Register Today – 2011 Annual Hunters’ Convention – The Ultimate Hunters’ Market
You are invited to attend SCI's 39th Annual Hunters' Convention, Jan. 26 – 29, 2011! Online registration is now OPEN. Register now by visiting www.ShowSCI.com. While you are there, book your hotel room and see the wide array of evening entertainment and speakers SCI has lined up for The Ultimate Hunters' Market®. SCI's headquarters hotel, the Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino, will host the evening events, and rooms are filling up fast. There are nine other luxurious hotels for you to book your stay, and each offers SCI's preferred rate and shuttle service.
 
Larry The Cable Guy, one of America's most successful standup comedians, will captivate audiences with his robust style of humor at Wednesday's grand opening ceremonies.

Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska and 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate, will share her passion for hunting and the outdoors when she speaks at the Saturday evening gala dinner.
 
REGISTER TODAY! – For those that have not attended SCI’s Ultimate Hunters’ Convention check out these video clips to learn more: http://bit.ly/akVo66.
 
 
SCI President Addresses U.N.
The United Nations is at it again. Every two years, this self-important body meets to vent about the evils of gun ownership through its “Programme [sic] Of Action To Prevent, Combat And Eradicate The Illicit Trade In Small Arms And Light Weapons In All Its Aspects.” How’s that for a succinct title? This year, however, a voice for reason spoke to their Esteemed Excellencies. The president of Safari Club International (SCI), Dr. Lawrence Rudolph, addressed the Fourth Biennial Meeting Of States to advocate a reasoned approach to this anti-gun Programme, which is a thinly disguised attempt at a worldwide gun control. (NRA American Rifleman) http://bit.ly/alwYGB.
 
 
Education Sables Summer e-Newsletter
Read the Education Sables e-Newsletter by clicking here.   Follow the directions on the screen to page through an electronic newsletter with articles about chapter and SCIF education activities.  Check out Chapter Youth Programs activities and SCI Volunteer AWLS Work Weekend.  Information is available about the 2011 Annual Education Sables Luncheon Show & Auction.  Get the latest news about SCIF Education programs.  http://bit.ly/aXl728.
 
 
Help SCI Facebook-Official Group Reach The 4,000 Fan Mark
The SCI Facebook-Official Group Page needs your help!  By the start of July, SCI will be pushing to reach 4,000 fans on Facebook.  Currently SCI has around 3,680 so do your part and become a fan.  If you are not on Facebook, share this link with someone who is and SIGN THEM UP!  Fans on Facebook get updates about legislative priories and international conservation projects hours and even days before the rest of the SCI membership. Be the first in your chapter to learn about breaking news just by being an SCI Facebook Fan. Click on this link to join the online community:  Official SCI Page.
 
 
World Cup Putting Strain On South African Hunting Industry
Even for soccer-indifferent Americans, there's nothing quite like the spectacle that is the World Cup coverage.  But not everything's rosy in Soweto.  First, those vuvuzelas. 'Nuff said.  Second, as much as everyone likes Shakira's obvious...talents, Fozzie Bear did "Waka Waka" first and did it better. Third, the World Cup is apparently putting a major hurt on South Africa's hunting industry. (Field & Stream Blog) http://bit.ly/aEqEDN.
 
 
Continuing To Pressure Administration For Secret National Monument Documents
The House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved, with favorable recommendation, a Resolution of Inquiry (H. Res. 1406) introduced by Ranking Member Doc Hastings and National Parks, Forest and Public Lands Subcommittee Ranking Member Rob Bishop to direct the Department of Interior to turn over to Congress the missing pages and related documents of an “internal memo” detailing plans to potentially designate 13 million acres of new National Monuments.
 
Talks On Reducing Whale Hunting Break Down
Three years of talks aimed at reducing whaling activity by Japan, Norway and Iceland broke down Wednesday, leaving management of the population of the world's largest animals essentially in the hands of whale hunters.  Anthony Liverpool, acting chairman of the International Whaling Commission, told delegates meeting in Agadir, Morocco, that "fundamental positions remained very much a part." The goal of the meeting was to forge a 10-year compromise that would create a legal framework to allow limited whale hunting by Japan, Norway and Iceland. The commission has banned all types of whale hunting, but the three whale-hunting nations consistently ignore the bans. Through loopholes in the law, they have caught thousands of the mammals since the 1980s. (Washington Post Online) http://bit.ly/bGzo8q.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee - Ducks Unlimited was notified that it will receive a $2.5 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to provide additional habitat for waterfowl and other birds that will migrate to the Gulf Coast later this year. This partnership between NFWF and DU will seek to restore and enhance upwards of 20,000 acres of wetland habitat on lands adjacent to or near Gulf Coast marshes.

The funds will be used to flood alternative habitats in the critical rice region of coastal Louisiana and Texas. The areas to be flooded will provide crucial migration and wintering habitat within the Gulf Coast region. This will be especially important if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill is pushed into fresh and intermediate salinity marshes by storms later this summer and fall. Normally, fresh and intermediate salinity marshes winter vast numbers of ducks, shorebirds, wading birds and other wetland-dependent birds.

The additional habitat will also help address long-term deficits in feeding habitat resulting from massive coastal wetland losses during the past decades. A recent Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) study found that in southeast Louisiana alone, coastal marsh food resources may support 1.3 million fewer waterfowl than they likely did during the 1970s. Research indicates there isn't enough food to support North American Waterfowl Management Plan population goals for wintering waterfowl along the Gulf Coast.

Brian Palmer from Palmer Outfitting just asked us to drop up a quick post on some last minute deals that he has for summer depradation hunts he has on private ranches in Colorado.  These are July Guided Private Land Bull Elk Hunts for Bulls in Full Velvet for $2,000 plus license and food.  Tags and license for nonresidents are $546.00 and residents are $51.00  They have 2 great meat processors in the area and a good taxidermist in the valley.

Brian states that most bulls are going to be 5x5's and 4x4's but he has seen several 6x6's over the past several nights.  The average bull is going to be between 200 and 300 with the occassional bull between 300 and 380 with NO TROPHY FEES..

All hunts are on private land but are fair chase hunts, they are not high fenced.  Hunts are on valley floor at 8000' elevation, no need to climb mountains. Hunts are mostly spot and stalk similar to caribou hunting on the tundra of alaska but easier walking and no bears!

They have lots of elk and typically see between 100 to 500 or more elk during a hunt.

Last year They had 100% shot opportunity. They also have the same hunts for hard horned elk from August 15 to December 31 for $2,500.

http://www.huntinglife.com/outfitters/detail/palmer-outfitters-llc

Remington Outdoor Foundation's first-year donation of $100,000 to the National Forest Foundation will be leveraged by more than $1 million in matching funds to help restore habitat at Colorado's Pike National Forest and the Deschutes National Forest in Oregon.

"Our support of the National Forest Foundation'sTreasured Landscapes, Unforgettable Experiences campaign enables us to help restore forest ecosystems, which is an important part of Remington Outdoor Foundation's conservation mission," said Jim Moore, president of the Remington Outdoor Foundation. "This investment in our National Forest System of $100,000 a year for three years will provide countless recreation and environmental benefits."

This country's 193-million-acre National Forest System provides clean air and water, diverse wildlife habitat and abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. However, today's challenges to our national forests and grasslands, ranging from wildfire to invasive species to climate change, threaten these natural resources and wild places.

WEST POINT, MS -  Deer Thugs, a new series from Mossy Oak Productions, is debuting Sunday, July 4 at 9 p.m. EST on the Pursuit Channel.
 
Mossy Oak's Deer Thugs follows five of the hardest of  hardcore whitetail hunters, outfitters who make their living putting their clients on big deer every day of the season, to learn what they know that sets them apart. With weekly input from five of the most experienced, authentic and whitetail-savvy hunters in the game, this series reaches to the core of the tradition and places hunters of every stripe alongside those most attuned to the ways of the whitetail.
 
Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland, Senior VP of Productions at Mossy Oak, said:
 
"For almost 20 years the Mossy Oak Camo Cameras have traveled all around the country filming whitetail hunts and over those years we've been fortunate enough to meet all types of whitetail hunters.  Of all those hunters, these five outfitters have consistently shown themselves to be among the most knowledgeable we've ever hunted with.  For them it's not about big endorsements or becoming famous hunters, instead these are the guys out there every day planting food plots, hanging stands, checking trail cameras and putting their clients on big deer all season long.  They know what they're doing and they love every minute of it-in short, they're Deer Thugs."

MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation today voiced its official support for the concept of restoring elk populations in Virginia, and praised the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for its research and analysis of five proposed alternatives for restoring a species native to the Old Dominion State.

“There is no higher calling in conservation than restoring a native game species to sustainable, hunt-able, balanced populations,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “When the citizens of Wisconsin, Kentucky and Tennessee decided to bring elk back to those parts of their former range, we were there to help, and those successes are among the most rewarding and popular accomplishments in our organization’s history.”

Allen encouraged Virginians to get involved in the process. The public can comment on the agency’s proposals at a series of meetings and online by Aug. 1, 2010.

Learn more about elk restoration and management alternatives in Virginia at the URL/link below:
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/elk/management-plan/

Meeting details:

• Russell County: June 24, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Russell County Government Center, 137 Highlands Dr., Lebanon, Va.
• Wise County: June 29, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Wise County Courthouse, 206 E. Main St., Wise, Va.
• Dickenson County: June 30, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Ralph Stanley Museum, Community Room, Main St., Clintwood, Va.
• Buchanan County: July 1, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Appalachian School of Law, Booth Center, 1169 Edgewater Dr., Grundy, Va.
• Lee County: July 6, 7:00-9:00 p.m., Lee County High School, auditorium, Clyde Pearson Rd., Jonesville, Va.

Submit comments online at the URL/link below:
http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/elk/management-plan/comment/


About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Snowy peaks, dark timber basins and grassy meadows. RMEF is leading an elk country initiative that has conserved or enhanced habitat on over 5.7 million acres—a land area equivalent to a swath three miles wide and stretching along the entire Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. RMEF also works to open, secure and improve public access for hunting, fishing and other recreation. Get involved at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

TEMECULA, Calif. - June 24, 2010 - Outdoor Channel (NASDAQ: OUTD), America's Leader in Outdoor TV, today unveiled its action-packed programming schedule for the third quarter (Q3) of 2010 beginning on June 28th. Filled with non-stop action and adventure with an emphasis on respect for the great outdoors, the Q3 lineup includes 13 brand new original shows, 71 season debuts of returning favorites, the biggest industry talent, the boldest outdoor producers and a powerful slate of celebrated entertainers. The introduction of Outdoor Channel's latest programming roster coincides with the network's 100 percent high definition (HD) launch; Outdoor Channel is the first and only full-time cable network in the outdoor category to broadcast every episode of every show in 100% native HD.

As part of its monumental third quarter programming slate, Outdoor Channel is launching a campaign dubbed the "Biggest Summer Ever!" to highlight its striking three-pronged theme of 100 percent native HD, a record number of new shows and season debuts and unmatched celebrity star-power.

Looking for a great Bow Hunt....Matt Woodward from Borderland Adventures just sent us the following note....Tell him Team HuntingLife Sent you!!

Our archery deer hunts have been in high demand, so we have opened up some additional spots at a special rate.

We have some last minute hunts available this August and early September.These are 5 day fully outfitted bowhunts for Coues or Mule deer, hunters choice. $2400 each for 2x1, or $3000 1x1, thats $400 off our regular prices.

Also, some late season, rut hunts, same as above. Coues or Muley, 5 days, in December or January.

These hunts are in Central Arizona, with airport pick up in Phoenix included.

This is going to be a banner year in Az, and we plan on putting down some giants. These hunts have been 100% opportunity on P&Y bucks for the last 5+ years. We run about a 75% success rate.

We Would love to answer any questions you have!!!

Thanks,

Matt Woodward
Borderland Adventures
(520)820-4728

SCI President Larry Rudolph Addresses The United Nations

Washington, D.C. - Safari Club International's (SCI) President Dr. Larry Rudolph addressed the Fourth Biennial Meeting of States (BMS4) at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York yesterday. His speech focused on the vast economic benefits of hunting in developing nations, and emphasized that an international regulatory climate that allows the continued private transportation of firearms is vital to those benefits.

This meeting is part of the follow-up process to the UN 2001 Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, during which Member States adopted the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (PoA). (SCI Press Release) Full release available at http://bit.ly/cR2CIX.

SCI Calls On Members To Express Opposition To DISCLOSE Act (HR 5175)

SCI is calling on its members to contact their U.S. Representatives in opposition to the DISCLOSE Act (HR 5175) now pending in the House. SCI opposes the DISCLOSE Act because it is a blatant effort to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision from January of this year. That critical decision held that limits on the political speech of groups like SCI were unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This bill would resurrect some of those restrictions, and SCI stands to suffer even more onerous restrictions under the bill if growth continues in the number of SCI's international chapters. Members can reach their U.S. Representative by calling 202-225-3121, or by using the "Find Your Representative" function at the House website, www.house.gov.

Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Delisting Argued In Montana Court

The fate of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves was once again argued in a Montana courtroom on Tuesday, June 15. In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed Montana's and Idaho's wolves from federal management but left Wyoming's wolves under federal Endangered Species Act protection. Lawyers for the federal government and the states of Montana and Idaho defended the partial ESA delisting. Counsel for Safari Club International and the National Rifle Association attended the hearing, along with other sporting and wildlife groups, to lend their support for the delisting rule. Despite some drama when a law student, representing Plaintiff Greater Yellowstone Coalition, fainted during her presentation, the morning's hearing focused on several legal issues identified by the judge as his main questions in the case. The court particularly expressed confusion during the federal government's presentation about one main issue: the legal basis for the FWS's decision to remove federal ESA protection from some but not all of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves. The strong presentations offered by the attorneys from Idaho and Montana responded to the court's questions and aptly demonstrated the legal and practical justifications for the wolf's partial removal from the list. The Judge indicated he would issue a decision as soon as possible.

Commission Makes Recommendations For Polar Bear Hunting

ANCHORAGE - A joint commission is recommending lifting the ban on harvesting polar bears for traditional and cultural purposes in Russia. The U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission met this week in Anchorage to determine the potential for a coordinated and sustainable subsistence harvest of polar bears by Native peoples of Alaska and Chukotka in Russia. The commission determined that the harvest should be limited to up to 58 polar bears a year, with no more than 19 being females. (Juneau Empire Online) http://bit.ly/98CKgg.

Bears Lumbering Back Into East Texas

CLARKSVILLE, Texas - Before hunting season began, Don "Dink" Benton set up a motion sensor camera on his east Texas ranch to learn what kind of deer roamed his land along the Oklahoma border. What he saw as he went through the pictures was a shock: a black bear exploring a feeder, then investigating the camera. "When we got this picture, all of a sudden, it added up," said Benton, who had been wondering how some of the deer feeders on his 3,000-acre ranch had gotten knocked over last summer. Bears are slowly returning to the woods of east Texas thanks to thriving bear populations in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, wildlife officials say. As a result, sightings in east Texas have been on the rise, up from just five in the 1980s to 54 in the 2000s. (Houston Chronicle Online) http://bit.ly/9oMdqT

Oklahoma Approves Permits For Non-Hunters On State Game Land

Everyone knows that most state-owned wildlife management areas are purchased and maintained with hunting and angling dollars, but utilized for free by other recreational groups. That's coming to an end in Oklahoma... (Field & Stream Online) http://bit.ly/dh0dz2.

NOAA Closures Killing The Recreational Fishing, Related Industries

The Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) briefed members of Congress yesterday on two simultaneous disasters impacting recreational fishing caused by the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the total closure of substantial ocean fisheries by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Gulf oil spill threatens an ever expanding portion of the fishable waters in the Gulf, as well as the over 300,000 jobs and $41 billion in yearly economic activity supported by recreational anglers and boaters in the region. A recent American Sportfishing Association study determined that 85 percent of recreational fishing-dependent businesses cannot survive the fallout without immediate financial assistance. "Thirty-two percent of the Gulf of Mexico is now closed to any and all recreational activities because of this catastrophe," said U.S. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana. "There are over 2,300 bait and tackle shops and thousands of other related businesses operating in this area and the millions of dollars in lost income threatens their very existence." (CSF Press Release) http://bit.ly/dxOUV9.

Long after most hunters have left the woods and are sitting at home watching football games or worrying about the upcoming Christmas, some lucky hunters are still chasing elk. Several Western states such as Colorado offer late season hunts for antler less elk that extend into mid-February.

Most people's image of elk hunting includes large canyons, fall colors and high-pitched bugles. But for hunters who want to extend their season, a different type of elk hunting adventure awaits. These hunts usually don't involve mountaintops and the heavy dark timber. The driving force on a late season hunt is typically deep snow and cold weather where hunters find themselves a challenge in harvesting an elk in the open sage flats.
I know many elk hunters and even as a guide I will acknowledge that any elk is a trophy. They might not all carry antlers, but cow elk are just as elusive and smart. If you’ve ever watched an Elk herd take their cues from the wise old lead cow, you know just what I’m talking about. The reward for bagging a cow elk is a couple hundred pounds of what I’d say is some of the best game meat in the world.