Elk article in Yakima Herald newspaper

[whacker1]

must've missed the part of the article mentioning the poaching of branched bulls by Native Americans...

General D.  Don't fret brother.  I am currently working on the second part of the paper.  It is about how hunting in our state of Washington discriminates based upon race, and how it is wrong.  It will also relate that issue to the Jim Crow laws and how the Yakama's and our Government only follow certain parts of the treaty.  Such as article 4 which states that Indians are not allowed to drink or buy alcohol and how Non-Natives are not allowed to sell alcohol to Indians and how its against the law.  But that one is not enforced.  I will post that paper sometime in August.  I've started working on it but..... I have to go to SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) School on Monday so I wont be able to write anything.  I can't  wait for the reaction from the media on that one.  It will be very interesting indeed.   

What do you mean?  You should have countless hours in a little box to write that paper.....  just joking - good luck with SERE

[sako223]

The pilot program was started with the support of Gov. Chris Gregoire as a way to help the Washington Cattlemen's Association. In November 2005, the department signed an agreement with the cattlemen to launch the experimental program, allowing the cattlemen to run their cows on public wildlife lands at no charge.

No Charge!!!

The Legislature appropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the program. Agency staffers put in nearly 4,000 hours on grazing plans, attending meetings, monitoring, and herding cattle. They installed more than 5 miles of fence, nearly 3 miles of pipeline and five troughs on wildlife lands.

Why are they herding cattle? Is this free day care?

The department had some bad luck and bad outcomes. Two employees were severely injured while stringing fencing. And the state's own reports on the program found missteps in implementation, with ranchers putting out too many cattle or letting them graze too long in one place, damaging habitat.

Cattleman have never been known to overgraze especially when they get free rent and herders.

They should tack somebody's balls to the outhouse and give them a hacksaw blade.
All that extra money should have been spent on game management like fencing in needed areas.

[elkaholic]

Box or a 55 gallon drum barrell..... Email me we can do lunch when you get abreak before you hit the firld part. I am at Fairchild

[colockumelk]

Elkaholic I'd love to but I'm in the Army down here at Ft. Rucker, AL.  Unless your willing to pay for the air fare. 

[1morebuck]

Colockumelk, I would agree with most of the statements you are writing, as an outdoor writer in the newspaper field it is rare to get coverage about such issues. You feel free to send me any fact based article on the WDFW's poor management that I can apply to the entire state and I will publish it. I have touched base on this within the pages of my paper and had quite a response from local hunters and WDFW employees, heck ol' dave or Phil wont even return my calls  . When you you be back from AL?

PS I have family around Montgomery, so if you want a good shin-dig and a col' beer let me know!

[colockumelk]

1morebuck.  Feel free to use anything you want in the paper I wrote about the Colockum.  Follow this link and at the bottom of the first post you can open the paper I wrote.  It has graphs and everything.  I don't know if I could do one for the entire state but I know in Central Washington our deer herd has been cut in half by disease and predation.  Yet there is still a general season and they still give out rut permits.  That's mismanagment.

After SERE school I plan on finishing a paper that has to do with Tribal hunting and how it is unfair based upon racial discrimination and I'll relate it to the Jim Crow laws etc.  To my knowledge this issue has not been tackled from this standpoint and it should be pretty interesting to see the response.  It will also talk about how our government and theirs only follows certain portions of the treaty.   Such as Article 9 is pretty much ignored.  FYI article 9 states that Indians are not allowed to consume alcohol and no one is allowed to sell alcohol to them. 

As far as flight school goes I'll be here until fall of 2011.  After that I will most likely be stationed in Afghanistan.  Hopefully hunting down the Taliban in either an Apache Longbow or a Kiowa Warrior. 

[elkaholic]

*censored*. I though you were at the SERE scholl here... Well when you get back her and near SPokaen, Ill buy you lunch! or Make some elk brats from my last years bull!

[1morebuck]

Colockum, thank you. I will send you an article or two on some of the stuff I cover as well.

Thank you for your service and a speedy return home.

Kelly

[denali]

just ran in the Tri-City Herold, thank you Colocomelk.

[300magman]

Colockumelk,
Thanks for serving this country, I have been in the NAVY for 19 years... My boss just came from SERE school he was an instructor, you will be tested I can tell you that.

In response to your post about the Elk Herds. I truly believe that for the most part you are right on the money... The tribes must have some kind of guidance on what they can a cannot do.. Our Elk numbers as a whole in the state of Washington are in bad shape in my opinion. BUt one thing I think you forgot to touch on is POACHING in our state.....I try to hunt every season and for the past twenty years there has not been one season go by that I dont find a BIG bull Elk that has been shot and the horns takens and the rest of the Elk left there to rot... This is abosloute crap in my book. These poachers are doing alot of unseen damage on our ELK. Every year we hear about a ring of poachers getting caught....THEY SHOULD BE HUNG RIGHT THEN AND THERE IN MY BOOK... Several years ago a ring of poachers were caught hunting the Hanford Site out of Richland Wa. These guys had a (pay me and i will take you hunting operation going on) THey were killing numerous record book bulls out of season not to mention the fact the land is closed to any and all hunting.
I guess what i am saying is we need to look real hard at POACHING in our state. Dont turn them in for just the points you will gain but do it because it is wrong and unethical.........

KURT

[br8kitoff]

Very good arguements!  I have to agree with Colockumelk with much of what he has said..
I began hunting the 328 in 1990 and have ever since, except for 2 years I went for trophy bulls in the 618....steep!  I've made early archery camp just below the "T" of swift creek in "JUDY's Tamarack Forest"  which they recently cut down.  Big blue crew cab ford and wall tent IAFF sicker and plates.  I walk/ hike from there and have found myself just below the towers on Nanum Ridge to Walter Flats to the western edge of the perserve.  Some of you recall when you used to have to pick clockum or Yakima.  The only people Iv'e seen try to make the place better for elk are the RMEF and the gates they have been putting up over the last few years!! There used to be ALOT of bow hunters compared to now and they started dropping off when WDFW took cows away and will probably fall even more with the new rule.  I they keep it I bet Warren his 2 brothers my hunting buddy and I will be damn near the only ones left, I will probably scout the Taneum this weekend though.  I have personally witnessed tribal members shoot BIG branch antlered bulls as they walk across the road out of the preserve going to the Mission, because it closed during archery, and stack them up in the backs of their trucks like cord wood.  The game wardens say their hands are tied and there "ain't *censored* they can do and the tribe knows it" and the tribes presence is growing. I used to see huge bulls and large herds not so much any more, unless your catching them comming out of the preserve.  There were always large herds there but there were also large groups everywhere else.  I guess the point I'm making is that I emailed WDFW and they gave me a spin email on how They  how "they" and the tribes are working together to manage them, but it gets worse every year!

[colockumelk]

just ran in the Tri-City Herold, thank you Colocomelk.

 

Holy cow really? That is so awesome for the Colockum elk herd. Now even more people will start to learn the truth.

Thanks for the support. I just got back crime SERE school and it was very challenging. It was also an AWSOME school. Thanks again for the support and please spread what you know about the colockum herd to raise more awareness. Thanks all.

[Dan-o]

Really an interesting article.   Thanks, ColockumElk.    Thanks for doing the hard work that went into it, and for having the passion to push for the benefit of the herd.