21 



STATEMENT OF JOHN PELHAM, FLORIDA POWER 

 CORPORATION, CRYSTAL RIVER, FLORIDA 



Mr. Pelham. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to 

 be here today. I am not going to dwell on this hunt; I think we 

 have heard quite a bit about it. Similar action has occurred with 

 me in that the citing officer could not show me the bait, did not 

 know where the bait was, told me that the field had been flown 

 several days before, and that was where the bait was identified. 



My contention is that if they knew that the field was baited, why 

 did they not close the field and save the lives of those birds? That 

 is called documenting a field. If I want to get you in trouble, Mr. 

 Chairman, if I know you are going to a hunt in 2 weeks, all I need 

 to do is take a Dixie cup of cracked corn and put it in the middle 

 of a field and anonymously call that agency and let them know that 

 that field is baited and where it is. 



The Department of the Interior is charged with protecting the 

 migratory birds. I do not believe that they fulfilled their obligation. 

 Let me say this also: I do not want this to be an adversarial thing 

 with the Department of the Interior. They have a tough job to do. 

 The officer or the agent who cited me was courteous and profes- 

 sional. However, the letter that I received about 2 weeks subse- 

 quent to that citation that was written in the field where they 

 asked me who I worked for and what my title was, that does not 

 seem to gel, why they needed to know where I worked and what 

 my title was. They had my hunting license. 



The citation, as you have heard earlier in the letter, I felt was 

 very intimidating and very coercive in that it was up to a $5,000 

 fine, 6 months in jail — I assume that is a Federal prison — 5 years 

 probation and a loss of hunting privileges. Mr. Chairman, I have 

 hunted in Florida all my life; I could not wait to write that check. 

 But I could have paid by MasterCard or Visa if I wanted. 



But I think the answer to the problem is that maybe we should 

 allow baiting. Let me explain. If we allow baiting, the congregation 

 of birds will not be as dramatic as they are by denying baiting. The 

 enforcement of the bag limit is the key. That is what we are con- 

 cerned about: the preservation of the birds. And I need to apolo- 

 gize, because when I wrote this, I was working specifically toward 

 doves in this hunt, and I realize that we are also talking about wa- 

 terfowl. But I think we should stop documenting the fields, and I 

 think we should look at sports planting rather than planting for 

 agricultural purposes. I am not a farmer, Mr. Chairman, and the 

 only thing I recognize as bait is cracked corn. I do not know wheat 

 from rye from whatever it may be. I cannot identify it. I did not 

 see any in this field, and I would not know it now. 



And if you decide to form a committee or a group to pursue this 

 further, I would like to volunteer to help or assist or give any input 

 that I may. This is a tough issue, and I thank you for your time, 

 Mr. Chairman, Committee members, and the opportunity to be 

 here today. Thank you very much. 



[The statement of Mr. Pelham may be found at end of hearing.] 



The Chairman. Thank you, John. 



Chad Clemons from the University of Florida, High Springs, 

 Florida. Chad? 



