiple use mandates provisions for permitting hunting, fishing, camping, off-road vehicle usage and other recreational activities on public lands. He says, Lands that are better used for hunting, fishing, camping and other uses that may not be compatible with intensive drilling will be set aside...and where federal lands are leased and permitted for energy development, sufficient protective conditions will be applied to ensure that fish and wildlife are not adversely affected.

Kerry has said he would support legitimate forest thinning projects to reduce the risk of fires, but prevent the construction of new roads in our remaining roadless areas.  He helped get a plank into the Democratic Party platform committing the party to protecting the lands used by hunters and anglers, and further stating: We will conserve and restore the habitats where wildlife flourish, expanding use of voluntary incentive-based programs that target private landowners.

Web-only extended version of this journal article...