Western WA gophers going on endangered species list

[Easy-E]

I'd like to help the gophers in eastern Washington go on the endangered list!!!  They're all over my place there...

2nd gopher exterminated tonight. 2 for 2; one for me, and one for the dog. We've agreed on a $3 bounty per critter, so now we're even!

Anyone know what a good quality gopher cape goes for?

[Windwalker]

Ok- I got one question..anyone ever came across a Camas pocket gopher?

 Have wandered all over, under and through many a brush patch and as a kid growing up in the country, gained a dubious notoriety for sneaking up and catching all sorts of critters.

Then one day I came across an oddity I have never seen. Looked it up and turns out it (best I could figure) was a Camas pocket gopher. Big dam thing the size of a small lab puppy. (might be stretching that a tad bit) Had a standoff in the middle of the street. Held up my boot and he stood on his hind legs and proceeded to chomp it. What the hell? Was close to midnight and getting off work..a couple of other guys with me (city types) didn't hold the same fascination and kept their distance. 
 Looked like a gopher but walked like a pit bull- stocky scrappy critter.
He gave me the stink eye and wandered off to who knows where.
Have sent my share of gophers to meet their maker but never laid eyes on a goph'zilla like that one.

[REHJWA]

generally the feds try to make critical habitat designations on public property.they don't want the designation to look like a take or a land grab.

my guess is that that is why it is such a small amount.

having an endangered species on your private property can be a pain.it does not mean that you can't do anything with your property, you just have to be mindful of the resource

I guess paying the county $1500 to tell you 3.8 of your 5 acres can't be:
disturbed/used for anything including pets
used as a garden
landscaped ie...no trees, no shrubs, and only native grasses
isn't a "land grab" because it is only a small amount?

I think taking away 78% of YOUR land is just plan theft...

[Southpole]

Ok- I got one question..anyone ever came across a Camas pocket gopher?

 Have wandered all over, under and through many a brush patch and as a kid growing up in the country, gained a dubious notoriety for sneaking up and catching all sorts of critters.

Then one day I came across an oddity I have never seen. Looked it up and turns out it (best I could figure) was a Camas pocket gopher. Big dam thing the size of a small lab puppy. (might be stretching that a tad bit) Had a standoff in the middle of the street. Held up my boot and he stood on his hind legs and proceeded to chomp it. What the hell? Was close to midnight and getting off work..a couple of other guys with me (city types) didn't hold the same fascination and kept their distance. 
 Looked like a gopher but walked like a pit bull- stocky scrappy critter.
He gave me the stink eye and wandered off to who knows where.
Have sent my share of gophers to meet their maker but never laid eyes on a goph'zilla like that one.

Are you sure it wasn't a mountain beaver

[WAcoyotehunter]

generally the feds try to make critical habitat designations on public property.they don't want the designation to look like a take or a land grab.

my guess is that that is why it is such a small amount.

having an endangered species on your private property can be a pain.it does not mean that you can't do anything with your property, you just have to be mindful of the resource

I guess paying the county $1500 to tell you 3.8 of your 5 acres can't be:
disturbed/used for anything including pets
used as a garden
landscaped ie...no trees, no shrubs, and only native grasses
isn't a "land grab" because it is only a small amount?

I think taking away 78% of YOUR land is just plan theft...

I have not heard of that happening.

[Curly]

generally the feds try to make critical habitat designations on public property.they don't want the designation to look like a take or a land grab.

my guess is that that is why it is such a small amount.

having an endangered species on your private property can be a pain.it does not mean that you can't do anything with your property, you just have to be mindful of the resource

I guess paying the county $1500 to tell you 3.8 of your 5 acres can't be:
disturbed/used for anything including pets
used as a garden
landscaped ie...no trees, no shrubs, and only native grasses
isn't a "land grab" because it is only a small amount?

I think taking away 78% of YOUR land is just plan theft...

I have not heard of that happening.

Did you watch the youtube videos that huntrights posted in post #37?

[huntrights]

Please share this article with others; it does a good job of summarizing the overall issue. 

"Gophers, artillery, and US fish & Wildlife"
http://myfreedomfoundation.com/blog/liberty-live/detail/gophers-artillery-and-us-fish-wildlife

Those that have been following the sometimes questionable behavior and regulations imposed by some of our national, state, and local regulatory entities have most likely realized that blind faith in what they do is misplaced trust.  As citizens who are affected by what they do, we must scrutinize and question their science sources (if any), motives, and political bias.  All may not be government For the People as we would like to believe.

We must continue to remind these regulatory entities that they work for us.  Remember – We The People.

[huntrights]

Use/abuse of the ESA is involved in this issue as well. 

As the report implies, there appears to be a lot more to this story than meets the eye.  This situation appears to have come dangerously close to a tragedy that could have resulted in death and/or injury to men, women, and children along with putting LEOs in a very precarious position of having to open fire on those people (American ranchers and their families).  All of this to protect a turtle (ESA use/abuse) and collect grazing fees.  It will be interesting to see what is revealed as the layers of this “political onion” are peeled away.

Watch this Fox News report:

"This Incredible New Footage Shows How Close Bundy Standoff Came To A Massacre
The inside story of how one New Yorker may have kept the Bundy protestors from a bloody end"

There is a shorter clip of the report in this link:
http://www.westernjournalism.com/footage-bundy-massacre/


This is the full report:
"Exclusive Video: Bundy Ranch"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtEVg8KNgBA


Fox News was there.  Apparently the the rest of what has been called the "Main Stream Media" was not.  People should question who is running the "Main Stream Media".

[huntrights]

From the Heritage Guide to the Constitution:

The Fifth Amendment - Takings Clause
http://www.heritage.org/constitution#!/amendments/5/essays/151/takings-clause

Excerpt:
"Despite the frustration and cost of litigation of enforcing the Takings Clause, property owners remain indefatigable, and they are especially so when they perceive regulation to exceed a reasonable scope and invade that which may fairly be thought to be one of the natural rights of ownership. The ultimate purpose of the Takings Clause was well described by the Court more than forty years ago as "designed to bar Government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole." Armstrong v. United States (1960). That is the central principle that prompted the Framers to add the Takings Clause to the Bill of Rights."


Reference the loss of property use due to the Mazama Pocket Gopher in the examples given earlier.