Stoneroller

I love all the talk, and that's all it is, TALK about how the Democrats have done ALL this work to help conservation and wildlife. Let me just remind those of you with limited historical knowledge that the Greatest conservationist that ever served as President was a Republican and it weren't for the efforts by Theodore Roosevelt, we would not have a national park system or a conservation movement at all. (he was an avid hunter, BUT understood completely that there MUST be strict laws and hunting seasons) remember "Manifest Destiny"?? 19th century American belief that the United States (often in the ethnically specific form of the "Anglo-Saxon race") was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. It was used by Democrats in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico. it's not a matter of liberal/conservative, the issue seems to lie with whether you think man 'RULES' the planet or man 'Lives' on the planet. I think the division is pretty clear. And if people like myself didn't stand up against people who believe the wonton, wreckless, and senseless killing of any animal is perfectly ok, we'd have NO wildlife left to hunt in a managed manner!! and if you think humans are the grease that keeps the wheels of the earth turning, WOW are you disillusioned. maybe more schooling and less political rhetoric would be a wise path...

it is our job as citizens and taxpayers to be critical of the gov't entities that our money goes to fund. As Sportsmen, it's the principle of the issue that we should support. I'm just making a bit of light over the situation. MDC does do a decent job in many other aspects of it's operations. I just feel if you are going to be the "Conservation Dept." then 'conservation' should be your main focus.

I will say MDC is doing a great job down a Duck Creek CA. Restoring the land to natural habitat with a vengence.

Due to recent public backlash stemming from the Missouri Department of Conservations complete lack of professionalism and leadership surrounding a Mt. Lion poaching, the MDC has decide to change it's name from Missouri Dept. of Conservation to Missouir Dept. of Complacency. In a related move MDC has annouce the hiring of Michael Vick to head the dept. citing his outstanding work with animals in the past, Dept. spokesman, Bubba Frank, said the dept. 'looks forward to letting Mr. Vick take care of the states' wildlife'. "We figure it's easiery to do our job if there are less of these pesky animals running around. Mike Vick is our hero" Other planned changes include 'ridding Missouri of all those drafty caves' by using them for landfill sites, "Thinning the eagle population" to improve quail numbers, and cutting down all those darn trees so we can have better views of the hills.

wildlife code violations are supposed to be 'strict liability' which basically means you got caught red handed and the state doesn't need to make a case against you, you are busted, end of story. I'm really getting pretty sick of hearing about all these "Conservation" depts interpreting the wildlife code and slapping back of hands of some of the stupidest criminals there are. DO YOUR JOBS ALREADY!!! We'd all be fired from our jobs if we half assed them like these 'Conservation' depts are.

you can get 'underarmor' equivilent clothing at target for 1/4th the price of the underarmor brand. I got a couple of mock turtlenecks and some pants that I wear under whatever i'd normally wear. they keep you warm and wick the sweat away from your body to prevent chills and that sweaty,wet feeling. i'll also toss a handwarmer pack in each coat pocket. that alone is worth it's weight in gold. a shamwow is also good for drying hands. definately stay away from cotton. modern performance fabrics are where it's at. they may cost more but are well worth it.

this has now very clearly become a case of Obstruction of Justice. By failing to act upon this MDC destroys every ounce of credibility that they have as a taxpayer funded agency tasked with protecting the wildlife and natural resources of the state. A permissive attitude towards the clear and flagrant violation of the law only creates more people willing and motivated to destroy what isn't theirs and they have no right destroying. Keep in mind the wildlife and the resources in this state belong to ALL of the taxpayers of the state. That cat was just as much yours and your childrens' as it was his to shoot for 'being dangerous'. hhmmm wasn't dangerous till you approached the tree to shoot it now was it? bunch of oxygen thieves...

Hunter admits shooting mountain lion in Ray County Statewide Published on: Jan. 11, 2011 Posted by Jim Low RICHMOND, Mo.–A Ray County man has admitted that he, not a cattleman, shot a mountain lion on Jan. 2. Conservation officials say the admission brings their investigation to a close, and there will be no charges, because the shooter feared for his life. James “Jimmy” McElwee, 29, of Camden, admitted he shot the 115-pound mountain lion while hunting raccoons in rural Ray County. His confession followed the admission by Bob Littleton, 60, of Richmond, that his initial claim of shooting the mountain lion was false. “Mr. Littleton only said he shot the mountain lion to protect Mr. McElwee,” said Larry Yamnitz, Protection Division chief with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). “Based on the outcome of our agent’s investigation, no charges will be filed in this case.” According to Yamnitz, McElwee admitted to the shooting, saying he feared for his life. “He followed his dogs up a draw and shined a light up into a tree and saw eyes that were too far apart for a raccoon,” said Yamnitz. “When he realized it was a mountain lion, he was afraid to run, thinking it might attack him.” After killing the cat, McElwee and his hunting partner and father-in-law, Larry Danner, 52, of Richmond, contacted Littleton, who offered to take responsibility for shooting the mountain lion. Yamnitz said everyone would have been better off if all parties involved had told the truth from the beginning. “The true circumstances of the incident were more clearly within the provisions of the Wildlife Code than the story they made up,” said Yamnitz. “Based on the evidence and statements by all the parties involved, you can make the case of self-defense. There will be no charges.” The Ray County mountain lion showed no signs of having been held in captivity and was in good health. MDC is conducting DNA tests to learn more about its origins and determine if it is the same animal photographed by a landowner in southern Platte County Nov. 26 The mountain lion (Puma concolor) is a protected species under the Wildlife Code. The Code allows the killing of any mountain lion attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals, or threatening human safety. Anyone who kills a mountain lion is required by law to report the incident to the MDC immediately. The intact carcass, including the pelt, must be surrendered to MDC within 24 hours. To report a sighting, physical evidence or other incident, contact a local MDC office or conservation agent, or email MDC’s Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov. For more information on mountain lions

i know you have a lowrance and probably want to stick to them but humminbird just released a line of HD units, many with down imaging capabilities and at some pretty good price points too. I want to say they start out around $500, and I think they have GPS, but I could be wrong about that on the lowest model.

I'm ready for the flaming, so go ahead. I am a Cowboys fan. Always have been, I was born in Dallas. first words I learned were "Go Cowboys". yes I know their qb sucks and they suck this year... that's why i'm dedicating the rest of the season to seeing the bears get destroyed in their first playoff game.

you can get a spiral bound book with the lake maps of every lake in missouri over 5000 acres for like $20. beats the hell out of buying single maps, although the fishing hotspots maps tend to be slightly more detailed and much more durable. just depends on how many maps you want, the book also includes stocking data and shock data for a period of years. bass pro has the books i'm talking about. at the st louis one they are in a rack near the fishing hotspots maps which are near the fish tank.

No, seriously. Go! Go home, your season is over! Nothing says "you don't deserve to be here" more than getting utterly DESTROYED by some half assed team. now I just need to see the bears get shut out like 71-0 and cutler sustain a career ending injury my NFL season will be the best ever.

maybe this means the MDC will actually find the time and funds to actually go out in the field (pref to the 'Ribbon' streams) and maybe actually ENFORCE some of the wildlife code. One can always hope i guess...

I watched a pair of eagles fishing at creve coeur lake saturday morning. the male caught a fish I estimate at 15+inches out of the center of the lake, with 25mph winds, 3 foot white caps and 12degree temps. Made me rethink what people say about wind and fish. He dropped it back into the water when his mate tried to light on the tree next to him. She then flew off and he hopped a 180 on the branch and was looking at the water below him. He then jumped off the branch and flew a big circle out over the water before turing back in towards shore and dropping down right above the waves. He swiped the fish out of the water a 2nd time, this time he flew over to a downed log and proceded to devour it. I can remember when I was a kid, the powers that be, figured out that this 'miracle' substance called DDT was, in fact, destroying the enviroment. Sometimes we can learn from our mistakes and sometimes we are smart enough to figure out that what we 'thought' was an acceptable practice, is in fact, terribly wrong and utterly destructive. Sometimes we wait till its too late...

Chefs suck!

here's the thing about wild cats vs domestic cats. the tail can be part of the key. a domestic cat typically has a tail that is around 1/2 the length of it's body. some may have a tail nearing 3/4th their body length but it's rarer for them to be that long. wild cats on the other hand (bobcat, serval, lynx, etc aside) have a tail that is typically 3/4ths to full length. I still think it's chupacabra.

I was just thinking about this today. It also pertains to the guy who shot that 105lb coyote. He stated himself that 'he thought he was shooting a wolf' which would be a clear admission of intent. I was wondering, shouldn't charges be brought against him? Wolves are a federally endangered species. He admits to shooting what he felt was a wolf. seems pretty cut and dry to me. keep in mind the fake deer that mdc uses to catch roadside poachers. it's not a 'real' deer the poachers are shooting at, it's a remote stuffed mount after all, yet they secure convictions for shooting those all the time, stating something about true intent. (not sure of the statute)

next time you take your kids out in the woods and you spy your eye upon the wiley and elusive black angus, make sure you take pictures so your children can enjoy that special moment for the rest of their lives.

chupacabra, very clearly you can see the horns. that could be a house cat for all you can tell from the picture. I do believe there are breeding mt lions in missouri, I hope for the cats' sake that they stay hidden and out of sight of humans.

Lets Go Fishing Show Fri Jan 7 - Jan 9 2011 The Let's Go Fishing Show will return January 7-8-9, 2011 to the Gateway Center in Collinsville, Illinois and hopes to attract more anglers with some new bait. The public event, geared for the angler, has consistently attracted an enthusiastic audience, due to the "fishing tackle super store" repuation it has developed. In its 18th year, the show, along with all the fishing equipment, dozens of seminars and many exhibits of interest for fishermen, is adding some magic to its offerings. more info here: http://www.gatewaycenter.com/events/events.html

i think it boils down to whether a person believes a mt. loin's life is ecologically more significant to the planet than that of a cow. and lets just say for sake of argument there are 100 mt lions in missouri and 1 million cows. a cow is worth lets just say $1000. multiply $1000 by 1million, you get 1 billion, the 'worth' of 'all' the cows in missouri. now divide that 1 billion by 100 and you end up with $10 million, the hypothetical worth of 1 mt lion. so lets not waste anymore debate over the theoretical 'worth' of a cow of all things. a rancher should be happy to give up a couple of calves each year to support something as rare as a mt lion. hell those calves are probably subsidized by tax payer dollars and the herd probably grazes on public BLM land. consider it restitution for the fences, ground water pollution, stream bank erosion, siltation, overgrazing and basic environment destruction that the cattle are responsible for.

wow, education is the first step to UNDERSTANDING!!! Mt Lion weighs 150lbs a cow weighs 1200lbs. ANY of you who weigh 150lbs, go out to a pasture and tackle a cow (that isn't sleeping) YOU have opposable thumbs so no crying about how you dont have claws or sharp teeth, go do it. When you recover from your hospital stay, we'll then have a discussion about the physics of how mt lions prey on other animals. Does your domestic cat go outside and kill 25lb ground hogs and bring them back to the house? No they kill items much, much smaller than them. Too much risk in getting injured trying to take down a 1200lb cow as opposed to a tasty bunny rabbit. and wtf is that supposed to mean "walk a mile..." I'd rather not walk in the shoes of some inconsiderate murderer who has zero respect for the natural world around me and who KILLS a wild animal that is not going to be consumed for food. Note that no where in that article does it say anything about him loosing livestock, the cat harrassing his livestock or him even having any idea that cat was around his place until his dogs treed it and he killed it in cold blood like a coward. I grew up on a farm with over 400 head of cattle and 400 acres of tillage. The only predator that a farmer needs to worry about are other HUMANS! we need to wake up and realize that we are destroying EVERYTHING we touch. The attidude of "this is OUR planet" needs to go. We don't OWN anything on this earth except ourselves. Treat the earth and it's creatures as you would like the earth to treat you and your family. Funny how up in arms people on here will get over a fish, yet an endangered species protected by federal law and some of you act like it's acceptable. Take a good long look at your contradictory position before you attempt to call yourselves "sportsmen".

http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/ray-county-cattleman-kills-mountain-lion pathetic that this kind of thing is allowed to happen. wasn't even eating or harassing his cattle. Zero reason to destroy a beautiful animal like this.

Sadly I have this to report from MDC's website http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/ray-county-cattleman-kills-mountain-lion it's a shitty day when we put the life of a mass produced herd animal worth maybe $300 over that of a wild animal that we have almost completely destroyed from the face of the earth. Seriously who believes a cow has a greater right to live on this planet than a mountain lion. we have BILLIONS of cows, there is never going to be an endangered cow awarness drive. we are a virus, breeding out of control and destroying everything we come in contact with.

cosmic rays, gov't conspiracies, yoko ono, politicians you can trust, fishermen who don't lie, santa claus, a michael moore film that makes sense, all imaginary. just keep paying your taxes C3PObama needs your $$.