161 



Sometiines. along vwitfa &e media pressure, comes direct and indirect political pressure, espedally if those 

 dtad rrwy'dff dienas^vas *^nvileged" himteis because of thor political, economic, social, or occupational 

 status, or bacause tfaey have "wwifuytinns" with someone m the administration of a state cb- federal agency 

 Sometimes, these political pressures can get ugly as administiatois search for ways to placate their 

 constituencies. I have observed some major examples of institutional hypocrisy as directors and 

 administraton publicly profess their great concern for the wdfare of the migratory bird resource while they 

 suffer a major "spmalectomy" wfaai it comes to backing up their enforcement personnel who are mvolved in 

 a politicaUy sensitrve case 



Your Commtftee is now involved with all of die issues I have pointed out above and jmur very tough job is to 

 sort through all the chaff in the hopes of finding a few grains of solid wheat! 



During ray tenure as a hunter, USFWS Special Agent, and now the Secretary for a state agency, I have heard 

 of Bid seen various schemes used to legitinuze the baiting of migratory birds I have been told that the seeds, 

 com, wheat etc. was present on the field or near the hunters as the result of "combining £ailure", "farm spill", 

 "com boar^, "green bug infestation", "hail storms"; "green manure programs"; "set-aside crop blown down 

 by the wind"; and so on. 



TIm new proposal on the scene, as yet somewhat uiulefined, is "Moist Soil Management" The USFWS is 

 currently seeking public comment on a proposed rulemaking which will govern die manner m which "natural 

 vegetation" in nutst soil areas may be altered or manipulated artificially to attract waterfowl for huntmg 

 purposes. My agoicy is currently in the process of commenting on this proposal. 



Regardlecs of the rfaetonc and semantics used, at the heart of all these disguises is one pretty simple fact; the 

 more bait (food) a hunter or club can get on the ground oi in the witei, the greater number of birds he/she can 

 kill with less efibrt and skillf! Please make no mistake about it, baiting controls birds as surely as if they are 

 drugged. They lose all natural wariness and it almost uisures a supply of birds at the baited area. 

 Consequently, one who baits an area does so with the expectation of improving his/her/the club's success rate 

 on buds bUed by the gun; The justification will be given that "feeding" is for the benefit of the birds, and/or 

 tlK bird's habitat, but the honest fact is that baitmg is used to produce a live target at the end of a shotgun 

 barrcl It woiks! And, that's what makes it so attractive to killers and shooters who haven't made the effort 

 to learn how to properly hunt migratory birds. 



Despite Mr. Reiger's asserticns, I truly believe that for the sport of hunting to continue, the ethical principles 

 of £ur chase must continue to be closely connected to the regulatory process They serve as public guidelines 

 for participants. It b not enough to concern ourselves only with daily bag limits. Regulations, such as those 

 against baiting, tell hunters that they must conduct themselves properly and proirtote the fact that hunters 

 must develop certam skills in order to be successfiil. 



The real skills in waterfbwlmg are the dog training, blmd building, decoy placement, calling, waterfowl 

 ; A»titi<w-irtin«i and habitat development by belonging to orgaiuzatians like Ducks Unlimited. Puttmg out bait 

 and slwoting a limit of ducks or doves has notlung to do with hunting skills oi the hunting experience. No 

 one should pretend it does. 



Summary of Mv Concerns: 



Earlier m my testimony, I mentioned that the Committee would basically have to deal with some long 

 standing basic issi^s relating to the baiting regulations Let me offer my summary of perspectrves related to 

 those issues based upon ray experiences as a hunter and Wildlife Enforcement Officer 



